Records management: The complete guide

Records management is the process by which organizations generate, store, and archive physical and digital records throughout the document lifecycle in a way that supports their operational and legal needs.

Organizations that implement effective records management systems generally see improved adherence to compliance requirements, enhanced data security, and increased productivity.

What’s a Typical Document Lifecycle?

• Creation: Records and documents are created at the beginning of a project or when a new customer, client, or patient is added to the system.
• Digitization: Workers scan documents and save digital copies on company networks. Scanning software with OCR features can digitize and index text.
• Storage: Records are secured on physical drives and files, network storage, or the cloud.
• Use/Retrieval: Employees and customers will access documents for reference, to make updates, or to collaborate on larger projects.
• Archival/Disposal: Old documents are either placed in long-term storage (on- or off-site) or shredded, depending on future need or legal requirements.

What’s Better: Manual or Automated Records Management?

Generally speaking, automated records management is a better choice for most organizations. There are exceptions, but here are a few reasons why you might want to choose an automated records management system:

Efficiency: With an automated system, employees throughout your organization will spend less time storing and retrieving records and more time working with them.

Scalability: Organizations that need to create and work with hundreds or thousands of records in a workday will see more significant benefits from automated records management systems.

Security: Some organizations, like healthcare-related businesses and law offices, must adhere to strict compliance requirements. Automated records management systems may assist in tracking compliance standards across all stored files and monitoring users as they access them.

Records management vs. document management

As you research records management, you may come across a similar term: document management. The two technologies are closely related, but they’re not exactly the same.

Records management deals with how your company manages and stores files in the long term. Considerations include:

• Where to archive completed files
• How long to store records
• Who can access which records
• Your strategy for creating backups

Document management refers to how your business creates and edits active files. You’ll need to think about:

• Where to create new files
• Indexing information from scanned documents
• How coworkers can collaborate on projects
• Naming conventions for different versions

As long as you have a system for document intake and storage, you don’t need to worry too much about the fine differences between records management and document management. Just be aware that the terms aren’t 100% interchangeable.

Read more about the basics of records management in What Is an Automated Records Management System?

While every organization will have its own needs and requirements, there are several crucial features every business should look for when implementing a records management system.

Features Every Records Management System Needs

• Compliance and security: For healthcare organizations or other covered entities, storing and accessing records in accordance with HIPAA regulations is an absolute must. Even if your business doesn’t have compliance requirements, data security should be top of mind.
• Centralized Repository: Storing records within a single, centralized location makes searching and accessing records fast and easy. It also helps to ensure a single source of truth for important customer or patient records.
• Document capture and indexing: OCR can help records management systems to automatically parse information from scanned documents and sort files by content.
• Version control and audit trail: If multiple people require access to the same records, version control supports organizations in tracking who made changes and when for full accountability.

Benefits of Implementing Electronic Records Management

Optimal organization: Physical records can easily fall out of order and can often only be sorted and searched for by hand. Teams can easily organize digital records with metatags, making searching by name, department, or other essential criteria simple and efficient.

Disaster recovery: Natural disasters, theft, and other factors can cause the instant loss of crucial information. Plus, physical records degrade over time through natural exposure to the elements. Digitization helps to mitigate this risk, especially when records are stored in the cloud.

Remote sharing: Implementing an electronic records management system enables access to critical information, no matter where employees work. Facilitate international collaboration, provide remote workers access, or make it easier for on-site employees to get the information they need without leaving their desks.

Read more about crucial records management features and their benefits in The Complete Guide to Electronic Records Management (ERM).

How to Implement a Records Management System

Records management is a crucial element for maximizing the efficiency of any workplace. For many businesses, though, this element is often overlooked, with processes for creating and storing records mainly left undocumented. Here’s how you can set up a records management system for your business, along with some best practices for training staff so your team is better equipped with the tools and processes from the start.

Steps for Developing a Records Management System

1. Audit: Examine your internal processes for record intake, storage, and archival and determine where your most significant pain points are.
2. Make a list: Take inventory of all types of records and documentation your system will interact with, like employee records, patient/client records, important notes, billing information, and more. This list will help determine which elements must adhere to compliance regulations.
3. Develop policies: This will determine how your staff will move records through the document life cycle. A document management system can help automate many of these policies for you.
4. Evaluate: Regular evaluations of your systems will ensure you’re reacting to feedback and removing additional pain points as they crop up.

Some Best Practices for Training Your Records Management Team

• Lock down fundamentals: Before you develop the policies that shape your approach to records management, you should identify what your managers will be responsible for. If your managers understand the roles each document and record plays and how they can be secured, you can develop policies that codify these procedures in concrete ways for the rest of the team.
• Develop compliance culture: Compliance should be at the forefront of every decision your team makes, as the failure to do so can be costly. Teams should be aware of the methods for attaining compliance, undergo regular training to set good records management habits, and be fully aware of the consequences of neglect.
• Create a shared vocabulary: Many elements of the records management process use specialized terms, and if teams aren’t aware of this vocabulary, miscommunication is inevitable. Ensure teams have a baseline understanding of standards such as ISO 15489.

Read more about designing a records management system that ticks all your organization’s boxes in Up-Skill Your Staff With These 4 Records Management Training Best Practices.

How to Find the Right Records Management Company

If your business lacks the time, equipment, or resources to manage your own records, numerous third-party organizations can do the heavy lifting for you. In addition to records management, many businesses offer services to help scan, store, or destroy documents for you.

What Are Some Helpful Services Offered by Records Management Companies?

• Digitization: Conversion from physical documents to digital files can be a significant undertaking, especially if you have a sizable backlog of records and lack the tools to digitize them. Many records management companies will scan and digitize these records to help support compliance with the necessary regulations.
• Off-site storage: Storing physical documents over a long period of time requires a significant investment in space, as well as security and user access management for these spaces. If you need long-term, disaster-proof storage for paper archives, these companies can help.
• Shredding and disposal: Some documents must be destroyed when they’re no longer in use, and specialized services can shred large volumes of paperwork for you.

Records Management Companies to Consider

Clio is a cloud-based business management solution created specifically for law firms, solo legal practitioners, and other law-related businesses. Manage records, set rates, and get legally-binding signatures within the platform.

Hyland OnBase is a content services platform that stores, organizes, and optimizes digitized documents and records. Plus, OnBase’s Smart Folders help to point out when files are missing, so employees can confirm that they’ve been correctly scanned into the platform.

DocuWare is a document and records management tool that helps automate digital workflows. You can scan documents directly into DocuWare, where the program names them, tags them with the appropriate metadata, and helps support compliance with legal standards in a variety of industries.

Read more about developing a records management strategy for your business in How to Build a Records Management System at Your Company.