Did you say self storage?

I continue to come across small to mid-size organizations that tell me they have everything under control as far as their records storage goes.  As the conversations continue, time and time again, I am being told that self storage units are used to secure their most confidential business records.  The message from the federal and local governments is clear...businesses need to do their due diligence in securing their records.  Self storage simply doesn't cut it.

Let's review some of the differences between self storage and a professional records management company.

The photos speak for themselves, but I want to point out some not-so-obvious differences.

• Chain of custody - files are kept for a reason; they may need to be retrieved for litigation, an audit or referenced for history, facts, etc.  It's extremely difficult to track file movement in a storage unit because there is almost never a system in place to facilitate this.
• Staying current with record destruction - generally boxes get pushed to the back of a storage unit because nobody wants to deal with hauling them around.  On top of this, it's difficult to accurately track files so that the purge process is efficient.  Records management provides the labor to get destruction projects done for less than what businesses pay their staff to get it done, as well as accurate tracking for a smoother process.
• Confidentiality - certain employees shouldn't see certain records.  In self storage, it's difficult to regulate this.  Records centers have set authorization limitations that limit access to certain employees at the discretion of fully authorized individuals within the customers organization.
• Lower costs - in self storage, you pay for a certain amount of space, whether you use it all or not.  In a records center, you pay for the space that your stored records use. 
• Security - self storage has one entrance with a gate and a padlock.  Records centers have various employee recognition points including coded keypads at each entrance, double entry at each entry point, closed to the public, security cameras and advanced fire suppression systems.
• Exposure to the elements - self storage units aren't protected from wind and rain, nor are they protected from bugs and rodents.  Records centers provide protection from the elements through construction and fumigation processes specific to records care.
• Ease of retrieval - self storage facilities don't deliver files to your office.  Records management companies provide an array of options when you need information, from physical delivery to phone referencing to scanning.

The list could go on and on, but I think that the difference is obvious.  In a nutshell, records management facilities exist to provide a safe, secure and low cost solution for confidential records - self storage facilities do not.

Records Management - Getting Started

In an earlier post, we gave an overview of what records management is all about...the following is a reminder:

1. Accurately and completely document company policies and operations
2. Control the quantity and quality of records produced
   
3. Establish and maintain control with respect to records creation in order to prevent the creation of unnecessary records
   
4. Simplify the activities, systems, and processes of records creation and of records maintenance/use
   
5. Preserve and dispose of records in accordance with industry regulations
   
6. Direct continuing attention to records from their initial creation to their final disposition
7. Creates a chain of custody for handling confidential documents, assuring records are in the right hands at all times
8. Builds accountability throughout any organization by specifying record-handlers and the flow of records by those handlers
9. Systematic approach helps keep current with governing regulatory laws
10. Systematic approach allows for timely and accurate destruction of documents, which reduces time and storage costs

So, now that we know what records management is, it's time to start implementing your own records management policy/system (if not already done).  Here are some basic steps to getting started:

• Identify record types

• Financial
• Medical charts (for medical practices)
• type of medicine
• surgical
• pediatrics
•  Operational records
• employee contracts
• Identify retention for each record type
• Identify which records will need access and how often
• This will help determine whether to send to off site storage 

“Organizations without retention programs can often remove from higher-cost offices areas as much as 55% of records being kept there--as either obsolete (to be destroyed immediately) or inactive (must be retained but may be transferred to a low-cost records center ” (Robert Allerding, CRM, FAI, records management consultant).  

•  Identify personnel or "record-handlers" that should have access to each record type
• Create official company policy with specifications, rules and system in writing
• Creates accountability, maintains confidentiality and minimizes litigation 
• Partner with a records management company to better understand needs
• Sometimes it takes an expert to give insight and assist in an ideal solution
• Sometimes it makes sense to move inactive records off site, sometimes it doesn't
• Consider record volume and space it will take up