Record Management System – Its Importance

Every organization on this globe manages records – sometimes to keep track of their business transactions or sometimes because it’s plain obligatory under law. But some of these documents are unimportant, and maintaining them simply adds to operating expense of the organization. However, some documents hold utter importance and have to have a longer shelf life. So it is important for every organization to have a document retention policy to prescribe guidelines for a records retention and disposition schedule - for how long a particular category of document is needed to be stored and when they become useless, how and when to destroy them. Over storing a record can create unnecessary burdens that could be easily avoided, and destroying a document prematurely can lead you or your organization to big troubles.

Maintaining of these records by conventional paper–filing method can be often troublesome, slow and full of errors. A record management system has many benefits over it, such as:

• A record management system reduces your paper cost, because you can create copies of only those records which are actually needed and are active. All other documents are stored in form of electronic files, thus reducing storage space required for records retention.
• A record management system saves your time. When you invest into a well designed filing system which facilitates retrieving and disposing of a record past their end of life date, you don’t have to waste your time searching for misfiled records.
• If your organization has a "records department" which is still operated by conventional paper filing method, then investing in record management system can prove helpful. The new management software system can assimilate with existing record systems to make them stronger.
• If any company fails to provide essential documents during a litigation check, it may have to face severe legal consequences. Since government is becoming stricter with compliance issues, ensuring a good record management system is essential for various organizations. The only way to ensure proper compliance with government regulations is having a firm records retention schedule which can be efficiently backed up by an advanced record management system.
• If you implement an advanced record management system, you can reduce the risks associated with litigation and potential penalties. A well designed record management program also reduces liabilities that are associated with document disposal. It protects important records from disaster or threat, and disallows unauthorized users from destroying or tampering with important information and sensitive documents.
• A record management software can makes sure useful and relevant data can be accessed easily and disposes off unwanted data. It’s indexing and retrieval capability allows authorized personnel to search files faster. Easy accessibility to relevant data allows companies to make decisions faster so that they can stay ahead in the competition.

Mismanaged records, improper filing and frequent loss of important data create a hostile work environment, and directly affect employees’ motivation level. Though you cannot determine loss of motivation in quantifiable figures, it is one of the important reasons to have a good record management system.

To know more about business records retention schedule, visit Irch.com.

About The Author

Sarah Jones is an expert on business data management and records maintenance who also likes to write many interesting articles and blogs, helping enterprises in coming up with the best business record retention schedule and document preservation guidelines. She recommends IRCH.com as the best source of information on the subject.