Records Management...

The key element to records management is the document retention policy. There could be legal or commercial reasons for keeping records indefinitely but, often, a short-term solution suffices. Irrespective of the type of record that is retained – personnel records and commercial contracts are good examples – all companies need to have a robust policy in place. Without one, the company runs the risk of keeping items at a cost for longer than necessary.

Looking at files on your employees for example, do you keep them for a set period of time once their employment is terminated? Future disputes could be easily settled if you do, but it is advisable to have a time limit on how long to keep the record for. Retaining the record for at least a reasonable period of time is important because personnel records for example can be used, both by the company and by an employee, should litigation of some kind occur.

In such cases, the accuracy and completeness of your records management is crucial. In a similar way, your historical document archive is very important and it is advisable to make sure that your business has a complete and well maintained set of historical documents that can be reviewed at any point in the future should it be necessary. Being able to prove conclusively that something happened or indeed didn’t happen might be necessary and gaps in record keeping can lead to an incomplete picture and distortion of the facts placing risk on a defense case.

If you require record management in the London area, The Archive Warehouse records management services is for you. We employ strict controls on document storage so that any records that you entrust to our care will be kept safely for as long as your retention policy stipulates. We will always offer advice on your records management ensuring you only store what you need to the time you need it. We pride ourselves at being able to quickly and efficiently retrieve records on demand and deliver them to you either physically via our tracked and branded vans driven by our own employees, or via our scan on demand service.

We encourage companies to ask themselves important questions and challenge their own document production: e.g which records they create need to be kept, and, for how long? Apart from the practical considerations there is the question of cost of storage. We don’t want our customers paying for more storage than they really need so good records management methodologies are advisable.

Would you like to learn more about how we can help you with your records management? If so, feel free to call us today on 01708 871 223 or send us an email.