Steve writes:
"This topic has been covered in depth or at least multiple times in the
listserv archives- Please check there."
Sure - the list archives is a fabulous resource and I will never deny that.
I monitored the archives for a couple years prior to actually coming on as a
full subscriber. But I think when it comes to questions - albeit basic
questions - about the development of retention schedules there is always
room for more comments and input. Retention schedules are an art and if
those of us "old hands" don't share our secrets, the art will die.

Finding a good example of a general schedule could be tough, but they're out
there. Washington State has a fine example available through the Access
Washington website. Now, I would not expect you to copy it, but to learn
from it. Use it as a model. Address your internal needs (finance, tax,
technology, credit, risk management, hr, etc.). I think books and other
resources on managing law firm records are helpful, but you are wanting to
address the records that you create and retain that describe and support
your business. Hope I am making sense. I hesitate to use the term
"administrative" records because these are more than that.

If you have a good records inventory and/or a classification system you
should do alright. Retention scheduling is time consuming. I hesitate to
farm it out because it is the heartbeat of the program. If you have other
responsibilities that you can delegate, I would go that route and manage the
scheduling process yourself. You'll be able to do some auditing as you go to
improve your entire records management picture.

Rock on!
Sharon Burnett
Corporate Records Manager
Vulcan Inc.
Seattle WA

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