What is Records Management?

Keeping good records is vital for a business of any size. However, figures suggest that UK businesses are far from setting a good example when it comes to record-keeping. HM Revenue and Customs found that until January 2012, 39% of businesses inspected had some issue with their record-keeping.

All information that is created, sent and received in business is potentially a record. Management of these records is the process of looking after information through careful supervision and administration, whether they’re digital or paper records, they need to be managed to a high standard.

What is Record Management?

Records management activities include the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposal of records. These records could be in the form of contracts, memos, paper files, electronic files, reports, emails, videos, instant message logs or databases. Paper records may be stored in physical boxes on-premises or at a storage facility whilst digital records may be stored on storage media in-house or in the cloud. Whatever the format, and however they are stored, they need to be managed carefully.

The goal of records management is to help organisations keep the necessary documentation accessible for both business operations and compliance checks. This kind of conscientiousness saves a lot of time and a lot of stress in the event of something like an audit. In smaller businesses, spreadsheets may be used to track where records are stored and for how long, but larger organisations may need to install records management software suites. These can be linked to tax collection and a records retention schedule to help streamline processes.

Good records management will:

Help you to do your job better by increasing the ease and efficiency of work; you can find the information you need quickly which allows you to get on with your work
Increase your accountability, allowing you to provide evidence of previous events/transactions, offering up clear information that can be used if problems occur
Increase company efficiency by making sure that you’re only keeping records you need
Give you reliable records of high value if they’re ever needed as evidence due to their standards in validity, accuracy, and relevance
Prove you’re are following legislation by complying to the expected standards

The consequences of poor records management are:

Poor service delivery through a lack of efficiency
Inaccurate and less confident decision making from employees because they’re having to work with below-standard/no records
Little or non-compliance with legislation that can lead to penalties from HMRC
Potential financial losses if an organisation is unable to defend its interests
Wasted time and manpower from trying to find the records you need

How are you managing your GDPR compliance requirements?

GDPR added a significant compliance burden on DPOs and data processors. Data breaches must be reported to the authorities within 72 hours, each new data processing activity needs to be documented and Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA) must be carried out for processing that is likely to result in a high risk to individuals. Penalties for breaching GDPR can reach into the tens of millions of Euros.

“In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear.”