Digital Spring Cleaning Tips to Keep Your Business Data Healthy

Published On March 22, 2018

It may not seem like it right now, but spring will be here before we know it. You know the drill — time to give your home a deep cleaning. You may not know that your data and records deserve the same type of attention. Digital spring cleaning is just as important as giving your home a good scrub. Healthy data can contribute to every aspect of your organization, so it’s important to ensure the data is accurate and up to date. Here’s how you can best spring-clean your data.

Just like your home, data can sometimes get out of hand. Before you know it, that small unobtrusive pile has grown into an untamable beast. Never fear, with a little organization your data can be as good as new. Start by meeting with each department, discussing key information and assessing what each team needs and its importance to the overall organization. Find out how their information is organized and set a policy that can be enforced across the organization. Once you gain an understanding of what each department has to offer, you can use the data to better serve your organization.

Do you have outdated client information? Is your CRM database full of duplicate records or inaccurate data? Having a clean and properly maintained database is vital to the success of your organization. To ensure accuracy, you should make sure your data aligns with a verified source. With properly cleaned data you can be sure your teams are working at their top efficiency and with the best information at their disposal.

Whether your data is no longer accurate or you decide it’s no longer necessary to store, you need to create a disposition plan to ensure compliance. How can you decide on a proper disposition plan for your organization? In today’s world, it’s not enough to simply shred your documents — you need more sophisticated solutions. Before choosing a proper disposal method for your business, you should take a few key things into consideration. Make sure you’re noting the number of records, cost, technique, and necessary legal and compliance standards. Organizations often choose to rely on the expertise and experience of a professional records and information management service as a secure and effective solution.

It is your organization’s responsibility to decide if a record will need to be accessed again or if the information is not important for any operational, legal, federal, state or other compliance reasons. This isn’t as simple as organizing your closet and disposing of old clothes but it’s a critical component of proper records and information management — so when you complete your digital spring cleaning, make sure you have a clear plan.

It’s critical for your organization to regularly cleanse and monitor its data — and not just in the spring months. By maintaining a closely followed data destruction and disposition plan, you can be sure your organization is successful year-round.