Worth Protecting: Your Vital Records
Is your office paperless yet? No. You still rely on paper. Despite the growth of electronic records, you use lots of paper for your daily operations. In fact, in many offices there is solid evidence that the growth of paper files occurs as quickly as the implementation of new IT. Often, many vital records are still on paper and without these records, your operations will be crippled. Here’s how to keep them safe.
So Much Paper

Your file room contains thousands of files, without which you can’t do business. If you were to lose those files, would your organization survive? Think about it. Assume that a fire destroys your file room and its contents. What would be the immediate effects? A month after the fire, could you conduct normal operations?
Of course, many of your records are electronic, and you’ve backed up your data so that you can access it easily— haven’t you? —but what about your hardcopy files? Consider what you might lose in a fire, flood, or other disaster. Your auditors are interested to find out. They might conclude that without its paper files, your organization might be hard-pressed to resume normal operations any time soon. Or you could be out of business. It’s possible.
These circumstances are more common than you think, and the results are discouraging.
What’s Vital?
Any paper record that is essential to your organization should be considered vital. Some records are obviously vital: incorporation documents, contracts, service agreements, warranties, legal correspondence, and payroll files. The risks to these records are constant and serious. Your senior management and auditors will ask you to ensure that you’ve mitigated them with commonsensical measures.
What’s the Risk?
Aside from natural risks such as severe weather, flooding, and wildfires, there can be technological risks such as a malfunctioning sprinkler system that accidentally releases a large amount of water in your office and file room. Another risk is human error. A co-worker leaves an office skylight open, and a rainstorm soaks your paper files. In a couple of hours, they could become illegible.
A memorable formula: paper + water = mush.
The Solution
Fortunately, there are practical and cost
-effective ways to protect your vital records. You need a well-organized and efficient records management system that safeguards files from their creation to their final disposition. That system should include secure storage, both on- and off-site.
Storage areas should have controlled access and clean, dry, and insect-free environments. Regular pest control will kill paper-chewing insects such as silverfish.
A properly trained records manager should supervise the system so that vital records are preserved for as long as you need them.
Remember, however, that vital records in any medium need protection from the risks that prevail in your organization. The only guarantee is that those risks will always prevail, and you must be prepared to face their consequences if they lead to disaster.
If you’d like to explore these ideas further or comment on this article, contact me at guy.
This article was published in the
March 2023
edition of The TMC Advisor
- ISSN 2369-663X Volume:10 Issue:3
©2023 TMC Consulting