I promised to provide feedback to the group re cost-justification for RIM  
programs (in addition to the obvious). 
 
I received one reply from the Listserve (the Andolson material received  from 
Tony Laino of TAB - attached).
 
I also received info (not from the ListServ) from Greg Bartels and  Eric 
Labiak of Imaging Processing Systems, Inc. (IPS) - including  the Price Waterhouse 
Coopers, AIIM and the  client cited imaging  specific benefits portions below.
 
Following is information that I prepared for a client.  It doesn't include 
Andolson material, which I received after preparing  it. I gave attribution to 
IPS for their portions of the material. 
 
I hope this is useful. I also hope that the bullets and text format  properly 
in this transmission.

All the best,
 
Susan

Susan K. Goodman, MLS, CRM
Senior Consultant and Project  Manager
Records Improvement Institute, LLC (RII)
23 Oakland  Avenue
Mount Vernon, NY  10552
[log in to unmask]
914-664-4021

Cost  Justification for Developing the X's Records Management Program

.       Price Waterhouse Coopers performed a  study that found professionals 
spend 5-15% of their time reading information,  but up to 50% of their time 
looking for information.  In addition the  average organization:

-          makes 19 copies of  each document
-          spends  $20 in labor to file each  document
-          spends $120  in labor searching for misfiled  documents
-          loses 1 out  of every 20 documents
-           spends 25 hours recreating each lost  document
-          spends   400 hours per year searching for lost files

·          A well established  records management program would enable X to 
make the most efficient and  cost-effective use of financial resources related 
to its information resources,  satisfying Board of Governors and stewardship 
accountability  requirements.

·          Managing records  responsibly is good business practice that 
enables compliance with all business  and regulatory requirements. Good business 
practice enhances credibility and  accountability related to donated funds. 

·          X wants to move to  an electronic records environment to promote 
efficiencies and  cost-effectiveness. In order to maintain records 
electronically, the  organization must be able to prove that the records are authentic, 
reliable,  complete, final and unchangeable (among other attributes). Work needs 
to be done  to ensure that electronic records in native formats, and 
electronic documents  created by digitizing paper records, meet necessary criteria for 
records and  record-keeping.

·          Part of the mission  of X is disaster response. X itself needs to 
have a strategy for maintaining  operations in the event of a disaster. Part 
of this strategy should be a vital  records protection plan that will enable it 
to fulfill its mission during  recovery response. 

·          When records are  maintained and disposed of per retention 
schedule, it is easier to find records  for audit, ongoing operational and community 
response and historic  purposes.  

·          Appropriate  disposition (per retention schedule) of obsolete 
records ensures that equipment,  supplies and human resources are only used to 
manage needed records. It also  means that records that remain can be more easily 
found. 

·          Records management  often uses the 30/30/30 rule: When new 
schedules are applied to records,  approximately 30% of the records will remain 
onsite as active records, 30% will  be sent offsite and 30% will be destroyed. 
Often, a large percentage of records  stored offsite can be destroyed. Depending 
upon the volumes of records, the  cost-avoidance and savings can be 
significant. 

·          With a pending move  to a new location, it makes sense to “get the 
house in order” from a records  point of view – sending all inactive records 
offsite and destroying records that  can be destroyed before the move. This 
eliminates the costs of moving records to  the new location, provides for the 
efficient use of space in the new facility  (i.e., freeing up space that could 
be used for other purposes), and then moving  inactive records from the new 
location, offsite.       

·          In electronic  systems, records are frequently broadly 
distributed. This often results in  multiple copies of documents with no formal 
accountability for the official  version. A retention schedule that denotes the Office 
of Record and retention  periods enables duplicate records to be appropriately 
destroyed and official  records to be protected. 

·          The use of records  classification systems that correspond to 
retention schedules ensures that  records will be described and filed (in 
paper-based and electronic systems) in a  way that enables retrieval of needed 
information, disposition of obsolete  records and protection of historic records. 

.          Document Imaging  specifically provides multiple opportunities for 
return on investment.   AIIM, our imaging industry association, summarizes 
these opportunities broadly  in their “Four Cs”: Collaboration among employees, 
Continuity of business, Cost  Reduction, and Compliance.  Clients often cite 
the following specific  imaging benefits:

-          Reduced labor for  data entry
-          Fast  information and work  processing
-          Higher  accuracy of data  entry
-          Faster access  to document  backup
-          Reduced  copying, faxing, overnight mail,  etc.
-          Reduced Audit  labor
-          Facilitation of  regulatory compliance
-           Better client service  
-          Reduced floor space  required for filing  cabinets
-          Instant  retrieval of  documents
-           Simultaneous access to  documents
-          File  integrity
-          Multiple  search  criteria
-          Occasional  physical rearrangement of files  avoided
-          Elimination  of other off-site storage costs
 
 

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