What is Records Management?

Records management (RM), also referred to as Records Information Management (RIM) has been defined as the “application of management principles to the systematic control of the life cycle of all records created or received in the course of an organization’s business. It provides measurable benefits in many areas, including cost reduction and avoidance, protection of vital records needed in case of disaster, systematic policy-based destruction of records which become obsolete after their retention requirements are met (about 95% of total volume), and the preservation of historical records (about 5%).”*

How to Justify the Purchase of a Records Management Solution

For years Records Management has been viewed as a necessity and an administrative function that many have taken for granted. With the dawn of the electronic age, Records Management has come into its own. At last, corporate management has come to recognize records, and the information they hold, as valuable resources.

Like any other resource, information is now receiving its just recognition as a corporate asset. Management, retention and destruction of this asset can be traced with hard facts. These facts are the Return-on-Investment.

Have You Calculated the Return-on-Investment for Your Organization?

In 1999, the Delphi Group, a U.S.-based consultancy, reported that 15 percent of all organizational time is spent on information creation, management, and distribution, a substantial cost in terms of time and labor. Sixty percent of the worker’s day is spent working, in one form or another, with records and information. The report also noted that 75 percent of all information was still maintained in paper form – suggesting that people and organizations have found it difficult to move towards the “paperless” office, even with the proliferation of personal computers and electronic media. There is concern about privacy, confidentiality, and long-term storage of electronic information as well. Delphi noted that the average worker spends up to 65 percent of the workday looking for necessary information.

Below is an actual TRIADD customer's return-on-investment analysis. They researched this data at their place of business to justify the purchase of a records information management solution. Gain RM is their solution of choice. 

Actual Customer Return-on-Investment (ROI) Analysis for GAIN RM 
Software Purchase in 2002
Labor saving estimates reflected have been rounded.

Reduction in data entry time

Reduce data entry by Records Management personnel. The transfer sheets will be entered on line by the line of business end user thus accessible and submitted to Records Management on line. 

A group of 50 data transfer sheets entered by Records Management personnel. 11 of these sheets took 45 minutes each to enter due to legal attachments. The remainders were entered at 20 per hour.

• 50 Sheets overall average = 12.24 minutes each
• Annual amount of data transfer sheets (historical data) = 2,205
• Annual labor savings: (2,205 data x 12.24 minutes) / 60 = 450 hours or 11 weeks

Reduction of e-mail correspondence

Requests for retrievals and pick-ups will be submitted on line vs. sending e-mails/voicemails. This will reduce the amount of correspondence read and generated.

Historical data was taken from (another system) for the months of August and September 2001. 

The average annual e-mails received equaled 1,196. Each e-mail is sent to 5 personnel, totaling 5,980 e-mails annually. It takes an estimated 1-minute to review each e-mail for 4 out of 5 personnel that are not acting upon it. 1 out of the 5 personnel will spend approximately 5 minutes reading and responding to each e-mail.

• 5,980 e-mails overall average = 1.8 minutes each
• Annual amount of e-mails received (historical data) = 5,980
• Annual labor savings: (5,980 e-mails x 1.8 minutes) / 60 = 179 hours or 4.5 weeks

Reduction of Hard Copy Distribution

It will no longer be necessary to distribute copies of the transfer sheets back to the end user.

• 28 entry sheets averages 2.9 minutes each
• Annual amount of data transfer sheets (historical data) = 2,205
• Potential annual labor savings (2,205 data x 2.9 minutes) / 60 = 107 hours or 2.5 weeks

Reduction of Records Management Personnel Records Searching

The business users will be able to identify items in Gain RM, search their department's records, and request specific boxes with out the help of by Records Management personnel.

Records Management personnel noted the time spent on records searching for the month of July 2001. The time spent during this period would be potentially eliminated due to the ability of the business user to view their records through Gain RM.

• Hours spent in July searching records = 33.15 hours
• Potential annual labor savings (33.15 hours x 12 months) = 398 hours or 10 weeks

Reduction in check in / check out time

Using bar code scanners will reduce the time spent on the check in / check out process.

A time study was performed on the process of checking in and checking out a box with GAIN for Windows, predecessor to Gain RM. The process to check in 1 box equaled one minute. The process to check out 1 box equaled 2.5 minutes. The total for the process equaled 3.5 minutes.

• Average boxes Checked In/ Out annually (historical data) = 1,052
• Potential annual labor savings (1052 data x 3.5 minutes)/ 60 = 61 hours or 1.5 weeks

Annual Productivity Savings

Reduction in data entry time 450 hours or 11 weeks

Reduction of e-mail 179 hours or 4.5 weeks
correspondence

Elimination of hard copy 107 hours or 2.5 weeks
records distribution

Reduction of Records 398 hours or 10 weeks
Management personnel research

Elimination of manual entry 61 hours or 1.5 weeks
of box check in/ check out

Total Annual Labor Savings = 1,195 hours or 30 weeks

Are You Ready for the Benefits of Records Management?

GAIN RM can extend record research and access to your customers, internal and external, from any type of computer and operating system that can access your intranet or internet. Since most companies already have internet or intranet capability, it provides a simple and efficient method for communication. You don’t have to worry about modems and data communications protocols. That’s a major advantage, and you probably have the basic infrastructure needs already in place to deploy GAIN RM to your business users. 

TRIADD Software, makers of Gain RM, would like to extend an invitation to you to learn more about Gain RM and the benefits you can experience in your organization.

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For more information and a complete demonstration of the capabilities of Gain RM Web Editions, please contact:

TRIADD Software
13212 N.E. 16th Street
Suite 311
Bellevue, WA 98005
sales@triaddsoftware.com
800.877.9564 / 425.643.3700 ext. 205
www.triaddsoftware.com

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* Pemberton, Mike. President of mindspring.com