Good Governance:

Maintaining consumer and shareholder trust.  A retention schedule helps achieve this goal by providing evidence that  companies recognise and follow the laws in which it operates. The length of time it retains records is based on what, if anything, is stated by law and secondarily, by business needs.

A good records management policy requires employees to review their records against the retention schedule. This can further be supported by records management questions included in self-assessments and internal control audits.  Record review days and documenting the results, are necessary for the assessments and audits. In another governance role, the records management staff, should have a good working partnership with  legal and tax groups litigation and revenue processes to help identify, locate and secure needed records.

A good records management policy ensurs the right information is available at the right time, in the right place to make smart business decisions. The Records Management Department at Proctor and Gamble redesigned the system that manages P & G’s laboratory notebooks, which are critical in supporting patents and the reapplication of gained knowledge. The result was the growth of a handful of sites globally and a few thousand notebooks to 17 sites globally to 100,000 notebooks. Timely access to these records supports the research and decision- making process involved in the creation of new and improved products, enabling the company to get them to the market place quicker and therefore be more competitive.

It makes companies more efficient and helps keep costs low.  Companies who make existing knowledge available for reapplication by its employees, avoid the expense of recreating this knowledge. Each day saved in launching a new or improved product or reducing internal cost allows products to be priced more effectively.