How a Records Management Company Reduces Liabilities

How a Records Management Company Reduces Liabilities

Your business relies on efficiency and security. Poor records management-whether in-house or outsourced-can greatly impact your business' productivity, profitability, and liability. Whether you are in the medical field or virtually any other industry, regulatory compliances are frequently being updated to protect client and patient privacy-especially as the rate of identity theft continues to grow. If you are handling your records storage yourself instead of hiring a records management company, consider this: how many people have access to your in-house files that are unauthorized to use them? Most likely, the answer to that question is a lot more people than it should be.

Why Records Management?

A secure records management program allows your organization to store information in a way that is accurate, complete, timely, accessible, useable, and cost-effective. Savvy business owners know that the ability to access the right information at the right time can have a huge impact when it comes to saving time and money. Although professional records management companies exist to help eliminate the risks of having unsecure data, many business owners ignore this valuable service and unwittingly place their company in harm's way.

Benefits of Hiring a Records Management Company

Secure records management is critical for every business to:

• Reduce operating costs: About 30 to 50 percent of your files can be safely stored in an off-site location. Storing these records in-house can take up significant space and resources, and can cost your company thousands of dollars annually. Hiring a records management company enables you to save on space and equipment, and frees up your employees to focus on their main duties-thus saving your company money.

• Improve efficiency and productivity: The time your employees spend looking for missing or misplaced files is highly non-productive. A records management company can help you stay organized and improve retrieval times. In fact, properly indexing, storing, and accurately filing your company's documents can cut retrieval time by more than half and ensure that files are never lost.

• Minimize litigation issues: As a business owner, you work hard to safeguard your business against theft and litigation risks. Records management companies help reduce these risks and penalties-regardless of the industry you are in-so you can avoid costly legal fees as a result of noncompliance, data breaches, identity theft, and other important issues that can have a devastating impact on your business.

• Ensure regulatory compliance: The United States is one of the most heavily regulated countries with regards to recordkeeping requirements for businesses. Laws present today create numerous hurdles for business owners to jump through, let alone apply to their business. The only way your business can survive is through 100 percent compliance with these laws and regulations. A professional records management company stays up-to-date on these regulations, takes on all of the responsibilities for you, and works closely with regulatory agencies to reduce fines, penalties, and legal consequences.

What About Shredding and Disposal?

One key area often overlooked by businesses is the liability and risks that remain during disposal. Whether you are throwing out old employment applications or former client account information-any records that include private data-improper disposal opens the door to identity theft, fraud, and extremely costly court cases down the road.

When it is time to dispose of important records or documents that contain sensitive information, your company needs to consider its options for secure shredding and disposal. Records management companies will provide comprehensive shredding services. They can offer you a scheduled shredding and disposal program where they pick-up and destroy your records for you, or they can provide your company with in-house shredding containers. These containers are locked and only accessible by the shredding service provider, thus reducing your company's liability and risks regarding the disposal of business, employee, and client information.

Learn more about the ways a records management company can keep your business safe while also saving you time and money by contacting a records and information management professional in your area.

Scott McNelley is the CEO of Admiral Movers and Admiral Records Management. Known as the elite residential and commercial moving company in Montgomery, Alabama, Admiral Movers specializes in total office move management. Admiral Records Management is Montgomery's leading expert in secure chain of custody and records transfer, shredding, scanning, and document storage. Together, Admiral Movers and Admiral Records Management provide organizations with comprehensive move management solutions that not only include moving physical assets, but also the sensitive information that must be diligently protected during an office move to eliminate client liability and prevent data breaches. With 25 years of experience, Scott McNelley and his team enable clients to rest easier knowing all property and private data is moved securely on time, every time. Visit http://www.AdmiralMovers.com or http://www.AdmiralRecordsManagement.com to learn more or call 877.816.3454 to start your Montgomery office move today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Scott_McNelley/1444600

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_(By Scott McNelley).