Is there a rule of thumb on how long to keep emails? Is it a problem to keep them longer than is legally required? There’s a legal time limit for keeping emails?

A popular solution to the compounding accumulation of email history is the auto-delete policy. While it’s possible this kind of policy can be executed correctly, it’s also possible that in the case of a lawsuit against the organization, it can result in claims that evidence was illegally destroyed.

It’s important to determine what the industry-specific regulation for email retention is for your business. This area of law continually evolves, so regular re-evaluation and implementation are essential.

Another favorite solution is the “keep everything forever” option. Most people don’t realize that keeping non-essential documents can hurt you. One way an old document might damage the company is if it contains sensitive information and it makes its way into the wrong hands. Another is if documentation is subpoenaed and it exists, the organization is required to produce it, even if it wasn’t legally required to have it in the first place!

In Starbucks v. ADT, it was estimated that producing email from an “old” archiving system would cost $834,285 (Starbucks Corp. V. ADT Sec. Servs., Inc., 2009 WL 4730798 W.D. Wash Apr. 30, 2009).

There’s no one policy that can work for every business. It’s in your best interest to work with an industry expert to determine the policies you need to implement in order to get that amount of email history between too much and not enough.

We’re located in the Meritex Underground facility, situated between Olathe and Overland Park. Underground facilities are known to provide the best protection against extreme weather conditions, as well as stable humidity and temperature.

Meritex  Lenexa  meets strict energy performance levels set by the U.S. EPA.

The facility also offers excellent security features.

Above, Jesse and Conan begin moving files in. At right, Jesse unloads a palette into the new space.

We can easily accommodate large stuffed bears (up to 18 ft. high), spy gear, Emmy Awards,  wax statues,  and lower portions of preserved tree trunks. Also suitable for storing documents and records.

Our  guarded, humidity and temperature controlled underground facility create an environment suitable for storing just about anything.

Every company is struggling with continually increasing amounts of information: boxes of documents, confidential financial information, old health records. We resolve these issues securely, in accordance with appropriate legislation, and environmentally responsibly.

Questions Your Company Needs to Answer

• How do we destroy paper documents that need to be kept confidential?

We offer secure shredding vehicles that collect and shred at your location, secure pick up for shredding at our monitored and protected location, or drop off at our Kansas City facility.

• How can we get rid of the mountain of paper and manage some, or all of it, digitally?
Scan-on-demand provides only the documents you need, when you need them, in digital format.
Document conversion converts a group of documents to digital format.
We are positioned to address the increased document conversion needs of the health care industry, which is required to go digital by 2014.

• What do we do with the documents we need to keep for reference, or legal reasons?
We offer expert advice on how long you need to keep information to meet legal requirements and maintain best work practices
We categorize and store boxes of documents, make it easy for you to retrieve a file, all the while keeping it safe from environmental issues, and guarded 24/7.

• How can we be more environmentally responsible?
Our company recycles everything we manage, producing almost no waste.

We lock our doors and windows at home to make us feel safe, and some of us work out to get a sense of satisfaction, but we minimize the importance of managing our paperwork. We make it “paperwork” instead of “records of our important financial information” or “identity information for our parents.”

When we hang on to information we don’t need or poorly maintain the important information, we often end up with low grade dissatisfaction.

Unknown documents with critical, confidential information stored in unknown places leaves you vulnerable and misplacement, theft, and/or misuse can lead to disaster.

The solution is to inventory and identify the information that matters most, get rid of what you can, and protect what remains.

Guidelines for managing the information most central to your life
• When getting rid of something, use a secure shredder – at home or professionally
• Off-site storage can be the safest option. Look for places that are guarded and protected against the elements
• Consider scanning documents to convert them to digital format for easier retrieval

For information about how long to keep certain kinds of records, check with your accountant and other resources, like the guidelines Life Organizers created.

In this case, the breach of security happened because of an inappropriate transportation issue….and that is directly related to a lack of appropriate oversight and security processes.

Why wasn’t anyone asking about secure transportation? Were there other issues that were overlooked as well? How secure is the building they were taking the tapes to? Is the storage area climate controlled, monitored 24/7, and appropriate for electronic media (or is someone taking the tapes to their basement)? Are the employees handling the data background and drug checked?

When this goes to trial,  questions like those above are going to be raised, in addition to many, many more. The answer to avoid is “I don’t know” because it will just open up speculation about the other aspects of records management.

What questions are asked when hiring a vendor to handle sensitive information can help put you in better control of your company’s future. With all the logistical details involved in making and maintaining a vendor relationship, it’s easy to lose sight of details like how data is transported.  Hiring organizations as well as vendors must be committed to doing the highest quality job.

The best way for organizations to do this is with a records and information management (RIM) policy that tightly governs the way their data is created, stored and accessed.

Without an enforced policy, the lifeblood of the company is at risk. With a policy in place, the best way to enforce it is by hiring vendors that are committed to quality work and show it through a long list of clients who say just that about them.

As a records management professional, one of your top priorities should be to develop and manage a records and information management program that is efficient, effective, compliant and legally defensible. In this session hear what critical elements an organization must include in its Records Management Program to accomplish this top priority.

An effective records and information management program provides storage of information that is safe from environmental (or building) disasters, legal compliance, is defensible and is an enormous asset to any organization. It provides a higher level of protection from sanctions by lowering relevant risks and increasing efficiencies, which invariably reduce operating costs.

Sanctions against organizations are at an all time high and range from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of millions. Reducing this risk is just one reason why every organization should have a good RIM practice in place. Other reasons include:

1. Protection against a facility failure, like n electrical outage, computer crash , fire, data corruption, data theft , and/or employee sabotage
2. Protection against an environmental disaster such as a tornado, hurricane, flood, earthquake or fire
3. Creation of support documentation to improve any outcomes in a court of law, which protects the organization as well as the corporate officers
4. Timely and proper storage and destruction of inactive and unneeded paper and electronic information
5. Risk reduction association with the improper management of records
6. Improvement of business process efficiencies

RIM is very much like an insurance policy that protects business knowledge and information.

Since 2008, the number of data breaches that involve personally identifiable information (P.I.I), has continued to drop. With over 800 incidents reported in 2008, the number dropped in 2010 to about 350 (according to DataLoss db). This shows us that awareness and protection is working, but is it working fast enough; and is our sensitive data being protected as well as it could be? These are great questions that are not easily answered.

The information below provides insight into the causes of data breaches, and can inform decisions on how to better protect company information.

Data breaches occur for several reasons: 1) intentional actions designed to steal information that either has or is thought to have marketable value, 2) negligence – just plain sloppy, careless work, or an organization’s unwillingness to take better care in securing its information, and 3) accidental loss.

Intentional actions usually fall into these categories:
1. Hacking
2. Employee Theft
3. Theft of Physical Equipment
4. Deception or Misrepresentation

Negligence usually result from one of the following:
1. Loss of a laptop computer or other hardware
2. Loss of data tapes
3. Unintentional exposure on the Internet
4. Improper disposal of data

The topic of “accidental loss” always generates conversation. Some say this reason should not exist at all. Others, after confessing “whoops, did I do that?” claim it’s a valid reason.
The consequences are too numerous to speak to individually here, but suffice it to say that awareness, education, process, policy and governance are key factors. It’s a good idea to Create an action plan in case of a data breach. The Federal Trade Commission’s website on “Dealing with a Data Breach” will help you think through what your plan should include.

 For over twenty years, probably more, there has been an ongoing discussion about the paperless office, or business world; and while we appear to be making some headway, there are those who maintain that we are losing the battle. One would think that with the proliferation of technology and the hand-held device that essentially presents any and all types of electronic documents that we need and use in a paper format, why in the world do we continue our use of paper? Great question, isn’t it, and oh so difficult to effectively answer? Below are some thoughts as to why we are so slow to sever our paper dependency.

Some of the Rationales

• I really don’t trust technology
• I like to spread out my papers in front of me to read, review or edit
• I have difficulty searching for, finding and retrieving electronic documents
• I don’t really know where my documents are kept when I have finished using them
• I once was unable to get an entire file because I agreed to have it only in electronic form – I’ll never do that again because I now also keep a paper version of every electronic file

These are very real and tangible reasons why the transition has been slow. There is at least a generation that is very active in our business world that has pretty much grown up independent of the use of paper. But, there are two and a half generations that are pretty much still running the business world who agree with some or all of the above noted rationales.

As time passes, we will continue to move towards the paperless business world, but don’t expect it to happen too soon, because it will not. As we find viable, sustaining solutions that address some of the rationales, our dependency upon paper will dwindle; but only then.