Corporate record retention policy management

Know your obligations. Show compliance.

At the bottom of your physical file cabinet, or deep in the first-ever digital folders, there is outdated information that your company no longer requires. These old files are taking up space, are expensive to store and may be opening your business to legal liability.

Your company needs a record retention policy, a system that manages the lifecycle of each piece of data from its creation, through its use and to its deletion. With an effective corporate record retention policy management system, the data flows in your organisation go from bottlenecked to streamlined.

Iron Mountain’s retention policy management system tracks each stage of data usage, and implements plans and processes to ensure order and prevent chaos.

The importance of having a retention policy

Data gathering, use and deletion are highly regulated, controlled processes on a large scale. And within your organisation, managing records can make the difference between productivity and inefficiency.

To do so, digital and physical information lifecycles require a records retention schedule. A record retention policy is the plan that dictates how long documents are allowed to be kept according to governmental and industrial regulations. This program maintains data order and consistency, complying with local, state and federal regulations as well as aligning with inter-organisational standards.

Laws like the Australian Privacy Act 1988 that set the retention period and schedule for document retention elevate the importance of managing privacy and data retention together. The accurate and streamlined management and disposal of personally identifiable information (PII) in an overarching management policy will handle system pressures, protection and cut out human error.

Attempting to comply with retention rules and privacy obligations pose a serious business challenge. Iron Mountain has the solution. Iron Mountain’s Policy Centre Enterprise Edition coupled with our Policy Centre Professional Edition can make this easy with an overarching view of all obligations on a cloud-based management system aided by professional advisors.

Combing privacy management and record retention

The management of information retention must address the ever-present importance of privacy. Many organisations are handling documentation that deals with personal data, and data leaks are a surefire way to lose client confidence and brand reputation.

Record retention management and privacy safeguards rely on each other, as data retention policies can assure the safety of valuable information. Implementing record retention management in accordance with privacy concerns ensures the safe intake of private information, its secure storage and eventually its complete disposal.

Iron mountain’s Policy Centre Enterprise Edition ensures expert guidance on changing regulations and privacy needs in accordance with your company’s own customised data retention schedule.

Privacy concerns

When documentation is left unattended in an unorganised system it is at risk of being forgotten, exposed or simply misplaced.

Without record retention systems that track documents from origination, through its life and to deletion, customer information and other valued documents, physical or otherwise, aren’t safe. A retention schedule that lines up with retention policies will organise information flows, and protect information.

On top of saving a company storage costs, data retention management strategies will safeguard your organisation from being at risk of losing precious information.