Record Retention Policy

Overview/Description
 Does your company have a formal policy for how to retain and dispose of its records? Do you even know which records need to be retained, how long they should be retained, and which disposal techniques apply to which record types? Following the Enron collapse, many companies are reexamining what documents they keep and how long they must keep them. Having a carefully planned, documented, record retention policy supports your company's internal accounting and documentation efforts as well as addressing state and federal legal compliance requirements. While retaining too much information can increase a company's legal exposure, disposing of too few records increases the costs associated with record storage. In this course, you'll learn how to create a record retention policy for your company. You'll learn to identify which records must be retained and for how long, the different formats in which records may be stored, techniques of record disposal, and how to make sure your record retention policy complies with the law.

Target Audience
 All employees with an emphasis on management and human resource personnel who need to understand and implement compliance policies

Expected Duration
2.0 hours

Lesson Objectives:

Components of a Record Retention Policy

  • recognize the importance of proper record retention and disposal procedures.
  • identify examples of records that comply with each record retention guideline.
  • identify examples of the guidelines used to determine the length of record retention.
  • match techniques for record disposal with the appropriate media category.

    • Implementing a Record Retention Policy

  • recognize the importance of implementing a record retention policy.
  • select examples of the guidelines for developing a record retention policy.
  • recommend methods to improve the legality of a record retention program.

    • Course Number: HR0166