On Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:35:37 -0500, Carl Weise <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>... to have to deal with their initial response of: Make it Permanent - get
out of my office.  From this I came up with the meaning of Permanent - we
don't know what we are doing and we don't care.
>

This is precisely why most teams established to set retention periods don't
include anyone form Senior Management and only accept their input on records
that they have generated to determine anticipated use or perceived business
need for access to that content.

When a TEAM makes a decision, the necessary components required for
retention are evaluated much more consistently when determining a period to
propose.

>Have any of you experienced this initial reaction of not taking records
management seriously from management?
>

Initial reaction? Sure.  But if when you walk away if they have the same
opinion, then you haven't completely explained the reasons for retention and
appropriate dispositioning of records.

>The longest retention period you can have is Life of Legal Entity.  I am
delighted to see that the ICRM changed its retention schedule to use Life of
Legal Entity, from Permanent.  I had tried to get this done when I was on
the Board of Regents.
>


This may work for an "entity" such as the ICRM, but there are many
businesses this is entirely insufficient for.  

Here are a few of cases in point:

Manufacturer of Consumer Goods- Just because the legal entity ceases to
exist it doesn't relieve SOMEONE of liability in the event of a mechanical
failure, death by exposure, long term health issue or other malfeasance.  In
addition, if the legal entity sells their business to another, they are
likely entitled to the records that were held by the prior entity.

Medical Practice, Corporation or Physician- If a practice dissolves (ceases
to exist as an entity) the records of patients they treated must still be
retained, and in the case of an Oncologist, the records have an extended
retention that may exceed multiple entities.

Government Contractor- Most contracts include "Rights and Ownership" clauses
for records that require an entity to transfer all records created or
received at completion of the contract to the Federal Agency or the
successor contractor as part of the FAR and DEAR clauses.

Employer whose employees may be exposed to potentially harmful or known
harmful substances- Both States and the Federal Government have requirements
that these records be retained for lengthy periods of time (typically 75
years beyond separation from employment) in the event of health issues and
claims from future generations of family members. If the entity ceases to
exist, the records must be turned over to someone else.

>If you understand the preservation issues with electronic records, you
appreciate that these costs will only increase.  In regards to the use of
Permanent, I have never seen organizations setting aside funds, or
increasing the mill rate for tax payers, for a perpetual retention program
after the organization no longer exists.
>

Well, I think the time has come for this to change and simply turning ones
back on it won't make the obligations disappear.  You mentioned something
early on in your post about '...your students...".  If you are instructing
people in the management of records with long term retentions and the need
for persistent access to them to meet legal obligations or contractual
requirements, you aren't giving them the full picture. 

This is especially true when it comes to record sin electronic formats that
are generated on behalf of work done for the Federal Government, seeing as
36CFR mandates that systems and content remain viable for the assigned
retention periods and that technological obsolescence is no excuse for
abandoning content.

>I would like to see Permanent, as a retention period, removed from our
vocabulary.
>

I would like to see free-flowing streams of tequila and scotch, crawfish and
oysters have year-round abundant availability, and a high quality BBQ joint
in every city too, but I'm not expecting to see these any time soon either.

When it comes to extended retention periods, up to Permanent, I would prefer
to see instructions that suggest review/evaluation of content after X years
to determine value of the information assets and the ability to reschedule
retention to reduce it if there is no longer a need to retain it, or if
conditions have changed that support an earlier disposition.

Larry
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