What s In A Number by Sue Trombley

What do the following numbers have in common: 2; 729; 17,496; and 1,049,760? They represent the time that has elapsed since our last Benchmark report in years, days (2012 was a leap year!), hours, and minutes. This year, Iron Mountain joined forces with Cohasset, ARMA, and AIIM to create a more widely representative 2014 Benchmark report. This new data shows that RIM practice has made some advancement in the intervening years, but in many cases has remained static. Time is an odd construct when you think about it - you could spend your time bouncing back and forth between the international date-line, gaining a day and losing a day, stuck in a calendar. That may be how some of you feel right now. Strides forward in your RIM program, like the creation and launch of a formal Steering Committee-approved RIM policy is met with little interest or engagement by employees and senior leaders in the organization. Or the publication of a records retention schedule - and the time and money invested in its creation is not actively used to dispose of records that are no longer required for regulatory or operational requirements. You've put all the right pieces in place, but something is not clicking. Every organization has its own unique culture, risk-profile related to the business it does, organizational structure, global footprint, and so many more nuances that it is impossible to say there is one RIM program or set of practices that fits all. But there are certain expectations by regulators, shareholders, and customers that must be met when managing information. So how should you spend your time going forward? You will need to understand the current state of your program, where you want to be, and how to get there by assembling the right constituents, including business line and international leaders, to create a strategy for today and tomorrow. New ways of thinking are mandatory and technology must be squarely in the picture to assist in the management of information through day-to-day lifecycle events, to perform diagnostics, and to mine it for potential value above and beyond its original purpose. Over the next few months, we'll be using the Benchmark report to thoughtfully explore the topics that pose the greatest challenges to you by providing proven practices - what your peers have done to surmount them - and some new ways of thinking from visionaries and subject matter experts in our field. We will use your time wisely.

LINK:	http://blogs.ironmountain.com/2014/uncategorized/whats-in-a-number/...
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