The Importance Of Records Management Within Electronic Document Management
The answer for this question within document management is easy: “A document becomes a record when the description of the document’s content can be found on the company’s official records retention schedule.” To be more exact, “A original document becomes an official record when the content of a document matches phrases on the company’s official records retention schedule.” Note that a copy of an official record is called an unofficial record.
Pay your attention to the words, “original,” “official,” and “copy.” Ah, for the tough decisions of a records manager. Now you can begin to see the challenges of being a records manager. For instance, if the official record (original) is deleted, the copy becomes the official record and must be properly protected and saved. But what if the original is deleted and there were 10 copies produced. One of those 10 copies is the original, but which one? In the ideal situation, the records manager keeps track of all electronic and physical documents. Ideally, the records manager should be able to get in touch with those individuals that own known copies when the original is destroyed.
Sounds difficult? Yes, it is. And I know of no records manager who has ever been able to successfully follow the paper trial of a document from making to use and to disposition. Now it is possible to control these documents and records tightly if the records manager has a huge staff, if the company is small, and if the funds are not restricted.
Is there option to declare a document a record within document management? Of course, a plenty of people will call a document a record when the content has legal, fiscal, operational, historical, or business value, but this is too obscure for me. With this method, too many records managers tend to declare all documents as records and be done with it. And lo and behold, now you know why there are often thousands upon thousands “extra” records being stored offsite or even onsite. You may ask why? Because now when the file cabinets become full, all documents, records, and unofficial records are kept offsite. If you agree with the first variant that a document is only considered a record when it can be found on the records retention schedule, then the only record that must concern you is the official document. All others must be given a short life and deleted.
So, in document management documents only become records when they meet two key demands: (1) content matches descriptions on the company’s official records retention schedule; and (2) the documents are originals. All other different documents are copies and should be destroyed when they are no longer referenced frequently.