Question

All organisational information must be recorded and securely stored. Describe the main processes for securely recording and storing data.

Answer 1

most businesses use an electronic record keeping system - making it easier to capture information, generate reports and meet tax and legal reporting requirements.

There are a number of issues you should consider when setting up an electronic record keeping system, as each has certain advantages and limitations.

Establishing a records storage system requires a thorough review of your current company practices and a workable plan. Whether you are setting up a paperless, electronic system or creating a system using paper records, you use the same process. This involves applying logical organizing principles. Proper divisions, or categories, are the key to an efficient, effective system.

Create a Records Storage System

Review the records your company wants to store and your current records collections and storage practices. Form a small committee to work with you in outlining the materials you plan to organize. Create the categories you need to encompass all your records.

Organize documents into recognizable categories that make sense to your personnel. The primary criterion for a category is that it not overlap any other category. If a major category is customers, then each customer, or compatible group of customers, should serve as a sub-category. Product or vendor records must be in different categories. Within each category and sub-category, individual records can be arranged alphabetically by title, by date initiated or completed, department or any other method that makes retrieval convenient, consistent and efficient.

Prepare training materials that explain the system to employees. Conduct a training program to explain the procedures and benefits of record storage and retrieval. Give special attention to any record handlers, whose job is to collect, file and distribute records; and unit supervisors, who are likely to receive questions after the system is in place. Use the development team members to assist you in monitoring the system for changes that will correct problems or make it easier and more efficient to use.

A filing system without a back-up system is not complete or secure. Companies suffered large financial losses or went out of business when they lost their data. For critical records, it may pay to make duplicate records and file them in secure, fireproof off-site locations. Another alternative is to scan critical data electronically and transmit the files to off-site, online storage. If privacy of data is an issue, you can back the files up to your own drives, which you keep in a secure, off-site location