How do you plan and execute a records disposition process that minimizes risks and costs?

Most organizations are months and sometimes years late on their disposition. Especially with electronic records. Just catching up... It will go a long way.

One of the big things here is the un-commingling of files that have different disposition schedules. This is a very labor intensive task. Then the key is to make a better process moving forward. I feel the digitizing of records will be a huge future component for success.

Pour une entreprise telle que la notre, qui s'est engagé il ya moins d'une année dans le processus de dématérialisation et d'élimination, le défis est grand. Inventorier la documentation dont la DUA est atteinte ensuite passer à la numerisation et procéder à une élimination par tonne tout en respectant les règles et principes édictés en la matières

What Jen Hill Sullivan is true. However for those files not co-mingled proceed with the destruction. We have found it helpful to run the disposition process thru the records management program and push boxes eligible to the business records managers for approvals. Once approved work with the offsite vendor to destroy.

Highly recommend using a NAID certified service organization to destroy documents and media securely. Chain-of-custody, certificates of destruction, and third-party audits are major features.

Je pense que la méthode la plus efficace dans la destruction des documents est l'incinération vu sa procédure et son efficacité dans la sécurisation des informations confidentielles qu'elle protège.

Keep a secure back-up of your purge reports in CSV format. Keep them all together and well organized. You don't ever want to lose them, or have them locked within a vendors system. That's how you get Vendor Lock-In. Remember, without purge reports, nothing is defensible.

La production d'un rapport qui retrace l'ensemble des actions entreprise depuis l'inventaire, la numerisation, la sélection et l'élimination des documents. Toutes fois il faudrait aussi faire ressortir l'ensemble du processus, et les parties prenantes.

Data doubles every 2 years. Completely stopping this growth, that's your ultimate goal. It's unachievable, but the closer you get to it, the more defensible your organization will be as a whole. The more data you have, the more risk you carry. And there is no reason for your data to grow that fast.

I agree, we should always ensure that we are looking for new ways to renovate current systems to make them better than the condition that we found them in.

Excellent points. I would add that the retention schedule is a key element. A schedule should not only take into account records found on formal schedules but records not specifically included in schedules but which may fall under prudent man" or best practices to make sure your schedule is as inclusive as possible. Also, stakeholder knowledge of schedule, process and practice is important but so also is formal adoption but whatever governing bodies apply with the caveat that the retention schedule, policies and practices are subject to change as regulatory, legal, or other factors impact a retention and disposition program.

Would a paranoid judge buy it? That's the definition of defensibility. Try to delete as aggresively as possible while following that definition. That's how you minimize risk and costs.

Great points. I would add that another level of approval for disposal is given by the top most decision making organ of an organization so as to seal decisions for disposal made by other Stakeholders. This ensures that there is high level of accountability especially to records that are destroyed completely!