GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Ensure your retention program is comprehensive, defensible and consistently enforced

Iron Mountain can help you plan, develop, and implement a Records Retention Program and a retention schedule that is grounded on solid principles and best practices. With a free Iron Mountain Risk Assessment you can quickly determine the extent to which your current program is: 

• Universal: Adopt a single records retention schedule to be applied consistently across all business units, business records and media – including both paper and electronic media.
• Defensible: Support the schedule with legal research that encompasses the federal, state and local requirements your organization is subject to.
• Up-to-date: Review and revise the schedule at least every two years to ensure your classification scheme and legal research are current.
• Email appropriate: Simplify the email classification and archiving process for employees by consolidating the available email record classes they have to choose from. Implement automated email warning systems that guide employees to manage email in compliance with retention requirements.
• Official: Clearly distinguish between records that are “official” and therefore subject to retention requirements and “convenience copies” which should be destroyed when they no longer have business value.
• Streamlined: Reduce risk and cost by periodically purging records that have exceeded their retention period and by moving inactive records to offsite storage.
• Consistently implemented: Encourage close adherence to retention policies and practices by providing initial and ongoing training to employees.