Tips for Managing Electronic and Paper Files in the Hybrid Environment

Are you finding managing electronic and paper records in the same environment to be a challenge? Do you have difficulty imposing control and enforcing requirements where both formats compete for official record status?

You aren't the only one. For many of us, the increasing emphasis on electronic records combined with the continued growth of paper files is creating a "two-headed" beast that presents new records management difficulties.

To help you, we've put together five excellent and comprehensive tips to help you handle the challenges of the hybrid environment. If applied as part of a comprehensive records management solution, the techniques and tools discussed here can help your organization thrive in both the paper and electronic worlds, bringing the two together in one value add for your organization's business.

Tips include:

• Correctly identifying your files
• Establishing central control over the records life cycle using:
  • functional records classification
  • indexing and retrieval systems
  • file numbering schemes
  • centralized paper filing
  • electronic records management systems
• Identifying the official record
• Purging non-records
• Choosing conversion options

This is an invaluable resource for anyone faced with the challenges of a multi-format records environment, and you can download it here.