Learn how to set up a records management plan or your government office.
In any office environment, record management can get out of hand if not kept in check. Keeping records can be a tall task when it comes to organization, access, and even protection. In a government office, there are plenty of factors to keep in mind, including multi-tiered records that can span municipalities, counties, or even state records. But there are plenty of rules of thumb and data management tips that can help you implement an effective records management plan to suit all your needs. Here are some tips for setting up a records management plan for your government office.
Take Complete Inventory
The first step to setting up a new records management plan is to take a complete inventory of your records. This includes paper documents as well as digitally managed records. This step can get messy, and depending on your previous records management system, you can wind up going through years of documents that are no longer useful to your office. But taking a thorough inventory will help you establish what records are essential for your office, where they are stored, and what you are responsible for.
Establish Record Keeping Procedures
Once you have a better idea of the records you are responsible for, you can implement guidelines for managing those records. Make sure your guidelines are always clear, and you clearly assign record management responsibility to established roles to prevent records from getting out of hand in the future.
Create a Master Document
A master document that lines out your records management plan will be useful for years to come. This will help you keep documents organized according to your new records management procedures. It is also a good way to clearly outline who is responsible for which record types, and is useful for outlining how long you need to keep each record type. This will help keep your office from becoming cluttered with documents that aren’t useful.
Clean Out Records that are No Longer Useful
Once you know how long you have to keep certain record types, you can file through your records and dispose of anything that is no longer useful. Be sure to shred sensitive documents to prevent privacy, and always back up important documents by scanning them for digital management. This will help you minimize paper clutter and keep secure copies of documents for easy access in the future.
About Micro Records
Due to our companies outstanding 2017 sales, Digitech Systems has selected Micro Records Company as A 2018 Gold Star Partner! Micro Records can help your business transition to a paperless way of life with quality e-forms and technology. For more information about how we can help your business utilize proactive monitoring, transition to doing things digitally, get rid of sensitive documents securely or benefit from new technology solutions, visit us online or give us a call at (877) 410-SCAN. For more tips on transitioning your business to paperless technology and going green, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Flickr.