Records Management Spring Cleaning Tips

Spring is here, the temperature is rising, and the days are getting longer. It is the ideal time to spruce up your records management program. In this blog, we offer several records management spring cleaning tips.

Tip 1: Review Your Record Retention Schedule

A fresh start to Spring begins by reviewing your record retention policy. Make sure you are up to date with current statutory and regulatory retention guidelines. If you don’t have a record retention policy yet, it’s never too late to make one. Review your retention obligations with your attorney or consult a qualified records management provider.

Tip 2: Purge Unwanted Documents

Now is the time to get rid of unnecessary paperwork that has been piling up for months. Avoid tossing old documents in a trash or recycling bin. Identity thieves search trash receptacles for discarded personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI).

Partner with a shredding and destruction provider who offers a one-time purge solution. They can bring portable, locking collection containers to your office. Once you filled the containers with your unwanted documents, a background-screened shredding technician shreds the contents on-site with a mobile document destruction vehicle or transports them to a controlled-access shredding plant for secure destruction. Afterwards, your shredding provider gives you a Certificate of Destruction.

Tip 3: Convert Paper Records to Digital

You will need to keep your most active paper documents. Spring is an ideal time to convert them to digital files. A qualified document imaging company can help you transition to a paperless office. Their professional scanning technicians use high-speed scanners and specialized software to convert your paper records into an electronic format. Your scanned images are transferred to a web-based online image repository, allowing authorized users in your company to concurrently access, share and distribute records.

Tip 4: Invest in an Offsite Storage Solution

Inactive, archival records with important legal and financial data often must be retained for months or years. A reputable records storage provider can reduce the constraints and risks of storing your archival records on-site. They transfer your inactive documents to a records center where they are bar coded and tracked during their retention lifespan. When you need a file, your records storage provider delivers it to your office or uses their Scan on Demand solution to send a digital copy to your device.

Use these tips to freshen up your records management program this Spring.

Records Management Center provides businesses throughout Augusta, Evans, Thomson, Martinez, GA, Aiken, SC, and the Central Savannah River Area with professional shredding and destruction solutions.