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 DID YOU KNOW?Nearly two-thirds of managers surveyed believe poor information management is reducing productivity by 29 per cent. Source: Capgemini |
March 2008: In this issue
Dear Records Manager,As environmental issues garner more and more public attention, many organizations are discovering first-hand that good environmental practices are good for business. From the cost savings associated with resource conservation to increased consumer and shareholder confidence, proactive steps to protect the natural environment can directly translate into an improved bottom line. With this in mind, this month we bring you some helpful tips on how you can make your RM program more environmentally friendly. This month we've also got an article on how you should incorporate records management into your organization's business continuity planning. Planning for emergencies has become a must for businesses that want to survive whatever man or nature throws at them, and protecting your vital records is a critical part of this. Your feedback is important to us, so if you have any thoughts on this or any other issue, please let us know! Regards, 1. TAB RM Resources: Tips for a Green RM Program
It just makes sense today to develop an environmentally sound records management program that manages paper, electronic and other media across each phase of their life cycle. This valuable resource will help you get there. You'll get tips on:
Click here to start greening your RM Program! 2. The Results Are In! Your Top 5 2008 Records Management Challenges
Our focus is on helping you solve your biggest records management challenges. We'll be tackling all these issues in OnRecord over the next twelve months. Focus on…Records Retention: what is your biggest records retention challenge? Scheduling? On or offsite records? Incorporating electronic records? Submit your challenges here and one of our experts will provide some insights in the June issue. 3. Protecting Your Vital Information: Business Continuity and RM
What is business continuity planning? Essentially BCP means developing and implementing policies and procedures that will allow your business to quickly respond to any event so that normal operations can continue through whatever kind of emergency you face. For a business to recover quickly from a disaster, it must be able to have access to all essential records and databases. Without that access, you can't run your business. You wouldn't be able to implement your emergency plan, for a start. It becomes difficult to effectively serve your customers and create product. And if your records are destroyed, how will you collect payments, enforce contracts, or defend yourself in court? For these reasons it is absolutely critical that any BCP should include a comprehensive plan to protect your business-critical information. This component of business continuity planning is often referred to as a vital records program, or VRP. What is a Vital Records Program? VRP is often the first step in the emergency-planning process and is meant to ensure that your critical information remains available during any event in which vital documents or data may be destroyed, lost or unavailable. This includes developing policies, plans and procedures for:
Your program should form an integral part of your organizations records management activities for records in paper, electronic or other formats. Done correctly, your VRP will ensure that the right information is created, collected, organized, stored and disposed of in accordance with all applicable regulations as well as your own internal needs. Key Elements in developing your plan Risk Assessment Identifying and assessing the specific risks to your vital records is the first step in developing your VRP strategy. You need to look at threats in terms of the probability of an incident occurring, and likely impact if it does, including the costs of recovery. The risk assessment process should include:
During this process, you should be aware of temporary increases in risk, such as extreme weather conditions, construction and contractors on site and so on. And remember to review your risk assessment bi-annually, refining the plan according to any reported incidents and changed circumstances. What is vital? The most critical part in developing your VRP strategy is identifying which of your records are essential to the function of your operation. Clear selection criteria will be needed, based on the understanding that the records identified must be vital to continuing business functions, rather than simply desirable. You can distinguish between the two by determining which records, if they were destroyed or unavailable, would constitute an unacceptable risk to your business. You should pay particular attention to records, data and collections that:
What constitutes a vital record varies from business to business, but some general examples of vital records include:
Naturally, those records that address possible emergency situations are vital, such as your business continuity plans, information systems security plans, lists of key personnel and emergency contact lists and facility blueprints. Next steps: records duplication, storage and protection Once you have identified the risks and the vital records, you can then begin to develop the rest of your VRP. Using the information from the first two steps, you can determine which, if any, records should be duplicated, and the appropriate storage and protection solutions for your vital records collection. For tips on how to protect and store your paper records, see our best practices piece on the subject. TAB can help you identify and protect vital records TAB's Vital Records Identification and Protection planning ensures that you will be able to access essential information in the face of disaster. Working together, we analyze your records, identify which ones are vital, and then develop and implement solutions to protect these records and mitigate your exposure to risk. Analyze, plan and implement The process starts with a detailed analysis of how you currently use, store, and access your vital records. We examine current practices, document types and uses, storage methods, existing policies and procedures, regulatory requirements and most importantly the needs of your organization. TAB then develops a strategic plan that will provide your organization with a complete vital records protection framework. We provide recommendations, priorities and will even implement the solution for you. Manage your risk The TAB vital records protection program outlines everything from duplication and dispersal requirements, through to storage and access restrictions to protect your vital records. In the event of a disaster you'll be able to access your vital records to get back to normal business sooner. For more information on how TAB can help you protect your vital records, call 1-800-417-8010 or complete our response form. 4. Feel Good Files: Environmentally Friendly FORTIfile
While fully laminated products from competitors use a polypropylene, which is not recyclable or biodegradable, FORTIfileproducts are made with eternafilm, an environmentally friendly and biodegradable reinforcement film. This makes every FORTIfile product fully recyclable for environmental piece of mind. This commitment to the environment has been recognized as meeting the EN 13432 standard for biodegradability/compostability. Titled "Requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation", this standard is equivalent to the ASTM D-6400. You can read the details of the standard here. At TAB, we are very proud to be able to offer our environmentally conscious customers a product that they can be comfortable using. FORTIfile: not only is it the best folder out there, it can help you reach your environmental initiatives! For more information on the complete FORTIfile line, click here. 5. News: Poor Information Management Costs Millions a YearA recent study by Capgemini has revealed that a failure to properly manage and exploit information is leading managers to make decisions without seeing the full picture. This in turn is leading to financial losses and increased operational costs. Get further details of the study, including a suggestion from the author that the answer lies in treating information as a corporate asset. 6. News: E-mail Management Myth: Archiving and Back Ups = RMWith high profile discovery cases highlighting the need to manage
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Good environmental practices are good for business, and your RM program is no exception.
In a past issue of 
If disaster struck, would your organization survive? How long would it take you to get back into business? Whether manmade or natural, there are a wide range of events that can put your business in jeopardy, and you must have a business continuity plan to prevent interruptions to your functions, or risk losing everything. And in order for your plan to be effective, it needs to contain a strategy for protecting your organization's information.
At a time when protecting the environment and meeting environmental initiatives is a priority, many of our customers are reassured by the fact that FORTIfile products are environmentally friendly.