Compliance

Records Management Policies

Policies are the most important feature of a records management because they steer the program from top to bottom. The most important policy rests on the retention features of the program: how long to keep each records series (typical records, vital records, archival records, and records that support compliance with federal and state laws and regulations). IMA is very experienced in developing records management policies,

Records Retention Schedules

These are important internally published statements which name each records series, cite the laws and regulations that control its retention length, state the length of time the record is maintained in the office of origin, then retained in the records center (or media vault), and if it is vital or archival.   As agreed to by management, the schedules govern the lifetime of the noted records. Creating retention schedules is an IMA strong suite.

Privacy

Records, as maintained, can either shore up privacy or reduce it. Multi-level restricting of access to records is easily accomplished and can protect the privacy rights of employees, customers, and suppliers. Protection of records is increasingly important in stopping data breaches and privacy invasions. IMA can identify your privacy sensitive records and create an organization specific policy.

Litigation/Audit Support

Changes in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Rule 502) have made document discovery more stressful and expensive than before.  Mangers of modern companies need to understand the processes needed to protect electronically stored  information and what is reasonably or unreasonably  accessible, and forms of document destruction. Records managers must also keep records optimally retrievable for adverse actions, such as litigation and audit. IMA can reduce stress here.