{mosgoogle}Who Should Keep It?

Unnecessary duplication is a big factor in poorly managed information. Not only does it take up unnecessary space, it creates unnecessary risk. If you have multiple copies of the same document, how can you be sure the document you are retrieving days, weeks, months or even years later, is the correct one?

A simple first step to solving the problem is implementing "The Originator's Rule?" which simply states: "Whoever generates a document is responsible for its retention." Instead of five people on a committee filing minutes, one person should be responsible for the master file. Other people can choose to keep a copy, but will not do so by default because they are afraid to throw it away.

Every company with computers has an information systems person. While many companies have a person in charge of records retention, they are often brought into the picture only after the files are full, or the information is no longer used on a regular basis. Why not have someone in charge of making and implementing decisions about current information?

Digging through someone's paper piles or frantically searching a hard-drive for a desperately needed document is a horrible waste of time and immense producer of stress. It is essential to create a system so that when someone does leaves suddenly, the company is not left in jeopardy.

How Long Do We Keep It?

One of the big advantages of electronic storage can become a disadvantage, as Bill Gates learned when he was called to account for messages sent to his e-mail box years previously. The issue of how long to keep personal information, such as bank statements and expired insurance policies, triggered the first edition of Taming the Paper Tiger in 1988. I quickly learned that most businesses faced the same dilemma. Employees are scared to throw anything away, because the boss might ask for it, and many bosses were afraid, or don't take the time, to make a decision about records retention. Even when they do, the decision often breaks down in the implementation.

Ask any 100 employees, "If you had the time, do you know there are things in your files you could comfortably toss?" Ninety- nine would answer, "Yes," but who goes to work and says "Well, I don't have anything better to do today. I think I'll clean out the files!" And if they do, quite likely someone will say, "We've got to finish that proposal! What are you doing?"

Through the years I've seen company after company faced with a problem of hundreds and even thousands of boxes of "archives" in storage rooms or off-site locations. When management finally realizes the cost and the risk, they decide they have to do something. By then, the people who created the paper are long gone, and current employees have little energy for making decisions about something that doesn't affect their ability to leave work at 5:30.