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December 2006
 DID YOU KNOW?Active files typically grow at a rate of about 25% annually. (Source: Cuadra Associates) |
In this issue:
Functional Classification: A Better Records Management Model Dear Records Manager:Everyone here at TAB would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation to all of our customers and extend our best wishes for a joyous holiday season and a very happy and healthy New Year! The cornerstone of every good Records Management program is the classification system used to organize business documents. While different companies may have different needs and structures, the fundamental principles behind how their records should be organized are the same. This month we have a feature article on the Functional Classification system, offering a detailed explanation of why this system is the only way to fully support corporate compliance and best manage your risk. No matter how good your RM program is, if people don’t follow it, all you’ve really got are binders on a shelf. To get the full participation necessary for a successful records management program, you need to start with a dynamic and engaging education process. We have a great case study for download this month on how TAB helped a leading pharmaceutical company engage participants in an enterpise-wide records management program. We would love to hear your thoughts on the newsletter. If you have any feedback, please let us know. Regards, Functional Classification: A Better Records Management Model
What Is It?A records classification is the cornerstone of any successful Records Management program, providing the basis for compliance, risk management, retention periods, security safeguards and other related issues. TAB’s methodology for organizing business records is based on functional classification. Functional records classification is perhaps best defined in relation to other approaches that have been used in Records Management. Subject-based classifications organize records according to what their content is “about,” much in the way that a library catalogue or encyclopedia index organizes reference information. An example of a subject-based category would be “safety equipment.” Fitting all records related to safety equipment, then, would mean grouping records of financial activities (purchasing, payment) with those of safety activities (monitoring, planning). Other classifications are built around the organizational structure of a company, with a major records category for each department, team or business unit. Every time departments are reorganized or responsibility for an activity is transferred between departments, there is a need to restructure the entire classification. Functional classification takes a different approach by focusing on the actual business function, activity or transaction which resulted in the record being created or received in the first place. Questions like “What is the record about? “or “Who created the record?” are of little use here. Functional classification asks the more pointed question, “What were you doing when you created the record?” PracticalityA records classification that is built exclusively around business functions, activities and transactions makes for a simpler, easier to apply structure. Depending on the size of your company, you may have several departments engaged in the same activity. A functional classification lists that activity as a single category, as opposed to repeating the category for every department which engages in it. Fewer categories means less time locating a given record. There is also less need for updating, as business activities usually remain unchanged even after a corporate reorganization. International StandardsISO 15489 is the international standard for Records Management. This two-part policy and procedural framework includes a requirement to classify records “based on an analysis of the organization’s business activities.” This is the essence of functional records classification. As with other standards published by the International Organization for Standardization, compliance with ISO 15489 goes a long way in demonstrating overall due diligence and supporting compliance with other requirements, such as those discussed below. Litigation and Risk ManagementThe functional approach to records classification better reflects the reason why companies keep records in the first place. Any record is legal evidence of a particular business function, activity or transaction. By better establishing the link between records and activities, functional classification makes it easier to maintain and locate the evidence needed to defend those activities in the event of litigation or other legal proceedings. The functional approach also better supports compliance with legal and regulatory rules for retaining records. There is virtually no law or regulation which deals exclusively with the question of how long to keep records. Instead, retention rules appear either directly or implicitly as part of some broader-based law or regulation governing a given business function or activity. Even where a law or regulation names a specific record type, that record is defined in terms of the broader function or activity, just as they are in a functional records classification. Returning to the example of purchasing records, we see yet again the advantage of functional classification over other approaches. Companies keep records of their purchasing activities in order to support compliance with tax laws, tendering rules, and so on. These requirements seldom if ever distinguish between the types of materials or services being purchased (i.e. the subject of the records), nor do the requirements change if responsibility for purchasing is transferred to another department. The functional approach is to focus on the purchasing activity itself, ensuring that evidence of that activity is kept for as long as needed. Privacy Laws & CompliancePrivacy laws like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) set specific requirements as to how companies handle and keep personal information. Many of the features unique to functional records classification respond directly to these rules. Companies must now identify the purposes for which personal information is collected, then ensure that information is only used, disclosed or retained as long as needed to meet those same purposes. By categorizing records according to authorized business activities which they support, a functional classification provides the essential categories for determining privacy-compliant access privileges, records retention periods and security levels. Sarbanes-OxleyThe Sarbanes-Oxley Act increases the accountability of executives for their companies’ statements and reports, as well as setting harsh penalties for non-compliance. A functional records classification reflects this renewed commitment on corporate accountability by first identifying the activities for which companies are accountable, then managing how activities are documented. Where appropriate, functional records categories can be mapped to accountable departments, as well as to levels of security that protect against threats to the integrity or accuracy of information. Even more importantly, by organizing and protecting corporate information according to an ISO-compliant methodology, a functional records classification demonstrates due diligence and support the reasonable assumption by executives that information is reliable and accurate. A Better WayFunctional classification is not the only way to organize records, but in TAB’s view, it is the only Records Management model which fully supports corporate compliance and best manages risk. By focusing on the business context in which records are created or received, this versatile approach better reflects the role of records in general and the more detailed requirements facing today’s businesses. Case Study: Janssen-Ortho - Learn How To Get Full Participation
Not getting full participation in your RM program? Rolling out a new program? Getting buy-in from front line users is an ongoing challenge for Records Managers everywhere. At TAB, we’ve discovered that an education process that engages people while teaching them is the key. You have to make it relevant and fun if are going to retain and follow the information they are given. To do this, you’ve got to understand not only the goals of the particular RM program but the organization’s culture as well. You’ve got to speak to front-line personnel in their language. We’ve taken these essential components and turned them into an educational methodology which TAB has applied at many companies and organizations across Canada, perhaps most successfully at Janssen-Ortho. TAB had worked with Janssen-Ortho to develop the classification and retention system used by their regulatory group. When they decided to take this system enterprise-wide, Janssen-Ortho understood that the education process would be critical to the success of their project. And so they turned to TAB for help. TAB responded by designing a intensive training program that told the story of the new RM program in terms of Janssen-Ortho’s corporate culture. This included in-class sessions, demonstrations, competitions between different groups, reward for meeting targets, and on-site walk-throughs of new procedures. Read the full case study on how TAB helped Janssen-Ortho successfully roll-out the new program and address concerns around buy-in. Need RM training for your staff? Get TAB Certified with the TAB Academy!
Go To School On ItThe field of Records Management is constantly evolving. New issues and challenges continually emerge, and without the right resources it isn’t always possible to keep up with the skills and learning required to address them. But gaps in RM knowledge can be costly. Created from TAB’s deep experience and knowledge, the TAB Academy will bring Records Management personnel, at any level, to where they need to be. With the right training in place, the risk from mismanaged records is significantly reduced, leaving you to concentrate on your core business.Flexible, Focused LearningThe TAB Academy is designed to work in today’s corporate training environment. Pick and choose from our list of courses depending on your immediate requirements, or take the entire course syllabus for full TAB Certification. Courses may be taken on site at your company or at TAB’s facilities. And because every business is different, the TAB Academy can tailor the content of our offerings to fit your business processes.Get TAB Certified!Assessing and filling knowledge gaps is essential for maintaining good RM practices. With the right training, Records Management staff become an invaluable asset to any operation. The TAB Academy specializes in delivering concentrated knowledge where it is needed in your organization. TAB Certified staff will have the skills to provide the Records Management support your business process require.Visit www.tab.com/Services/TABAcademy.aspx for more information on how TAB Academy can help you get the training you need. New E-discovery Rules: What the Lawyers are SayingSince the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended to provide consistent ground rules for parties dealing with Electronically Stored Information ("ESI") in discovery, there has been a lot of abstract discussion without a lot of detail on the changes themselves. Who better to give us the skinny on these changes than the lawyers themselves? A recent article in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly does just that, with an examination of the impact the ESI rule changes for the legal profession and beyond, as well as highlights of the new amendments. E-mail Management Sarbox StyleMost people are by now aware that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that all public companies retain their business records, including electronic communications, in an easy to access location. There is still a lot of confusion, however, over what exactly the act covers, or how best to comply with it. A recent article in the Sarbanes Oxley Compliance Journal address this, detailing the how, what and why of electronic communication archiving. You Don't Have to Be Big to go DigitalFor many people, the perception is that converting paper documents into electronic files is the preserve of big companies with big budgets. But smaller organizations have the same storage issues as bigger companies, and for Tamarak City Area School Board , the space saving potential and the organizational efficiencies of going digital are more than enough to justify converting their records from paper to electronic.
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