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June 2007
 DID YOU KNOW?Forty-seven percent of companies with 20,000 or more employees, and 56 percent of those with between 1,000 and 4,999 employees, received document discovery orders in 2006. (Source: Enterprise Strategy Group) |
In this issue:
Dear Records Manager:As storage space becomes more expensive and file administration costs rise, the debate around centralized filing continues to rage. To centralize or not to centralize? Actually, the question is a little more subtle and complicated than that. If it is a good fit, a file centralization project represents tremendous ROI and it will definitely enhance your efficiency and save storage costs. But it isn't for everyone, and there are alternatives. This month we take a look at the question of centralized storage in our free TAB White Paper, which you can download here. We've also got the Finance Industry in the RM spotlight this month, with an article detailing the emerging records management challenges facing that sector and the solutions that are available to combat them. Also this month we at TAB are very pleased to let you know that eternafilm, the coating that gives our FORTIfile line of products its durability, has been recognized as meeting the EN 13432 standard for biodegradability/compostability! It's nice to know that the environmentally friendly design of TAB's FORTIfile line satisfies the requirements of this rigorous environmental initiative. We're always interested in what our readers think, so if you have any feedback, please let us know! Regards, TAB White Paper: Strength in Numbers - Strategies in Centralized Filing
But whether centralization is right for your organization depends on your particular needs and the relationship between your business and the records which support it. As informational support for daily business activities and potential legal evidence to defend those activities, physical file collections have remarkable potential to add value to your organization, provided they are used efficiently and managed as cost effectively as possible. The final decision on how to manage the files should weigh the potential advantages of centralization against not only the resources needed to make it happen but also the alternatives available. In this TAB Whitepaper, we'll look at what you everything you need to know to make the decision on whether or not centralization is right for your organization, with comprehensive analysis and tips on:
To read the full white paper, download a free copy here. FORTIfile's eternafilm Gets Green Recognition!
While fully laminated products from competitors use a polypropylene, which is not recyclable or biodegradable, FORTIFILE products are made with eternafilm, an environmentally friendly and biodegradable reinforcement film. This makes every FORTIfile product fully recyclable for environmental piece of mind. Now, this commitment to the environment has been recognized as meeting the EN 13432 standard for biodegradability/compostability. Titled "Requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation", this standard is equivalent to the ASTM D-6400. You can read the details of the standard here. At TAB, we are very proud to be able to offer our environmentally conscious customers a product that they can be comfortable using. FORTIfile: not only is it the best folder out there, it can help you reach your environmental initiatives! For more information on the complete FORTIfile line, click here. Industry Spotlight: Finance & RM RM FOCUS: Financial Industry
Consolidation of Customer Account Files under a Single KIFTraditionally banks have operated in silos whereby each are of the bank manages a distinct customer account for the same customer. However, changes in client privacy legislation are now compelling banks to centralize customer accounts in order to facilitate actions like the disposal of customer information upon termination of the banking relationship. The centralization of customer information also makes management of account files more consistent across operation areas. Streamlining of Customer Account FilesAt both the local and regional branch level, some banks have experienced an accumulation of customer account records. Banks in this situation are being forced by changes in client privacy legislation, storage constraints and escalating costs to begin records disposal and pursue offsite records storage, depending on the situation. Improving Work Flows & Timely Processing of Transactional RecordsFinancial institutions are continuously searching for the ability to process transaction records (e.g. documentation for money transfers) more rapidly due to the time sensitivity of certain transactions. A new challenge in this area will be the evolution toward a check free clearing environment over the next few years. Strengthening Security of Authenticating RecordsIn the past the management and safeguarding of records, like promissory notes, which authenticate bank assets may not have received the attention and care they warrant. Now, banks are increasingly seeking to address the neglect of these vital records through better classification and more effective storage. Classification & Retention of E-mail RecordsMany financial institutions are struggling to apply RM policies and best practices to e-mail, a situation exacerbated by the volume of e-mail that a bank receives. E-mail records can be particularly difficult to identify, classify and apply appropriate retentions to. Getting Business Unit Adoption of RM PoliciesPerhaps the biggest and most enduring RM pain point for financial organizations is getting business units to adopt the enterprise-wide RM strategy. This challenge is compounded by the fact that corporate directives must be interpreted within the context of the unique legislative and regulatory demands that each business unit must conform to. TAB: Your Partner in Execution
We provide expert advice to ensure your records systems are compliant, efficient and cost effective. TAB records management professionals will benchmark your document management practices against best in class systems. From electronic imaging and bar coding financial applications, to mutli-branch record consolidation and color coding collateral files, TAB will provide you with the best solution to manage greater file volumes more efficiently and in less space. Our solutions can even allow you to manage more records with fewer people. Whatever your records management issue, TAB can help. Retention Schedule Key to Finding Safe Harbor in E-Discovery SeaWithout a plan of attack or a system of satisfying your obligation to preserve relevant electronically stored information, you may unnecessarily be placing your organization at risk. So how do you minimize those risks and find "safe harbor" from the potentially severe consequences of not having a plan at all? It all starts with your records retention plan. New Federal E-discovery Rules Create ConfusionIn a recent survey, less than 25 percent of business contacted said they had taken steps to comply with new FRCP rules. So what happened to the sense of urgency? According to a recent Infoworld article, it's a combination of a false sense of security and a misunderstanding of what needs to happen. Rather than seeing compliance as a dramatic revolution, organizations need to see compliance as an evolution of existing RM practices and standards. What I Did This Summer: US Schools Get IT HomeworkThe September 2005 updates to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) requiring that electronic documents, including e-mail and perhaps even instant messaging logs, be available as evidence in civil court cases are making for a tough summer homework assignment for US K-12 schools. On the advice of legal counsel, many school districts are scrambling to create systems that ensure compliance with the new federal electronic discovery regulations. Read more on how school IT departments are coping with the need for compliance.
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At a time when protecting the environment and meeting environmental initiatives is a priority, many of our customers are reassured by the fact that FORTIfile products are environmentally friendly.
Staying competitive and profitable in the financial industry means staying on top of a huge range of variables that change from day to day. A good records management program can provide a solid framework for your daily operations, freeing up resources so that you can concentrate on the less predictable aspects of your business. But as the business environment changes, so do the records management challenges facing financial institutions. Identifying RM pain points goes a long way to solving them. In this article we'll look at some emerging problems, as well as some traditional ones, that TAB has identified in our work with financial institutions, so that you might be better equipped to make the right decisions to help your organization stay ahead of the competition.