Managing Records Retention and Disposal

Do you face a continuing battle when managing the retention and disposal of documents in your organisation? Few who are responsible for records management do not face resistance from employees who often see this vital process as an unnecessary, low level, administrative burden linked to archiving and filing. Ark Publishing's new report Records Retention and Disposal is a practical guide to implementing best-practice in this complex area. The report begins by clearly defining the importance of an organisation-wide records retention strategy and goes on to further assist you in: Building the business case to gain senior management buy in; Understanding the different approaches available to you when applying retention; Examining the available tools; Researching and integrating accurate retention rules based on the relevant legislation and regulations; Marrying the legal and compliance requirements with those of the business; Developing, implementing and maintaining a detailed retention schedule to cater for each part of the business; Establishing ownership and responsibilities for different parts of the process; Establishing best practice retention for records that do not have a governing retention period; and Understanding the impact of new and emerging technology on your records retention strategy. Taking into account UK and international legislation and sector specific regulations Records Retention and Disposal is written to help you establish a strategy suitable for your organisation and one which can become an integral part of every business process. The report also includes: Example retention schedules; A sample list of UK and international legislation; and A bibliography of resources to access accurate information on citations. Separating fact from rumour, the report will help you add value, aid compliance and reduce risk.

Table of Contents:
Executive summary ............................................................................................................VII About the author................................................................................................................IX Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................XI Disclaimer ........................................................................................................................XIII Part One: Managing records retention and disposal Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................... 3 Managing records retention and disposal - a definition ........................................................... 3 An opinion on records management and retention .................................................................. 3 Before we start: Glossary of terms .......................................................................................... 4 The information lifecycle and records management ................................................................. 5 Records management past history .......................................................................................... 6 Three approaches to records management ............................................................................. 7 Three approaches to managing records retention and disposal .............................................. 10 Defining retention rules ....................................................................................................... 12 Who does the research? ...................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 2: Legal requirements and research .................................................................... 15 The law .............................................................................................................................. 15 Legal research - finding retention rules ................................................................................. 16 Conflict between laws ......................................................................................................... 19 Public sector retention - primary laws ................................................................................... 19 Private sector retention ........................................................................................................ 20 Companies Act 2006 .......................................................................................................... 20 Money Laundering Regulations 2007 ................................................................................... 21 Foreign research ................................................................................................................. 22 Best practice ....................................................................................................................... 23 Chapter 3: The business case for managing records retention and disposal ...................... 25 What is the purpose of a business case? .............................................................................. 25 Fundamental considerations of a business case ..................................................................... 26 Benefits .............................................................................................................................. 27 The content of the business case .......................................................................................... 28 IV Contents Objectives .......................................................................................................................... 28 Options to achieve the objectives ......................................................................................... 31 About the author................................................................................................................IX Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................XI Disclaimer ........................................................................................................................XIII Part One: Managing records retention and disposal Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................... 3 Managing records retention and disposal - a definition ........................................................... 3 An opinion on records management and retention .................................................................. 3 Before we start: Glossary of terms .......................................................................................... 4 The information lifecycle and records management ................................................................. 5 Records management past history .......................................................................................... 6 Three approaches to records management ............................................................................. 7 Three approaches to managing records retention and disposal .............................................. 10 Defining retention rules ....................................................................................................... 12 Who does the research? ...................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 2: Legal requirements and research .................................................................... 15 The law .............................................................................................................................. 15 Legal research - finding retention rules ................................................................................. 16 Conflict between laws ......................................................................................................... 19 Public sector retention - primary laws ................................................................................... 19 Private sector retention ........................................................................................................ 20 Companies Act 2006 .......................................................................................................... 20 Money Laundering Regulations 2007 ................................................................................... 21 Foreign research ................................................................................................................. 22 Best practice ....................................................................................................................... 23 Chapter 3: The business case for managing records retention and disposal ...................... 25 What is the purpose of a business case? .............................................................................. 25 Fundamental considerations of a business case ..................................................................... 26 Benefits .............................................................................................................................. 27 The content of the business case .......................................................................................... 28 IV Contents Objectives .......................................................................................................................... 28 Options to achieve the objectives ......................................................................................... 31 Risks and dependencies ....................................................................................................... 32 Investment cost and running costs ........................................................................................ 32 Business case document in summary .................................................................................... 32 Chapter 4: The role of technology .................................................................................... 35 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 35 IT systems ........................................................................................................................... 35 Different types of data ......................................................................................................... 37 Appropriate IT systems for different ways of working .............................................................. 38 Auto-classification ............................................................................................................... 38 Collections of records/documents ........................................................................................ 39 Duplication of records ......................................................................................................... 39 Using IT systems in the different records retention approaches ................................................ 40 Reference tool approach ..................................................................................................... 40 Records management approach ........................................................................................... 41 Process and workflow approach ........................................................................................... 42 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 44 Chapter 5: Implementing records retention and disposal .................................................. 45 Project management ........................................................................................................... 45 Planning and method .......................................................................................................... 45 Method: The project plan in practice .................................................................................... 46 Review/research: Information gathering ................................................................................ 47 Implement: Integration of the law with work practice .............................................................. 48 Implement: Challenge and change ...................................................................................... 51 Implement: Communication - training and guidance ............................................................. 51 Maintain: Maintenance ....................................................................................................... 52 Measure for success: Audit .................................................................................................. 53 Chapter 6: Final thoughts ................................................................................................ 55 Web 2.0 ............................................................................................................................ 55 Evolution of work practices .................................................................................................. 55 Search and find .................................................................................................................. 56 The law and change ........................................................................................................... 56 Putting the jigsaw together ................................................................................................... 56 Part Two: Case studies Case study 1: Deploying the reference tool approach in a large multinational organisation ..................................................................................................................... 59 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 59 Context .............................................................................................................................. 59 Managing Records Retention and Disposal V Planning and method .......................................................................................................... 60 Review ............................................................................................................................... 60 Research ............................................................................................................................ 61 Manage ............................................................................................................................. 61 Implement .......................................................................................................................... 62 Measure for success ............................................................................................................ 64 Lessons learned and future aims .......................................................................................... 64 Case study 2: Downsizing and cost savings in a UK-wide construction company ............... 65 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 65 Context .............................................................................................................................. 65 Project control .................................................................................................................... 67 Planning and method .......................................................................................................... 67 Review and disposal ............................................................................................................ 70 2009: Implementation ........................................................................................................ 71 Lessons learned .................................................................................................................. 72 Case study 3: The Welsh Assembly Government records retention and disposal project .... 73 What is a records retention or disposal schedule? ................................................................. 73 Background to the retention and disposal project .................................................................. 73 Our approach .................................................................................................................... 74 The project and its objectives ............................................................................................... 74 Project plan ........................................................................................................................ 75 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 75 Migrating the retention schedule into the record-keeping system ............................................. 76 The benefits ........................................................................................................................ 76 Lessons learned .................................................................................................................. 78 Aims for the future .............................................................................................................. 78 Part Three: Appendices Appendix 1: Examples of UK laws relating to differences across Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, Wales and the Channel Isles ............................................................................... 81 Appendix 2: UK law - Examples of laws and regulations containing records retention requirements .................................................................................................................... 83 Appendix 3: Non-UK law examples .................................................................................. 85 Appendix 4: Information audit questionnaire .................................................................... 87 Appendix 5: Example records management policy ............................................................ 91 Appendix 6: Example of a classification scheme ................................................................ 95 Appendix 7: Standards list ................................................................................................ 99 Appendix 8: References .................................................................................................. 101 Index ............................................................................................................................. 103

About the Author :
ALISON NORTH is managing director of The Genuine Group Ltd, a company that was set up in early 2007, bringing together FileBusters Ltd and Document Law Ltd, to provide specialist information management consultancy and services. Alison set up FileBusters in 1995, having first established herself as a self-employed information management consultant in 1986. She spent the previous 15 years in the petroleum exploration and production business. Alison's business expertise stems from many years in information and records management. She is a leading practitioner in the organisation and development of information retention and disposal methods, particularly in relation to the legal issues and risks associated with storage of information in both paper and electronic formats. Along with an in-house team, Alison has spent the last two years developing Doc-Law-Regal, an online document retention subscription service that provides details on all legislation mapped to document types and record series. Currently based in London, Alison has worked worldwide - in Japan, the United States of America and extensively in Europe Alison has been a pioneer for the records management profession over the past 34 years. She is treasurer of the Records Management Society. She developed and set up the first North Sea offshore information centre and was one of the first people to be employed in the capacity of records manager, in 1978 by Conoco, and has worked since then on the development of information retrieval, retention, security and value. She continues to develop her work using modern technology and innovative solutions to solve the many and varied knowledge and information challenges.