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February 2009: In This Issue

1. TAB Guide: 5 Tips for Selecting and Implementing RM Software in the Hybrid Environment  »
   
   
2. Roadmap to Compliance Series: The TAB SMART Program »
   
   
3. TAB SMART in Action! Read a customer success story. »
   
   
4. What Your Colleagues are Reading »
   
   

Dear Records Manager,

Are you considering RM software to help you manage the hybrid RM environment? It can be a great solution, but for it to be successful it has to be properly integrated with your records management program. So to help those of you wrestling with the challenges of paper and electronic records, we've put together 5 Tips for Selecting and Implementing RM Software in the Hybrid Environment.

This month we continue our Roadmap to Compliance series with a look at the TAB SMART program. This is the most "hands on" and practical component of our Roadmap approach, and it's great way to get rid of unnecessary materials, reduce your storage costs, and improve your access to information!

We value your feedback. If you have any questions, or want to discuss any of the issues raised in this newsletter, please get in touch.

Regards,

TAB

1. 5 Tips for Selecting and Implementing RM Software in the Hybrid Environment

Struggling to manage both paper and electronic files? Thinking of a software solution?

The challenge isn't just in selecting the right solution for your unique records management situation, it also lies in applying sound records management methodologies and principles to that solution.

We can help you. We've put together five tips to help you select and implement software in the hybrid records management environment, including:

• Establishing RM requirements up front
• Building RM requirements into the electronic system
• Creating one stop information access
• Responding to the unique needs of paper records
• Developing electronic support for real world records retention

Download this invaluable resource here!

2. TAB's Roadmap to Compliance Series: The TAB SMART Program

Our look at TAB's Roadmap to Compliance continues! In the last issue we looked at Corporate Policy and Procedure Development, the third pillar and the "who" portion of our approach.

This month we move out of the corporate governance model and examine the next, and most hands-on practical part of the approach, The TAB SMART program.

What is it?

TAB SMART (Streamline. Manage. Access. Retain. Toss.) is a supervised exercise in which all of your organization's employees are focused on implementing the classification and retention schedule within their workspace, improving their knowledge of your records management program and identifying what is a record vs. non-record material.

The knowledge is then used to conduct an overall cleanup of the information within their areas, removing unnecessary materials and moving records to appropriate active, inactive, centralized or secure locations.

Benefits

TAB SMART is a great way to ensure that you are only keeping essential information at hand, thereby reducing what you are spending on storage and making your information more accessible.

And by including the TAB SMART process you are applying the governance model, so your people will be getting first hand knowledge of your records management program!

TAB SMART will help you:

• Significantly reduce the amount of material that would need to be packaged, moved, and reorganized during a move
• Significantly reduce the current amount of material within offices and central areas that are inactive or
  non-record materials
• Raise the awareness level of Records and Information Management initiatives and Records Classification
• Improve staff productivity by separating active material from inactive

3. TAB SMART in Action! Read a customer success story.

Are you moving offices? Merging locations? Need to reduce storage costs? Be TAB SMART and you could see measurable savings!

The process is simple. We help your organization reduce the amount of material it retains, leading to lower costs for both on and off-site storage. We'll take your employees through a process of reviewing their records and determining which ones are not essential.

Then we eliminate non-essential documents, both paper and electronic, helping you decrease storage costs and increase employee productivity. Remember, streamlining the information available to employees improves retrieval time and access to your records.

And at the end of the program, you'll see measurable savings!

Measurable Savings

We implemented the TAB SMART program for the Pengrowth Corporation, a top North American energy trust, as part of the first step in developing a new RM strategy roadmap for the company. The exercise yielded some impressive results, as well as some unexpected finds:

• A total of 6500 cubic feet of paper was removed, 50% of that shredded, with 2500 cubic feet being garbage, like published material
• 495 cubic feet of inactive records were transferred to lower cost storage
• 385 cubic feet of excess stationery were recycled
• 18 cubic feet of cds and dvds were destroyed
• 82 pieces of surface furniture, (bookcases, cabinets etc) were removed saving $61,500 through re-use

That's a lot of useless material they no longer have to store! You can read the full story on the TAB SMART exercise we did with Pengrowth here. We have included a great chart that explains how the process works.

For more information on TAB SMART, call 1-888-466-8228 or complete our online response form.

4. What Your Colleagues are Reading

Want to know what your colleagues are reading?

These are some of our most popular recent downloads:

1. Risk Management Action Plan: Disaster Recovery and Vital Records in a Hybrid RM Environment

Will your records management program help your organization resume operations in the wake of a large scale disaster? Protecting your vital records is the best way to ensure business continuity in the event of an emergency, but you can't just deploy a standard toolkit of safeguards. Your approach needs to take into account the requirements of the records and the risks involved.

This process can be complicated, and has been made more so with the emergence of the "hybrid records management environment" where more and more file collections mix paper and electronic records.

The good news is that like many challenges, the combination of vital records and hybrid record-keeping also brings opportunity.

This Risk Management Action Plan details 7 steps for seizing that opportunity. You'll learn how to:

• Handle the hybrid "complication"
• Identify vital records
• Identify threats to these records
• Quantify the possible impact of each threat
• Quantify probability of threat occurring
• Calculate overall risk level
• Implement risk mitigation strategies
• Test and reassess your system

Download this valuable resource here!

2. Tips for a Green RM Program

Good environmental practices are good for business, and your RM program is no exception.

It just makes sense today to develop an environmentally sound records management program that manages paper, electronic and other media across each phase of their life cycle. This valuable resource will help you get there.

You'll get tips on:

• What to keep and how to store it efficiently
• Media recycling program
• Using offsite storage wisely
• Choosing environmentally-friendly products
• Getting to a "less-paper" office
• How to handle materials at the end of their life cycle

Click here to start greening your RM program!.

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