>>
Which is the best way for conducting a records inventory within the
organization?
How do you organize the details of records collected from the inventory
to establish a retention schedule?
Do you use an excel spreadsheet for collecting data? 
Which department/business unit will be involved in process of retention
schedule?

Is anyone would like to share her/his experiences about it?
Any approach will be very much appreciated.
Thank you very much in advance for your inputs.

Mitckele Okemi
Records Coordinator
Alfawasserman, Inc. 
Bloomsbury, New Jersey
<<

Mitckele,

Entire books can be written on the answers to your questions. I am
pasting below the text of a handout I give out when I give talks on the
subject of developing a retention schedule. Most importantly, it gives
the citations of two records management "classic" books you should read.


Handout Text follows:

Book Citation: Robek, Brown: Records and Information Management - "A
timetable that identifies the length of time a record must be retained
in active and inactive  status before final disposition." P. 570

DEVELOPING A RECORDS RETENTION SCHEDULE

1.  Preliminary Steps

The preliminary steps to starting a records scheduling project are the
initial steps in starting the organization's Records Management Program
itself: 

*	Obtaining Top Management Authorization for the RIM Program, and 
*	Establishing a Records Committee including a representative from
every department. 

2.  Project Plan/Project Planning

What is the Plan?

1.	Information & data gathering
2.	Retention Schedule drafting, review, & revise
3.	Approval by department heads. Adoption by organization.
4.	Schedule implementation and staff training.

Should write out a formal plan;  may have to present it  to management:

*	Staffing   - textbooks say: "Determine the staff you'll need."
If you're a consultant, then you can do this. If you're a new hire
records manager, you'll take what the company has to offer.
*	Schedule - based on number of departments, locations, and your
staff
*	Budget - based on your estimated schedule, staffing, and
materials 
*	Process - combine all of the above into an organized description
that includes your strategy and methods

I would not recommend estimating a schedule or budget until you've done
some type of preliminary review or walkthrough

An equally important part of planning your project is
coordinating/communicating with the department heads. Schedule
interviews with the department heads. Depending on the size of the
organization, you might also schedule a short presentation to the
department's personnel. You need to do some sort of introduction to
staff. (It's not a good idea to walk into a department unheralded and
announce you're here to look at their records!)


IMPLEMENTATION

1.  Information & Data Gathering

A "Top Down" Process

        Organization-wide information - Obtain the company's mission
statement, products/services information, and organizational chart. You
have to understand the big picture of what the organization does and is.

        Interviews -- Alternate interviewing records users and
inventorying records until you have a complete picture of all
departments in the organization, their operations, and the records and
information they use.

First, do  a Level I Interview with the department head - focuses on
operations, not records. What do they do and how do they do it? How do
they interact with other departments? What government agencies or
industry organizations or standards govern what they do?

Then inventory the department's records. 

After the records inventory is finished, do a Level II Interview that
focuses on the records and their value to the department and
organization. How long does that value last? How are they used when
active?  Some sense of workflow or document flow. What are they
referenced for after they become inactive? How long does this reference
last?

        Inventories - It is best to use an Inventory Form - one per
record series. Inventory all records in all formats. Make sure your
inventory form accommodates all types of records. The form should
include

Date Inventoried 
Office maintaining the files, w/contact info
Person conducting the inventory
Record Series Title'
Record Series Dates
Record Series Location
Record Series Description - Not just content. Have room in this block
for the answers to your Level II interview questions.
Medium
Arrangement 
Volume
Annual Accumulation
Function that creates them governed by:
Audited? By whom? How often?

You must inventory electronic records. "The characteristics of an
organization's records cannot be determined by intuition or anecdotal
evidence; empirical methods are necessary." Source of quote: Book
Citation: David O. Stephens, Managing Electronic Records.

Some systems or programs are task-specific or department-specific, even
though they cross departmental lines. Ex: An automated accounting system
where everyone enters their time. Other systems or programs may show up
in every department used for their own purposes: word processing,
spreadsheets. Email.

Once your regular inventory is done, you might come at the whole thing
again from the other side: Inventory all of the systems and software
programs in the organization. Then put the two together.

To review: the sequence I use is: Firm-wide info, Level I Interviews,
records inventory, level II Interviews.

Researching Governing Entities - This is usually called "legal
research." It includes laws - federal, state, local statutes. Also, any
related statutes of limitations should be referenced. There may also be
applicable industry standards. State Bar Associations. "Generally
Accepted Accounting Practices." Review any contracts the organization
has for services provided or received.

Determine where to start your research from the information from your
interviews  --when you asked what agencies or entities govern the
records or the functions that create them.

2.  Retention Schedule drafting, review, & revise

    Drafting the Schedule
    Coalesce all of your data and information into a narrative that
determines the record series value and how long that value lasts.

Traditionally, Records Managers have placed records' value in four
categories
	
Administrative/Operational
Fiscal
Legal: statutory, contractual, litigation
Historical 

But lately I have seen the value of records articulated in new terms:

Compliance
Asset Protection
Risk reduction
Revenue
Efficiency/Productivity

So don't be afraid to state the records' value in plain terms that your
organization's management will recognize, as opposed to the old
traditional records management terms.

    Review and Revisions
    I use the Department heads for this, not the Records Committee.
Certain categorizations or decisions can be made in this process. Ex:
categorization of vital record and vital record protection method.

If your organization has legal counsel, ask them to review the schedule
also.

3.  Approval by department heads. Adoption by organization

Here you can involve your records committee. Adoption, however, must be
from the highest authority in the organization. 


4.  Schedule implementation and staff training.

"If a records retention schedule is approved by senior management, but
no one else knows anything about it, does it really exist?"

Train department personnel on what the schedule is and does. Small,
department-level groups may be the best. My experience is that most
people will not use it unless you constantly remind them that it exists
at the appropriate times. "Can I give some files to you?"

End Handout Text.

Gary Link, CRM
Pittsburgh, PA
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