Why Having A Records Management Program In Place Help Your Business?

Editor’s Note: Third in a three-part series, What is Records Management?, where we outline significant RIM features: Protection, Lifecycle and Business Strength. This post, originally published on June 26, 2013, has been modified for relevancy and fresher examples, links and stats.

Many businesses view records management as something that happens as an aside while conducting “real” business. As it turns out, sensible records management has a positive influence on all aspects of any company. For starters, using a professional data protection and records management company to store records—rather than your office space, or worse traditional self storage—companies are even more apt to garner efficiency and cost-reduction advantages, while also protecting the integrity of their organization. It’s almost priceless to possess the ability to access volumes of information quickly without interrupting the flow of work.

Finding Files Costs $2.5 Million per Year

One study found that knowledge workers spend almost two-thirds of their time searching for information. As the bulk of information grows, this number may continue to soar, even executives spend an average of three hours per week trying to locate pertinent documents. Depending on the size of a company, there are potentially millions of dollars being wasted searching for information. A global market intelligence firm, IDC, reports the Fortune 1000 stands to waste an aggregated $2.5 million per year due to an inability to locate and retrieve information. That’s far more than the cost of putting a sensible records management program in place.

Improved Operational Integrity (Case Studies)

Having the ability to access complete records in a timely manner promotes improved customer service, innovation, and product development. According to published case studies:

Better Use of Valuable Office Space

Offsite records storage increases information assets by ensuring quick access ─ it does little good to maintain critical information if the location is not readily known and accessible. Moreover, companies who choose to store their records offsite realize significant cost savings. Using professional records storage instead of taking up premium office space to store your files saves up to 50 percent, according to one expert. Once the records are stored off-site, the same office space can be re-allocated to generate revenue for the business. Put simply, records management has moved from a time-consuming, space-taking process into becoming a critical tool to help manage a successful business.