A Records Management Toy Story by Amy Perras

Last night my husband and I stared silently at the toys strewn across the floor. Nary an inch of floor could be glimpsed. After shrugging and digging in, we found it hard to put the toys away because there were no open drawers or toy boxes. It occurred to me that we are running out of space. But the answer to this is not to buy a new house (too much hassle) or endeavor into home expansion (again, hassle). The answer is to determine which toys are no longer being played with and then send them to a new home where they will continue to be loved and cared for by other children. This frees up space in the toy room for more playing - until new toys inevitably arrive despite our No more toys, we have more than enough' decree.

This can be seen in various forms across the globe. The toy laws of nature almost always work out that there is a near steady flow of incoming toys and not-even-a-trickle going out the door. The result: overcrowded family space that could certainly be reused. Hmmm, a new desk for my kindergartener?

This plot rings just as true in the business world.

Just as my sons toys aren't going away any time soon, neither is the paper in your office. In fact, paper records consume up to 35% of office space! And this is not likely to change since 66% of organizations say their volume of paper is either increasing or staying the same1. This isn't scary if you have a defensible Records Management program that includes storing your paper records offsite with the right security controls and storage environment. But according to recent Iron Mountain research, about 10% of companies have yet to set up a foundational records management program that deal with their growing volume of paper and returns them valuable and expensive space2.

Stop what you are doing right now and take a look around you. Do you see paper? Do you see filing cabinets as you walk among the cubicles and offices? Your office space is expensive - why are you adding to the expense by using it to store records rather than putting it to more productive use like making you money? Just how much storing records onsite costs is remarkable. A typical filing cabinet takes up 9 square feet and costs $1500 a year3!

And when your team members are spending time searching for records they have a hard time finding, you lose even more in lost productivity. And this is the norm rather than the exception. A staggering 83% of organizations report that they are unable to locate hardcopy records when needed4. Sounds like my kids when they are trying to find the Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story 3.

To make matters even worse, companies today are focused on reducing the space allocated per employee at the same time expecting greater productivity. So your productivity problem has grown exponentially if you are filling up your shrinking space with paper.

Check out this True Cost of Do-It-Yourself Records Management calculator and see for yourself just how much you may be spending right now - and how you can turn that into savings. Who knows, maybe you can turn the space currently being eaten up by filing cabinets into a team game room! And when you do, put your new Records and Information management skills to the gamers test with this online game. Game on!

P.S. It's all fun and games until someone steps on a Lego barefoot. Check out this funny video about toys, tears and Records Management.

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1 AIIM 2013 Report: Information Governance- Records, Risks and Retention In the Litigation Age

2 Iron Mountain Market Strategy and Insights research Demystifying RM Market: Understanding the RM Market for Effective Market Strategy and Deployment of RIM360

3 The Paperless Project. What Are the Facts About Paper? http://www.thepaperlessproject.com/what-are-the-facts-about-paper/

4 Iron Mountain Compliance Benchmark Report: A View into Unified Records Management (http://docs.media.bitpipe.com/io_10x/io_105560/item_554765/Compliance%20Benchmark%20Report%202012.pdf)

LINK:	http://blogs.ironmountain.com/2013/service-lines/records-management-an...
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