Document Services

Effective Records Management in

Today’s Business Environment

Contents

1 Introduction
2 Business Drivers for
Records Management
6 Implications of Regulatory and
Compliance Mandates
9 The Value Chain in Information
Life Cycles
11 Changing Office Technologies
14 Organizational Best Practices

Records Management
 Effective Records Management in Today’s Business Environment
Introduction
Successful enterprises have come to rely
on information as a major internal asset to
leverage or as a lucrative product to sell.
There is increasing public scrutiny regarding
the need for corporate leaders to assure that
business information in the form of records
can be trusted, protected and produced
when required. The importance of properly
managing business records is covered in news
sources almost daily, including the failure
of some organizations to retain records for
mandated time periods (Arthur Andersen)
and the discovery in some cases of reputation-
damaging emails (Microsoft and many
others). Regrettably, litigation frequently
is a tactic used to resolve disputes between
persons and organizations. Governmental
investigations routinely are initiated when
audits yield findings of non-compliance with
expected business practices or activities. In
both of these scenarios, there is an immediate
focus on how well management supported
the proper retention and timely production of
records, in either paper or electronic format.
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The default assumption is that employees
perform job functions as delineated by policy,
procedure and management directives.
Executive level attention to records management
strategies, policies, procedures, and technology
systems now is the expected practice in
well-run organizations. Executive signatures
required on financial statements by the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) make it critical to
manage enterprise information and evidentiary
records in a well-documented and consistent
manner. Each organization’s value chain and
information workflow must have supporting
records management activities and auditable
business processes that clearly document the
status of activities; i.e., what is known, and
when everyone knew it. A carefully developed
records management strategy and rigorously
enforced company information management
policies are the key to achieving excellence in
management that promotes customer, investor,
regulator, employee and public confidence in an
organization’s activities, products, and services.
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 Effective Records Management in Today’s Business Environment
Business Drivers for Records Management
Today’s complex business environments
generate numerous challenges for both
management and employees. Fast-paced
changes in office technologies, changing
governmental mandates and global competition
create both obstacles and opportunities.
However, a common aspect of all business
environments is the constant demand for
ontime access to data, information and
documentation. Informational business
records are needed for operational guidance,
reporting to auditors, documentation of
intellectual capital, evidence in litigation
and a variety of other tactical and strategic
drivers. Business records with critical
informational content must be locatable and
retrievable quickly and accurately. Otherwise
lost productivity, public embarrassment
and damaged financial status may result. Of
equal importance is the transition of most
enterprises today from sifting through piles
of paper to managing gigabytes of data. This
shift creates a mandate for an enterprise to
control and manage its office.
Information is one of the most vital strategic
and operational assets of organizations.
Organizations depend on information to
make critical strategic decisions, protect
contractual rights, support innovation,
develop products, deliver services, drive
marketing, process transactions, serve
customers, and generate revenue. This
essential information is contained in business
documents, or records. Business records need
to be effectively managed. Senior executives
Information is one of the most vital strategic and operational assets of organizations. Organizations
depend on information to make critical strategic decisions, support innovation and generate revenue.
This essential information is contained in business documents or records.
2
ultimately are responsible for the prudent
stewardship of corporate assets. Yet many
companies today lack effective policies and
procedures to control, manage, preserve and
retrieve critical corporate records and other
business documents. Consequently, they waste
valuable time searching for information when
it is needed, risk severe penalties and loss of
corporate reputation for non-compliance
with records-related regulations and legal
statutes, keep some records too long, spend
too much for storage, and too often fail to
protect mission-critical information from loss
or destruction.
Because operational effectiveness is a concern
for shareholders, customers, and Boards
of Directors it is incumbent on Chief
Executive Officers (CEOs) to be fully aware
of their current corporate records practices,
requirements, and known gaps in meeting
goals. Effective enterprise strategies must
be in place to assure that information assets
are well-managed. Records management is
outside the line of business functions and
core competencies of most organizations.
Therefore, companies wishing to adhere
to recognized best practices increasingly
turn to third party solution providers with
professional records management experience
and expertise. Without such external
professional assistance, organizations must
bear the direct cost of internal development
including the required expertise, facilities or
equipment for the development of records
management programs and solutions.
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 Effective Records Management in Today’s Business Environment
The business risks associated with poorly
managed information resources are
substantial and increasing. Unfortunately,
when information management issues are
covered by the news media, it often is in a
highly negative context. For example, when
Arthur Andersen was implicated in the
accounting irregularities related to Enron,
the headlines did not cover that Arthur
Andersen had the foresight to have a records
retention schedule and records management
program. The headlines did, however, cover
extensively the use of shredders and allegations
of intentional spoliation of evidence. When
public records used by state governments that
must be made available to the public cannot
be located, allegations of misconduct may
arise quickly. And when small sets of emails
mysteriously disappear in any organization,
there can be an assumption of spoilation —
that someone has tampered with the
email system and has intentionally deleted
potentially incriminating evidence.
Information management typically is one
of the largest overhead burdens of an
organization. The creation of correspondence,
reports, brochures, forms and graphic
materials can be highly expensive due to both
the cost of materials and labor. Now that
much of this information flow must occur
within computer systems and networks,
the incremental cost of performing daily
3
tasks continues to grow. At the same time it
becomes critical to have well-run information
systems that support an organization’s
business goals. Should an organization’s loss
of information become publicly disclosed, the
financial impact in lost customers and public
confidence can be immense. These dangers are
especially true for financial services, insurance
and data management businesses where
customer loyalty often correlates to perceived
organizational trustworthiness and reliability.
The electronic information glut that affects
organizations makes it increasingly difficult
to establish which information is of sufficient
value for long term retention. For this reason,
it is challenging to differentiate data, files, and
documents that should be discarded early in
the information life cycle from official records.
Information often is created on a personal
computer, printed to paper locally, saved to
off-line disks, and sent through networks to
many recipients. These proliferating copies
of records create difficulty in establishing
the identity, accuracy, and authenticity
of records that require retention for long
term preservation. Many individuals find
themselves in the unenviable position of an
office worker who no longer knows which
copy of their documents should be preserved
as records material. Should they preserve
the paper copy or the numerous versions of
electronic files? (see Fig. 1)
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 Effective Records Management in Today’s Business Environment
This situation is particularly troubling as
office files continue to multiply each year (as
shown in Table 1), while actual information of
significant value usually lasts only a few years.
Most records, once filed into filing cabinets
or disk drives, seldom are referred to again
after their initial usage. Many office workers,
especially those new on the job, or temporary
workers, waste hours daily, simply looking for
information that could readily be available had
it been filed using an organizational standard
filing plan. Mislabeled or misfiled information
imposes initial labor search costs and subsequent
resource costs when it must be re-created or
re-generated. The potential financial losses
due to misplaced evidence, critical corporate
records or lost research data related to product
development can surge to millions of dollars.
Document management expenses are a major
component of corporate operating expenses.
4
• Companies spend approximately 10%
of revenue on document management,
production and distribution. (IDC End
User Research)
• Knowledge workers (the economy’s highest
paid workers) spend an estimated 20%
of their day looking for information in
documents, yet about 50% of that time they
are unable to find what they’re looking for.
(IDC Study, January 2005)
For reasons including the above, many
organizations have decided to create formally
defined records management programs
that are staffed with skilled professionals
working to gain control of the “info glut”
that threatens to obstruct business workflow.
Organizations are beginning to assign more
records management responsibilities to
employees. However, assuring enterprise-
wide proper management of information
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 Effective Records Management in Today’s Business Environment
and records is simply beyond the job
description and work-place experience of
most employees. Employees dedicated to
line-of-business activities need to be spending
time accomplishing functionally important
tasks, rather than wrestling with long-term
corporate records retention issues. In fact,
the local, state, and federal government
agency investigative research required to
professionally establish records retention
periods for certain classes of corporate records
is far beyond the capabilities of the average
office worker. Records retention research
requires specialized insights and educational
background. Creating a records filing and
indexing system that can be used across an
organization to assure that both paper and
electronic records can be found also is a task
that only well-trained records management
professionals should undertake.
Developing policies, procedures, and training
programs to educate employees about the
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importance of retaining records and the
tools available calls for dedicated professional
expertise. Effective records management can
reduce the cost of doing business by effectively
managing information resources in a number
of ways:
• Ensure compliance with regulations and
legal statutes, thereby avoiding costly fines
and penalties to which executives may
be liable, as well as damage to corporate
reputations
• Limit financial risk from pre-trial
discovery in government investigations
and civil litigation
• Streamline storage requirements for both
electronic and paper documents
• Reduce time and effort required to
reconstruct mission-critical information in
the event of a disaster or other loss
• Reduce labor costs to control, manage,
preserve and access information.
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 Effective Records Management in Today’s Business Environment
Implications of Regulatory and Compliance Mandates
Today’s news headlines about records
and recordkeeping systems often are
uncomplimentary regarding organizations’
roles in records destruction. A classic case is
that of Arthur Andersen employees shredding
documents in an attempt to reduce the
records available, subsequent to discovering
court proceedings were in progress. The
losses suffered by many organizations due to
improper attention to accounting irregularities
and other executive misdeeds have focused
both public and governmental attention on
the needs for excellence in recordkeeping.
This heightened news media focus and
resulting public attention means that
organizations and their leading executives
must introduce unimpeachable records
management programs with consistently
well-implemented policies and procedures.
Although many firms have been in the news
with respect to inappropriate records related
actions, none is more visible than the case of
Arthur Andersen. In November 2001, the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
delivered a subpoena to Arthur Anderson
requesting records about the public accounting
work performed for Enron. Subsequently in
January, Arthur Andersen revealed that it had
destroyed a number of documents related to
the Enron audits. In March 2002, Arthur
Andersen was charged with obstruction of
justice for inappropriate records destruction,
and the company was subsequently convicted
in June 2002. Within less than a year, many
of Arthur Andersen’s clients withdrew their
business, and a $9 billion company with a long
The losses suffered by many organizations due to improper attention to accounting irregularities
have focused attention on the need for excellence in record keeping.
6
history of professional credibility was virtually
destroyed simply because of court decisions
that it had not followed its own records
management policy.
A major outcome of this action has been
increased public scrutiny of accounting
practices, records management practices,
and executive responsibility in general. For
firms that have demonstrably supported
and enforced existing records management
programs, this level of visibility and
management practices review does not pose a
problem. However, companies that have failed
to invest any significant resources to ensure
official records are created and managed
with the requisite attention and priority, risk
serious consequences should records become
suspect during audits, regulatory review or
legal actions. (as shown in Table 2)
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 brought new
focus on the issue of records accountability
and proper records control during auditable
business processes. The law requires that
the CEOs and CFOs personally attest to
and certify many records used in reporting
financial status. Among other things, the Act
creates guidelines for the establishment of
audit committees, requires that documents
relevant to possible government investigations
be appropriately retained, and specifies that
“audit work papers” be retained for seven
years. Stiff criminal penalties are provided
for executives in non-compliance, including
that CEOs and CFOs making a false approval
of company financial status potentially be
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 Effective Records Management in Today’s Business Environment
fined up to $1 million and/or be sentenced
to prison for up to 10 years. If the false
representations are deemed to be willful and
intentional, the fine may reach $5 million
and the prison sentence could reach 20 years.
These admonitions apply to “anyone who
knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals,
covers up, falsifies, or makes false entries in
records or documents.”
Another area of growing concern for
corporations is the stringent attention paid by
courts to the preservation of records when the
prospect of litigation arises. Just as Sarbanes-
Oxley legislation addresses the destruction of
records, “spoliation” of evidence is similarly
of importance to courts expecting to see
high quality fully disclosed documentation.
Spoliation is the destruction or alteration of
evidence by actively destroying information or
simply failing to preserve it. When records are
destroyed at a defendant’s site or while under
management control, the courts generally will
find in favor of the plaintiffs even when ill
intent on the part of the defendant may not
be present. Courts have awarded fines and
sanctions against organizations that failed to
preserve records on magnetic tapes, optical
disks, or older computer systems when the
data could not be read or used. In addition,
7
the costs of electronic records discovery often
are paid by the defendant, creating significant
incentive to settle cases quickly.
Influence by regulatory agencies in the record-
keeping processes of business is growing.
There is increasing need to assure records
creation and retrieval occurs accurately and
quickly, with proper supervision.
• The Securities and Exchange Act of 1934,
Rule 240.17a-4 prescribes nonrewriteable
non-erasable media for recording some
electronic records
• The National Association of Securities
Dealers Rule 3010 directs that organizations
oversee the communications of authorized
representatives with the public, including
assurance that employees comply with
policies. To assure compliance there can be
expectations of monitoring emails received
internally or sent externally, as well as the
ability to select for separate treatment emails
that may have legal implications.
• SEC regulations require that organizations
provide comprehensive electronic records
retention and search capabilities that ensure
the latest two years of records are readily
accessible.
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 Effective Records Management in Today’s Business Environment 8

Litigation e-discovery costs resulting from the

need to produce emails and other electronic
records can be significant and push defendants
into out-of-court settlements. For instance,
most organizations today know that their email
systems are out of control with respect to the
volume of emails transmitted and the capacity
of their servers to store the records in a well-
organized manner for retrieval. This is simply an
IT systems performance issue and organizational
inconvenience until a court decides that:
1) this performance failure has been known
for some time; and 2) management’s failure to
address it means that email critical to resolving
legal disputes has been lost. Courts may
decide to award damages to plaintiffs simply
because the defendant has made it impossible
to accurately assess the validity of their own
defense or courts may decide that recordkeeping
activities affect the quality of the records
produced for legal purposes.

In the recent Zubulake vs. UBS Warburg case,

the plaintiff (“Zubulake”) filed suit against
UBS, her former employer, alleging gender
discrimination and retaliation. This matter
came before the court after Zubulake’s motion
to compel UBS to produce email messages
that existed only on backup tapes and other
archived media. United States District
Court Judge Shira A. Scheindlin issued five
groundbreaking opinions in the case. The
Zubulake decisions are of particular interest
in the U.S. because they originated from the
influential Southern District of New York,
and the case provided lawyers with new best
practices related to the legal and technical
aspects of electronic discovery. Zubulake
greatly increased the scope of a party’s duty to
preserve and produce electronic records, and
imposed sanctions for spoliation (destruction
of evidence).

Zubulake vs. UBS Warburg greatly increased the scope of a party’s duty to preserve and
produce electronic records, and imposed sanctions for spoliation (destruction of evidence).

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 Effective Records Management in Today’s Business Environment
The Value Chain in Information Life Cycles
All information has a life cycle that begins
with creation and ends with a final disposition
of information to an archive or destruction.
Creation of information can be in either
paper or electronic format. Increasingly, most
information is created on computer systems as
electronic files or data. After creation, digital
computer files can be printed, transmitted
to other users by email, made accessible by
posting on Internet web sites or other means.
Eventually, digital information must be stored
for future retrieval or may simply be deleted.
During the various phases of the information
life cycle, some of this information becomes
sufficiently valuable to be considered “record
material” and other information simply
remains in general document or data format for
eventual discard. This distinction of becoming
a “record” for preservation is critical to the
concept of records management, in that all
defined records series should have a mandated
retention period, whereas “nonrecord” materials
should be discarded soon after their initial
use, often within one year of creation. For
this reason, when an organization establishes
a value chain for products and services, the
important records that add value to the
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creation or management of those products and
services should be identified early and should
be managed throughout their entire life cycle.
Documents or data that does not need to be
retained will clutter up disk drives or desktops
and can be eliminated as soon as is practical
in the life cycle of the information by quickly
moving it toward destruction or deletion.
A typical document workflow in an organization
might occur as seen in Fig. 2. It is common for
organizations with collaborative projects such
as architectural, engineering, or manufacturing
firms to produce both paper and electronic
records materials during project workflow. In
some cases, records may initially be produced on
computers, stored during the project in records
centers, and eventually scanned or simply
stored as paper off-site. It is obvious that not all
organizations are properly staffed and equipped
to perform records tracking in an integrated
manner for both paper and electronic files
across multiple departments over time. Many
organizations are similarly not staffed or trained
to capture and manage the records generated
from such complex business processes if the
documents must be scanned into images for
multi-user access from many different jobsites.
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 Effective Records Management in Today’s Business Environment
In these cases, it may be most cost effective
to contract for outside assistance with some
of these records management issues so that
internal personnel can focus their attention on
the organization’s line of business and delegate
some information management services to
more highly skilled, trained specialists.
Contemporary concerns about technology
obsolescence and digital preservation are the
source of another information life cycle issue. All
computer systems run on hardware and software
that begin to become obsolete from the moment
they are installed and configured. As hardware
systems such as tape, magnetic disk, and CD/
DVD drives wear, the information recorded
with those devices is in danger of becoming
inaccessible over time. As office desktop
computer software versions change yearly, the
various data formats being created may not
be re-usable in the future depending on the
backward compatibility of each vendor’s software
offering. For this reason, many organizations are
creating digital document preservation strategies
that include a migration of electronic records
over time from the original native file formats
to more permanent file formats, such as PDF
or TIF, to archival media such as CD-ROMs,
and eventually to printing and preservation on
acid-free archival-quality paper media.
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Without a sound data migration strategy,
organizations may in the future try to retrieve
electronic files that are not readable on
contemporary computer equipment. This
will greatly impact organizational success in
addressing records retrieval needs and could
negatively impact the overall success of the
organization in the marketplace. (see Fig. 3)
Defining an organization’s information life
cycle within the operating framework of line-
of-business processes and value chain is critical
to the identification of critical records needing
long term retention. Each organizational
business process that generates revenue must
have the critical records for that process
defined in a Records Retention Schedule,
retention periods assigned, and applicable
policies and procedures developed to address
them. In addition, appropriately trained
personnel must be assigned to assure that those
records are captured and preserved, or the
loss to the organization may be substantial,
financially or in public perception. In contrast,
well-managed organizations with highly
skilled personnel assuring that record-keeping
systems are properly managed will enhance
the marketplace reputation and viability of an
organization and its management.
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 Effective Records Management in Today’s Business Environment
Changing Office Technologies
Computers and the networks that connect
them have created quantum-level change
in today’s business environments. In fact,
the vast majority of paper that is used
within organizations was initially created,
stored, and transmitted on computers. The
personal computer has brought immense
information creation and delivery power to
office workers and the Internet has within
only a decade transformed our expectations
regarding information communication and
accessibility. Computer technology and its
benefits, however, come at a price that often
includes organizational change for both
business processes and employees. The use of
computers in the workplace and their effect
on information management must be planned
carefully to avoid losing control of our
information assets.
Computer files exist in many systems, including
electronic mail, personal computers, web sites
and database applications, and are distributed
across many locations. Organizations
11
increasingly conduct business electronically.
This causes valuable business intelligence,
evidence for legal proceedings, process
documentation, and intellectual capital to be
placed at risk if electronic business records are
not properly protected and preserved. However,
the variety of information in electronic format
is almost overwhelming:
1. Desktop computer files, including word
processing, spreadsheets, small databases,
graphics files and some email stored locally
on hard disks
2. Local Area Network-based server files,
including server-based emails, shared project
directories, and printer management servers
3. Document management, content
management, workflow, imaging systems
and other workflow or collaboration oriented
server-based applications for global use
4. Dedicated applications that support forms
processing, document scanning, engineering
or design business processes
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5. Enterprise accessible database systems for
business functions such as accounting,
human resources management, or handling
facilities maintenance requests
6. Intranet web sites for publishing internal
policies, research data, or other private
information
7. Extranets and public web sites that offer
web-based documents and data to business
partners or the general public.
In fact, there is a continual synthesis and
integration of data that results in changing
information content format and presentation.
For instance, in creating a monthly report, a
person might download data to a spreadsheet,
paste the spreadsheet as a table into a word
processor, attach the word-processing file to
an email, send the email to an Intranet web
publisher, and then post the monthly report
on an Intranet. It can become difficult to
follow the chain of records that constitute the
final document. Without documented records
management procedures, the evidentiary
sources of the final published report can be lost
and difficult to produce should evidence of the
reports’ production processes be needed. Fig. 4
is a conceptual illustration of the diverse types
of interconnected computer software, systems
and electronic records repositories that may
impact a typical office worker.
There is a continual synthesis and integration of data that results in changing information
content format and presentation.
12
Much of the records material produced
within these systems either is archived to
backup tapes that must be restored to be
useful, or the information is protected by
offloading the data to CD-ROM, DVD,
or a form of magnetic disk or tape. This
practice exacerbates a complex growing
information duplication problem unless
the disks or tapes are organized and labeled
to indicate the content of the media.
Unfortunately, much of the information
stored off-line on computer media external to
originating computer systems often is poorly
labeled, difficult to retrieve, and filed locally
in paper filing cabinets. This can seriously
disrupt electronic records discovery. A major
improvement in controlling paper documents
can come from implementing barcodes and
RFI sensitive labels to track physical files.
Implementing computer network resident
records management software to track
both physical and electronic files also can
reduce the time required to find records. An
opportunity for outsourcing of electronic
records creation and storage can occur when
paper documents are scanned into electronic
images that must be stored on CDs or other
long term storage media.
To ensure that the electronic records being
created in these repositories can be coordinated,
controlled and managed, responsible
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 Effective Records Management in Today’s Business Environment
organizations implement electronic records
management (ERM) software. ERM software
facilitates efficient and cost-effective storage,
retrieval, and retention of electronic business
records. Records creation computer systems,
such as email or desktop computers, serve well
for information creation and distribution.
However, such systems have been designed
to maximize user creativity or computer
performance rather than to assure long term
business records retention and preservation
according to approved corporate retention
schedules and procedures.
For these reasons, records creation systems
generally are not good record-keeping
systems. In many cases emails, legal
documents, engineering drawings or software
programs may be stored for departmental
sharing purposes in an electronic document
management (EDM) system. However, unless
records retention functionality is integrated
into the operations of an EDM system, it is
difficult to be sure that business records will
be retained according to legal and regulatory
requirements, as well as fulfill the operational
needs of business units. It is important to
ensure that both paper and electronic records
can be accessed in an integrated manner so
that information can be located regardless of
the media in which it is stored.
In response to the global need to control
electronic records, several software standards
have been created that specify how electronic
records should be managed. These standards
include the U.S. Department of Defense
DoD 5015.2 Standard, and electronic records
management standards developed in Europe
(MoReQ), Great Britain (PRO), and
Australia (VERS).
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Most major software companies recognize
the need both to meet emerging international
standards and to offer software solutions to
manage electronic records. IBM, Open Text,
EMC/Documentum, Summation, Interwoven,
Stellant, and FileNet are among the companies
that now offer software solutions designed to
manage both paper and electronic records.
The need to distinguish between these
standards and ERM requirements often
encourages organizations to seek outside
expertise from records management consultants
and outsourcing services companies with
accredited records management professionals
to assure that the software procured meets
business needs. One of the most important
aspects of using these standards to implement
ERM solutions is that they all address both
paper document and electronic records tracking
to some degree, creating a seamless system
where a single query may recall information on
both paper and electronic documents.
Corporations that wish to command the respect
and trust of their customers, business partners,
employees and investors are rapidly moving
toward electronic systems to achieve full-
spectrum management of electronic records.
This holds true for government agencies that
wish to demonstrate they meet the public’s
demand for accountability and openness.
However, many organizations are new to
records management program development
and deployment and are just beginning to
develop initiatives. An important option to
effectively implement best practicesbased
records management programs is to partner
with external records management service
providers such as commercial records centers
and ERM systems consultants, or outsource
to leading document process management
companies such as Océ Business Services.
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 Effective Records Management in Today’s Business Environment
Organizational Best Practices
Best practices organizations recognize and
act on the growing business imperative for
formally defined and consistently administered
records management programs. This is
occurring due to government requirements
for records compliance as well as for the
substantial cost savings and productivity gains
associated with the ability to quickly find and
access business information. Although the
size and scope of programs varies widely, they
share common elements. These elements are
global policies, specific procedures, IT support
systems, on-going records management
training, and personnel dedicated to assuring
that this enterprisewide responsibility is
wholly addressed.
The primary components of a high quality
Records Management Program are:
1. Policies and Procedures for creating and
storing records in both paper and electronic
format that are demonstrably supported
by an organization’s executives, including
the Chief Executive Officer, Chief
Financial Officer, Chief Information
Officer, Chief Legal Counsel, and Chief
Compliance Officer
2. A thoroughly documented Records
Retention Schedule that lists Records
Series (categories) and the expected retention
Outsourced business services relationships often support a well-planned records
management program.
14
period in months and years (based on legal,
regulatory, and best practices research)
3. An organizational File Plan that lists
primary records types by functional unit
so that information can be located without
dependence on any one employee
4. A Vital Records Program that identifies
and protects those records that are critical
for immediate restart of an organization’s
business processes following a disaster
5. A Records Management Implementation
and Training Program that works with
identified Records Coordinators in
primary functional units to train them in
the policies, procedures, workflow, and
systems required to assure quality record-
keeping occurs
6. Increasingly, the presence of a dedicated
hardware/software electronic records
system repository so that employees have a
place to store personal computer files,
electronic mail messages, and any other
electronic documents for long term retention
based on a formally defined Records
Retention Schedule and business rules
7. Periodic Audits to assess the clarity of
procedures, effectiveness of training, and that
provide an enforcement vehicle
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Outsourced business services relationships often

support a well-planned records management
program. A contractual relationship with an off-
site commercial records storage center enables
inexpensive and secure long-term retention
of paper documents, electronic media, or
computer system backup tapes in a disaster-
resistant environment. Commercial records
centers can protect vital records from on-site
disasters at their customers’ locations, and assure
that expensive office space is not consumed by
local storage of older low-value records. Records
management consultants or expert business
process outsourcing firms often provide focused
knowledge of records in highly regulated
industries, skills in ongoing management of
paper and electronic records programs, or
expertise in electronic records management
software selection and implementation.
Increasingly, records management program
activities are outsourced to full-service
document process management firms with
specialized expertise in records management.
These outsourcing firms can provide some or
all of these managed services. Since records
management is not the core competency
of most organizations, outsourcing can free
internal resources and investment to focus on
core business competencies.

Océ White Paper

 Effective Records Management in Today’s Business Environment
Today, it is increasingly common to see record
management staff working more closely with
legal counsel, tax, auditors, compliance officers,
and IT personnel to assure that records are
preemptively identified, located, organized, and
preserved before a crisis occurs. Organizations
that anticipate impending litigation now are
considered responsible for preserving records,
even before receiving pending litigation hold
orders from courts. Destruction of evidence in
advance of court appearances can be considered
a federal crime as many discovered during the
Arthur Andersen case. New Sarbanes-Oxley
and other legislation often specify “working
papers” and other forms of records such as
financial reports that must be created with
sufficiently rigorous “chain-of-custody.” This is
evident in auditable internal workflow processes
so that executives can demonstrate they have
appropriate level oversight of the activities they
manage. Bernard Ebbers, former WorldCom
CEO, found this to be true when he was
convicted of multiple counts of fraud, despite
claims he was not aware of the accounting
irregularities that occurred under his oversight.
IT personnel have for many years had the
displeasure of appearing in court as witnesses
regarding the presence of e-mails on backup
tapes. Many of those e-mails could have been
discarded during the normal course of business
if a records management program committee
had been included in records retention decisions
regarding tape creation, rotation, and ablation.
Records management is both a professional
discipline and a vital business process
within an organization. Its disciplined
adherence demonstrates commitment
Records management is both a professional discipline and a vital business process
within an organization.
16
to operational excellence. The goal of a
records management program is to ensure
that high quality recordkeeping activities
and systems have integrity and reliability,
as well as that the records being managed
are authentic and accurate when preserved
over time. Historically, records management
has promoted economies and efficiencies
in operations. As modern organizations
increasingly rely on informational data and
documents, records management programs
have become strategically and tactically critical
to their ongoing operation and prosperity.
Advanced strategic planning that addresses
recordkeeping issues adds credibility and
professionalism to organizational management.
Tactically, high quality recordkeeping systems
and programs enable organizations to survive
corporate audit requirements, regulatory
compliance investigations, aggressive litigation,
and even environmental disasters. In addition,
the strategic long-range benefits of a well-run
records management program include better-
served customers, satisfied regulators, more
productive employees, and investors confident
that information assets are being well-managed.
A well-planned, comprehensively implemented
records management program is visible proof
that management expects and supports
accurate, accountable internal work processes.
In addition, a well-run and consistently
enforced records management program
clearly demonstrates that executives intend for
their organization to create reliable business
records, and to manage those records to high
professional standards, wholly in compliance
with laws and regulations.
Océ White Paper
 Effective Records Management in Today’s Business Environment 17

Why Océ Business Services improves business performance

Océ Business Services is one of the world’s
leading providers of document process
management services. The company seamlessly
integrates technology, processes and people
to manage document assets throughout their
lifespan of value.
Océ solutions span print and copy
management, fleet management,
comprehensive mail services, imaging, records
management, and professional document
assessment services. Advanced business
performance management software and
benchmarking tools support document best
practices and innovation for the future. Today,
a workforce of more than 8,000 professionals
serves its clients in North America and Europe.
Océ outsourcing solutions help organizations
reduce and control costs, increase
productivity, manage document risk and
enhance business performance.

Océ White Paper

 Advancing document process management to a higher level

Océ Business Services is a leading international provider of document process

outsourcing services and technology to businesses and the public sector. We improve
and manage non-core yet critical document processes to enable organizations to
reduce costs, increase efficiency, mitigate risk and improve operational performance.
Our solutions span the document lifecycle from creation through disposal, including
business records, eDiscovery, imaging, print and mail management. Proprietary service
delivery methodologies apply Six Sigma to improve results. ®

Records
Management

Océ Business Services

460 West 34th Street, New York, NY 10001
info@obs-innovation.com
1-888-623-2668
Advancing
www.obs-innovation.com
to a Higher Level

© 2009 Océ. Océ is a registered trademark of Océ-Technologies B.V. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. OBS-07-09