{"id":15238,"date":"2021-04-23T13:59:37","date_gmt":"2021-04-23T18:59:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/?p=15238"},"modified":"2025-02-13T08:45:08","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T14:45:08","slug":"how-does-records-management-benefit-us-anyway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/2021\/04\/how-does-records-management-benefit-us-anyway\/","title":{"rendered":"How Does Records Management Benefit Us, Anyway?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>by Brianna Cochran<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By now, you\u2019re probably aware your government is legally required to comply with records management laws. Though it is often difficult to motivate yourself, colleagues, or supervisors to implement something just because it\u2019s required. It\u2019s human nature to resist things we perceive as difficult, time-consuming, or obligatory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The records management assistance (RMA) team at TSLAC wants records management to be as fun as possible! While it\u2019s true compliance with records management laws is required, implementing a sound records management program doesn\u2019t have to be difficult, time-consuming, or feel like an obligation. After all, having a strong records management program provides many benefits for your office including offering legal protection, increasing efficiency, reducing costs, improving public perception of your office, and protecting essential records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article, we will elaborate on the benefits of good records management practices mentioned above. We hope this serves as a helpful resource for state and local government employees, to help encourage good records management practices in your offices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"5-benefits-of-records-management\">5 Benefits of Records Management<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"1-offers-legal-protection\">1. Offers Legal Protection<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.thenounproject.com\/png\/3232573-200.png\" alt=\"Black and white icon of a gavel in front of a shield\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Following the legal requirements outlined in our published <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/pubs\">laws and rules<\/a> offers legal protection to your office. For example, it&#8217;s a legal risk to keep records too long or not long enough. In the case of litigation or an audit, your office may have to turn over records that could\u2019ve been destroyed years ago, or even worse, may be unable to turn over records that were destroyed too soon. Adhering to our published retention schedules and disposing records according to schedule helps mitigate this legal risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"2-increases-efficiency-frees-up-time-and-space\">2. Increases Efficiency (Frees Up Time and Space)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.thenounproject.com\/png\/2511567-200.png\" alt=\"Black and white icon of a line graph showing upward trend, a gear, and a clock. \" width=\"100\" height=\"100\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>A good records management program also keeps your office running more efficiently, because you won\u2019t have people wasting time and effort hunting for information. People will spend more time trying to find records if there is a high volume of them in storage, and that affects overall efficiency for your office. Disposing records in a timely manner, according to a set time frame, will free up storage space and make it easier to access the records you really need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"3-reduces-costs\">3. Reduces Costs<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.thenounproject.com\/png\/3821036-200.png\" alt=\"Black and white icon of a bag with dollar symbol\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Good records management also saves money! When you\u2019re freeing up storage space and improving your efficiency, that also keeps your costs down. Keeping too many records beyond their retention periods can result in higher storage and maintenance costs. Paying for more physical filing cabinets or increased server space than you need wastes money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"4-improves-public-perception\">4. Improves Public Perception<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.thenounproject.com\/png\/1682454-200.png\" alt=\"Black and white icon of a smiling person with speech bubble containing three black stars\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Governments following good records management practices also enjoy the benefit of remaining in good standing with the public. On the flip side, bad records management practices often result in negative public perception. Even the well-intentioned act of getting rid of a huge quantity of records after a long time of not doing so might look suspicious. It\u2019s best to practice disposition regularly and according to schedule to avoid negative perception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"5-protects-essential-records\">5. Protects Essential Records<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.thenounproject.com\/png\/3620539-200.png\" alt=\"Black and white icon of a document behind a shield with a checkmark on it\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>An active records management program will also help protect the agency\u2019s vital, historically valuable, or permanent records from things like pests, mold, theft, or security breaches. Failing to protect these records can lead to potential criminal penalties and fines. For example, intentionally destroying a record before it\u2019s met retention can result in a Class A misdemeanor with a maximum punishment of one year in jail and a fine of up to $4000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"better-practices-going-forward\">Better Practices Going Forward<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you know that records management simply wasn\u2019t done well in the past because people didn\u2019t know any better, don\u2019t stress out too much, but you&#8217;ll want to ensure better practices going forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/\">website<\/a> offers many resources for improving your records management program, including links to more information about compliance forms, laws and rules, training, retention schedules, records center storage, and imaging services. You may also be interested in our blog articles covering frequently asked questions, available on our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/just-the-faqs\/\">Just the FAQs<\/a> page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As always, for help implementing new or improving existing records management programs, getting compliance paperwork sorted, or anything else records management-related, please <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/contact\">contact your analyst<\/a>. The RMA team is happy to help, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re here for!<\/p>\n<div class=\"pld-like-dislike-wrap pld-custom\">\r\n    <div class=\"pld-like-wrap  pld-common-wrap\">\r\n    <a href=\"javascript:void(0)\" class=\"pld-like-trigger pld-like-dislike-trigger  \" title=\"Like it?\" data-post-id=\"15238\" data-trigger-type=\"like\" data-restriction=\"cookie\" data-already-liked=\"0\">\r\n                            <img src=\"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/512x512.png\" alt=\"Like it?\" \/>\r\n            <\/a>\r\n    <span class=\"pld-like-count-wrap pld-count-wrap\">2    <\/span>\r\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Brianna Cochran By now, you\u2019re probably aware your government is legally required to comply with records management laws. Though it is often difficult to motivate yourself, colleagues, or supervisors to implement something just because it\u2019s required. It\u2019s human nature to resist things we perceive as difficult, time-consuming, or obligatory. The records management assistance (RMA)&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":15649,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[518,36,48,57,79,40],"class_list":["post-15238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faqs","tag-buy-in","tag-compliance","tag-disposition","tag-retention","tag-storage","tag-training"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15238"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21634,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15238\/revisions\/21634"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/slrm\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}