With all the layoffs taking place nationwide, I thought it would be worth
raising the issue that when employees separate, especially en masse as
happens with layoffs, depending on how much attention your IT organization
pays to the issue beyond disabling access, as Records Management
professionals we all need to assure all the records of separating employees
are dealt with properly.  

 

Especially in my experience with Microsoft Outlook.  Most enterprise
installations of Outlook run an Exchange server, but also allow the creation
of Personal Folders, which could exist most anywhere if not managed by
policy or technology.  A typical user with Microsoft Outlook open sees a
group of folders such as Inbox, Sent Items etc. usually at the top of your
folders list which represents e-mail content on the Exchange server.  Below
this there may be one or more Personal Folder Structures each possibly
containing e-mail.  

 

The Exchange e-mail may have a very short life after an employee leaves and
should be a high priority to ensure preservation if necessary and review.
Personal Folders may be created on a local drive or a network drive as well
as any type of storage media the computer accepts.  It's more likely network
drives are  backed up systematically, but if the e-mail is on a fixed local
drive, the drives of those computers are often wiped clean and a clean image
written on them and are re-deployed so there's risk of losing this e-mail as
well.

 

As a suggestion and to help manage the number of contacts if layoffs, you
may want to work together with your IT Security team to create a
communication to remind the appropriate upline management to review
separated employee's electronic content (e-mail and documents on shared
drives which only the user had access to).  The review should be to locate
and redistribute or retention manage records and other operationally
necessary and useful information.

 

Many of you have excellent procedures and likely have this covered.  Others
who may not be certain may want to raise the issue.  The last Mock Trial I
acted in (also the only one!) I was deposed and gave testimony on the
witness stand and this was an issue which came up.  I was asked about a
particular set of records an departed employee managed.  The first response
was just that the employee left the company.  The follow-up from opposing
counsel was "what happens to employee records when an employee leaves the
company?"  

 

Do you know what happens?


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