In only the first half of 2018, data breaches comprised 4.5 billion records. 56% were stolen from outsiders. 9% was due to accidental loss.
While most of us don’t think about the documents, both paper and electronic, we create, if you’re a business owner, not having a records retention policy could cause you a lot of problems.
Creating a corporate document policy has a lot of benefits. You shouldn’t be saving everything nor should you fail to retain certain records.
If you’re wondering why you need to implement document retention policy best practices in your office, keep reading. We’re sharing with you a few reasons to adopt an information retention policy today.
A Records Retention Policy is Required in Certain Industries
Certain industries are bound by laws to comply with state and federal privacy laws regarding how long certain documents should be kept. Destroying records before that time can result in hefty penalties.
Also, in certain industries, you may need to retain certain records in order to defend your business against other claims. Make sure your business is complying with current and new regulations regarding document retention.
Saves Money and Time
It costs money to maintain records you no longer need. It also costs money if your business is named in a lawsuit and you no longer have access to the records you need to prove your case.
Having too much clutter also costs your business valuable time and energy when employees can’t locate vital documents. Clutter decreases productivity and increases depression and anxiety.
It also costs money to store old files you no longer legally need whether you keep it in your office, filing cabinets, cloud storage or hard drives.
Keeps Your Records Secure
It’s not always readily apparent if your records have been hacked or stolen. And unfortunately, 70% of attacks are on small businesses. 60% of those hacked businesses went under after six months.
Creating a documentation policy should always include taking measures to ensure your records remain safe. And there should be a policy that includes safety measures for both hard copies and digital.
Make sure security is your number one priority and include it as a part of employee training. It should also become a standard part of your workplace’s process. It’s easier to prevent theft when everyone at your company is on the lookout.
Improving Efficiency
Creating a policy on where and how long to save documents helps you develop an organizational system for storing, retrieving, and record-keeping. Doing so makes it easier for everyone to locate and retrieve the information they need more quickly.
Documents are less likely to go missing. Implementing such a policy also ensures that expired documents are instantly flagged.
Part of the document retention policy should include how documents are destroyed. You can’t throw confidential information in the trash. Instead, find ways to securely destroy old documents to thwart would-be thieves.
How to Safely Destroy Documents
The best and safest way to destroy hard copies of documents is to shred them. However, your basic office shredder won’t be able to handle such a large job. Nor do you want to have to appoint an employee to handle all the shredding of confidential documents. And you also don’t want to leave one employee in charge of securely destroying all your digital information.
Instead, appoint an employee to contact a professional records management company. They can safely, quickly, and securely destroy all your old documents — paper and electronic.
Contact Us to Keep Your Records Safe
We can help you implement a working records retention policy and we’re here when you need us to destroy digital and hard copies safely.
Click here to contact us to find out how we can help.
