Primer on Records Management

[Adapted from Managing Your Office Records and Files, edited by Katherine Aschner, 1983. See also the excellent At Your Fingertips in the Office by Alexandra Bradley and Denise Dale, 2000.]

Basics of a Good Records System

A records system has three objectives:

• Document the organization’s policies, operations, and transactions
• Enable staff to find information quickly
• Preserve long-term information as long as it is needed.

Three kinds of controls are needed to achieve these objectives:

• Cost—time to file and retrieve, storage costs, is it needed?
• Quality—e.g. use the correct as-built drawings to tender for repairs
• Management—decide what’s needed, focus on what’s most valuable, make it available on a timely basis and in a usable format.

A records system needs to be managed. To do this...

• Establish a records policy—files are society property, they do not belong in individuals’ desks, the system should make filing simple.
• Put someone in charge of making changes to the system as required and in a logical, uniform manner.
• Conduct an annual review to identify and resolve problems and to make needed modifications.  

Principles of Files Management

"Your files are your organization’s memory. It is important to keep that memory sharp and uncluttered so that you can draw upon it easily. Thus, eliminating obsolete files is as important to good files management as identifying and maintaining your long-term records."(p. 8)

Efficient files management means three things:

• Preserving the appropriate order of records
• Simplifying retrieval by setting up uniform file classifications that make sense to everyone who uses them
• Continuity of information based on a uniform files classification that works regardless of staff changes or reorganizations.

You develop uniform files classifications by...

• Identifying records series, the smallest groupings of records that are used, filed, and disposed of in the same way. Example: purchase order, employee file. Each unique series has its own classification code and retention period.
• Identifying names for records series according to the function they perform (functional filing). The key is how records are used, not what department uses them (e.g. Maintenance and Finance can both use budget files).
• Identifying related records series so classification codes can be developed to link them together (hierarchical filing). Example: Financial Management, Maintenance Management.

The special case of Case Files A case file relates to a specific person or project or other unique entity (e.g. Jane Smith’s employee file, George Clark’s tenant file, Home Manor’s re-roofing tender file). A case file is filed by proper name either alphabetically or numerically—within its functional classification. For example, all employee files might be filed alphabetically by surname within the Personnel (functional) file classification. Avoid the common tendency to set up a files classification system that incorporates case file names. This programs the classification system for obsolescence (because case files change over time) and makes the system too large and unwieldy.

Establishing records retention schedules is another files management principle. The key point here is to define records series so that all documents in a series have the same retention period. This avoids the need for labour-intensive culling of outdated files. For example, if audit working papers and the final audit report are separated into different series, the working papers can be disposed of once the audit has been approved. Once retention periods are established for records series, the specific dates can be noted on the file folders to facilitate culling.

Doing a Files Inventory

Cataloguing all files holdings has three objectives:

• Identify all records series
• Determine how records series are used and how they relate to each other
• Determine how long records series must be kept in active and inactive storage.

It is important to include all records—including desk files, computer files, photographic records, building plans, and drawings. The inventory process is also useful to...

• Identify vital records and historical records that may need special protection
• Find out what problems staff are having with records
• Understand the actual information handling practices.

See At Your Fingertips in the Office (pages 12 and 13) for a simple Records Survey form to use in cataloguing your records.

Steps to Develop a Classification System

After you have a catalogue of all your records, follow these steps to develop a classification scheme:

• Sort records into primary groups by function (i.e. what the records are used for).
• Screen out multiple titles for the same records series.
• Within each primary (functional) classification, arrange records series into secondary and tertiary categories.
• Set up standard secondary categories for each primary classification to handle records series that show up in more than one functional classification (e.g. policies and procedures, budget).
• Establish retention schedules for each records series (i.e. each primary, secondary, and tertiary category)—how long in active files, how long in inactive storage, when destroyed.
• Establish an alphanumeric code for each record series.
• Develop an alphabetical cross-index to the files classification scheme, listing the records series in alphabetical order, cross-referenced to the alphanumeric codes.

Records Retention Scheduling

There are five reasons for keeping records:

• Operational value
• Administrative value
• Financial value
• Legal value
• Historical (archival) value.

You may also wish to retain certain non-essential records for reference purposes.

Here are some reasons for not keeping (unneeded and obsolete) records:

• Savings in space and equipment
• Streamlined access for filing and retrieving information
• Reduced legal liability if records are routinely destroyed as part of normal business procedure (not selectively to conceal them).

Consider these factors to establish proper records retention schedules:

• Legal requirements (e.g. six years from the end of the last tax year to which they relate for certain records under the Income Tax Act)
• What other similar organizations have determined for legal requirements (saves you a lot of research time)
• Life cycle of files (e.g. how long are operational files used?)
• Whether records are official (original documents including correspondence) or supporting (duplicates, other working papers and reference materials).

Retention of official and supporting records
Generally, official records with operational or administrative value are kept only for three years, those with legal value for six years, and those with financial value for seven years. A record like the general ledger is a permanent record. For records series with a long life cycle (e.g. contract, personnel file), the retention period starts once the record is no longer current (e.g. employee leaves society).

Usually, supporting files are kept only as long as they are current. If they have some reference value, they can be kept for three years. Watch for notes in duplicate files that may have value, in which case these copies become official records.

Document, Document, Document

Document the records management system, including the retention schedules, so that all staff...

• Know how it works (not just the invaluable person who may leave the organization!)
• Actually follow the system (e.g. no premature destruction of files).

For the retention schedules, note the reasons why these dates were established (e.g. cite the specific legal requirement).

Plan for Disaster!

Disasters do happen—fire, smoke, water, mould, or an earthquake could destroy or damage your society’s records. Common sense says to plan ahead to protect vital records and recover from the disaster. Recovery depends on staying organized and following the established disaster plan. Another danger is theft—records need to be stored securely to prevent this disaster.

Vital records

You want to preserve your vital records so they remain accessible and usable in case of a disaster. These are records you need to continue as a legal entity and to continue your regular day-to-day business. Here are some questions to ask:

• Are these records needed to collect accounts receivable?
• Are these records needed to prevent fraud or overpayments (e.g. accounts payable records, contracts)?
• Do these records document society assets (e.g. deed)?
• Are the records essential? or only important?

You can protect vital records in several ways:

• Make duplicates (e.g. photocopies, microfilm, electronic files) where feasible and store them in a different location.
• Store original vital records off-site if possible.
• Store vital records on-site in fire-resistant cabinets (use caution with photographic and magnetic media to ensure they are guaranteed by the cabinet you use).
• Transfer updated or new vital records to the vital records storage area on a regular basis (at least monthly).
• Maintain a current listing of vital records including media and storage location.

Other records priorities
Initial recovery efforts after a disaster should focus on the most important and most vulnerable records. Some media need to be restored within a short time frame. This part of the plan should list records series by priority for recovery depending on both media and importance of the files. The plan should also indicate the appropriate salvage techniques (see pages 103–6 and 112–114, although some of this information may now be out of date).

The plan
Of course, the plan needs to be documented ahead of time. Staff also need to know how to implement it, so advance disaster recovery training may be required. Safety is an essential consideration in the aftermath of fire, water, or earthquake disasters. Having at least initial supplies in a secure disaster box will enable the recovery team to start work as soon as it is safe to do so.