How to Protect Company Records

Protecting your company records is essential for maximising the efficiency of your workplace. Regardless of the industry or niche your business is a part of, documents, reports, and records are a vital aspect of any company’s daily operations. To secure your business’ financial survival, it is advisable to also secure the safety of these essential company records. Take a moment to think about how your business would proceed if its records were subjected to mould, mildew, sprinkler damage, severe weather, fire or theft—the result would undoubtedly be horrific.

It has become more prevalent for businesses to use electronic resources to store records digitally; however, it is not uncommon to find hard copies in office spaces that are vulnerable to a number of dangers. Employing secure document storage methods reassures businesses that they will be able to access their most important documents at a moment’s notice without hassle or stress. This simultaneously minimises risk and increases efficiency in a company.

It is extremely common for companies to rely on old filing cabinets for their document storage needs, or even to store files on open shelving, or keeping older files stored in boxes in a rarely-used back room. However, doing this can have disastrous consequences, even resulting in the loss of important information and causing employees to repeat work and cause a productivity setback.

Not only that, but if a company’s employees spend a significant amount of time searching for a document in a badly-organised storage system, that is time that could have been otherwise used to further the aims and goals of the company. In fact, studies show that employees typically spend far longer searching for documents than they spend actually reading them. Protecting company records does not simply refer to keeping them safe from external forms of damage, but it also includes keeping them safe from getting lost, or from wasting your employees’ time searching for them for extended periods.

The Best Methods to Keep Documents Safe

It’s clear that there are endless reasons to place significant importance on document storage and keeping company records in a safe and accessible place. Doing so saves a company both time and money, and prevents them from any unfortunate circumstances that force them to repeat work or become significantly behind on a project due to loss or damage of reports or other documentation.

The first step of safeguarding your company’s essential documents is to choose the crucial records. These could include vital documents such as financial records, payroll, strategic plans, customer lists, production records, building plans, strategic plans, insurance information, purchase agreements, research information, bills, contracts, permits and licenses, lease paperwork, and employee records.

If struggling to decide whether or not a specific document is crucial, consider whether or not it is necessary for the business to succeed, if it has a legal purpose, and if it cannot be recreated. If any of those factors apply to a document, you might want to ensure it is protected.

Once you have decided which files warrant protection, it is time to take a look at safeguarding strategies. Start by determining where those documents are stored, what format they are in, and how to access them when it becomes necessary. It is recommended that you duplicate those files in an electronic format to have a backup safely stored. You can do so by scanning a hard copy of these files and storing them on a CD, DVD, flash drive, magnetic tape, backup server, or even by using a cloud-based service.

There are a number of budget-friendly solutions for small businesses to use by developing their very own document protection strategy. Some of these options include the following:

• Duplicate records, keeping one set on-site for easy access, and another set in a storage location elsewhere as a backup.
• Invest in a document scanning software to scan documents and keep them organised digitally, whether on a computer, a cloud-based software, or an external CD, DVD, flash drive, or hard drive.
• If neither above option is possible, records can be secured on-site with high quality security door filing systems. Consider using a fire resistant option, and it certainly should have a lock to protect against theft and maximise privacy. Options are also available to protect against water damage.

Finally, when it comes to the documents that are deemed “nonessential” and that the company chooses to dispose of, it is crucial to dispose of it securely. To ensure the protection of privacy, paper records should be shredded. After they have served their purpose, electronic records should be deleted and then emptied from the “recycle bin” on the computer. After your documents are safely and securely organized, it is a good idea to periodically review these records and dispose of those that are no longer useful and simply cluttering the space.

Why to Store Your Company Records Away from the Office

It is clear that document protection is important, but it is also clear that the process can be a lot of work for a company. For this reason, many companies choose to store their documents outside of the office. This is because an offsite storage service would know the best methods of keeping these documents safe, secure, and organized. In addition, it takes a significant workload off of the company’s shoulders. Storing essential documents elsewhere gives a company the assurance that their information is safe and accessible, without having to do all of the work themselves.

Have you had issues?

Have you, or your business been affected by any issues mentioned in this post? If so, feel free to leave a comment below.

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