There are some 1800 citations in the United States Code of Federal Regulations and various state codes that describe the legal retention of documents. The laws of other countries are similarly complex. These descriptions are only referred to by subject. As a result, the management of information assets must meet rigorous conditions to effectively comply with legal requirements.

Retention schedules are usually associated only with the Records Management function. Furthermore, they are usually used only to identify when archived records can be destroyed.

The real challenge is to expand the role of retention schedules so they can be used to help classify and administer active records through their entire life-cycle.

Retention Management

Retention Schedules must be rigorously followed. If the documents in question have to do with pending litigation, the court will test to determine if a true schedule exists and if records are destroyed in accord with the schedule. If not, the enterprise can be charged with destroying negative records related to the case. The source of protection, and limiting exposure, lies within a disciplined record management program and enforcement of records retention policies covering all media.

Classification of records

Classification of records and documents is one of the key features of a well designed records and document management system. This is crucial if the system is going to help you to identify which records are to be kept and for how long.

The classification system should be linked to the Code of Federal Regulations so that every record and document can have a legal citation to support the classification choice. Furthermore, the classification system should identify the inherent value of the document; i.e. is the document merely Informational or is it Official.

Without such a well designed and structured "Retention Schedule/Classification" system most organizations would have little choice but to keep everything forever. This is clearly both wasteful and unmanageable. Consider the following statistics:

• Only 15% of all documents that are filed are ever retrieved.
• All but 3% of retrievals are accomplished within the first 18 months.
• Only 1% of stored records are retrieved after 3 years.

Read Special Report on Importance of Retention Scheduling