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The Value Of Our Files Increase Proportionally To The Size Of The Current Crisis.
When things are going well, neither the condition nor the organization of your files is considered a high priority. At these times, file management is a back-burner item; but let something go wrong, and things change quickly. For example, your company is slapped with a lawsuit; through the discovery process, you are required to produce all records that pertain to the litigation. For the next several months your company spends hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars poring through files looking for documents that meet certain criteria specified by the complainant’s lawyers. Filing cabinets, computer files, off-site storage, and even desk drawers are searched meticulously. At these times, does the value of file management increase? You bet it does! Unfortunately, it does not last long. As soon as the crisis passes and becomes a distant memory, so does the importance of file management.
Inactive Files Crowd Out Active Files And Make Them Hard To Find.
This is simple mathematics. As the number of records increases, so does the time required to find a specific record. Contrary to popular belief, a well-defined and functional classification system only reduces the search time slightly. Routinely purging inactive files that are no longer necessary, and thereby reducing the number of records that must be searched, is the best way to significantly improve retrieval times. The more thoroughly you purge your files, the more successful you will be when required to find that important record quickly.
Files Expand To Fill The Space Available.
If you don’t believe it, just buy a new filing cabinet or huge hard drive and see how long it takes to fill up. Have you ever heard anyone say they have too much filing space? Of course not! It doesn't’t matter how much filing space you have; left unchecked, the number of files will grow until they fill the available space. To curb file growth, establish specific timetables to purge and transfer files to inactive storage. This will create space for more important files and eliminate the need to purchase additional filing equipment.
There Are Two Or More Copies Of Every Original.
Over fifty percent of all documents – electronic and paper – filed within every company are copies. We make copies of memos, reports, interesting articles, or anything else that we think might be of some value in the future. As a result, copies are virtually taking over companies across America. Copies occupy expensive office space, require us to purchase expensive filing equipment to store them, and increase our legal exposure by saturating our company with forgotten records waiting to be discovered. Here again, purging your files on a regular basis is the key to controlling unnecessary copies.
The Retrieval Rate Of A File Is Inversely Proportionate To The Age Of The File.
The older a record becomes, the less likely it will ever be retrieved. There are two statistics that are often quoted by experts around the country to support this law: the Seventy-five Percent Rule and the Ninety Day Rule. The Seventy-five Percent Rule states that seventy-five percent of all records, once filed, will never be retrieved. The Ninety Day Rule states that files, once they are ninety days or older, have a ninety percent chance of never being looked at again. Does this mean that once a record becomes ninety days old you should throw it away? Certainly not! Records should always be maintained according to the retention requirements determined by federal, state, and local guidelines. However, remembering these statistics as you purge your files will help you determine which records should be moved from your active files to an inactive status.
Copyright © 2001 Bobby G. Muse, Jr., CRM
Document Service Company
Trust the Document Management Professionals
1001 Lima Ave.
Box 952
Findlay, OH 45839
Phone: 419-422-3330
Document Service Company is a division of Findlay's Tall Timbers Distribution Center, Inc.
Development by First Communications Group, Inc.
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