Records management may seem like a mundane task that just helps organize your physical or digital files and folders for future retrieval. However, have you considered the repercussions of not doing this right? Whether it is a compliance issue or a security breach, sometimes a single piece of paper may have the potential to prevent a public relations crisis, or a complete corporate debacle. Essentially, not producing the right document at the right time could impact your business in a number of ways, including, expensive lawsuits, hefty regulatory fines, huge negative publicity, loss of trust amongst stakeholders, customer attrition, decreased profitability, and more.

However, records management is not just about stacking papers in files or boxes and storing them in a safe deposit vault. Over time, you may build such a massive repository, that it may be impossible to identify and retrieve records, in the absence of proper classification, sorting, and coding of documents. Moreover, you may also need to be mindful of the applicable state, federal and industry-specific regulations that mandate permanent retention, or secure destruction of certain types of records. 

At Crown Information Management, we believe professional record management is a secret weapon that every business should consider adding to their arsenal. Read on to know why you may want to prioritize this activity and address a number of potential organizational risks.

Advantages of Professional Record Management Services 

For any business, managing and preserving records has a direct impact on corporate governance, risk management, and compliance. Hence, a well-executed records management program acts as a safeguard against unexpected future events. In fact, outsourcing this activity to the professionals is even better. It will not only save your business a significant amount of time, money, resources, and precious real estate, but also help you focus on your core operations, and leave this crucial activity in the hands of the experts. 

Here are a couple of the other benefits that your business will enjoy by tying up with a SOC1, NAID AAA and PCI Certified records management company, such as Crown Information Management.

• Easy Retrieval Equals Smooth Crisis Management: Whether it is audit queries, lawsuit proceedings, internal reviews, or something else, no matter what prompts the need to dig out old records, time is of the essence in all such situations. Our information management specialists help you do exactly that. We use a systematic approach towards document sorting, classification, indexing, storage, and tracking, which makes it easy to retrieve any file or record you need within short turnaround times. We are also open to adopting your internal coding methods, or help you develop a reliable and efficient document management policy.
• Compliance is Paramount:  Many industry-specific regulations, such as HIPAA, FACTA, or FERPA, have strict guidelines regarding eternal preservation, or time-based destruction of certain records. In fact, certain legislation, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act allows regulators to levy large monetary fines on businesses that alter, falsify, destroy, or cover up entries in records. Even if an employee mishandles the records, ‘vicarious liability’ holds employers accountable for the wrongful, negligent, or intentional actions of their employees. Hence, record management is not just an industry best practice, but also vital in preventing the premature destruction or accidental loss of your company’s data and information. At Crown, we not only provide a secure facility and systematic storage of your physical records, but also consult and educate business leaders and managers on various aspects of record management. This includes classification of vital and important records, and designing of record retention plans. We also help you create programs to sensitize your employees about information security risks and related protocols or best practices.

From safe storage and timely access to your business records, to discreet and secure document destruction services, at Crown Information Management, we address every stage of the record lifecycle. Count on our qualified information management professionals and skilled data destruction technicians to protect your business from potential risks.

To learn more about our record management, storage, and destruction services, call Crown Information Management at 800-979-9545. You can also contact us online to request a free quote.