Cadence Group will gather information from key stakeholders in each of your separate business units. Leveraging that knowledge, our team analyzes each of the operating units needs and delivers a Findings and Recommendations Report that identifies gaps in best practices, a roadmap for execution and estimated timeline for completion. Recommendations address areas such as: legal and regulatory requirements, governance and program sustainability, technology options, business process improvements, cost reduction and risk mitigation priorities.

We typically start with an assessment to understand current records management practices, then build a program foundation and take your team all the way through adoption. A RIM Program Foundation is critical to successful compliance and includes 1) Policy, 2) Records Retention Schedule (RRS) incorporating legal and business requirements, and 3) Guidelines and Procedures that outline physical and eRecords best practices. Learn more about our Records Schedule tool.

Policies will address the latest technology and communication practices such as social media and information in the cloud. We then build on this foundation to ensure a successful implementation of your records management program through:

• Communications and formal training (live, computer-based)
• Taxonomy and file plans
• Records and electronic information cleanup
• Software evaluation (ECM, EDRM, RMS)
• Offsite storage vendor negotiation
• Staffing and support

Without a clear path, compliance by internal staffers is impossible. A current Records Retention Schedule is a critical component of any records management program. The primary objective of Cadence Group’s Records Retention Schedule Development Methodology is to support simplified records retention practices, so that employees can easily use, and management can easily administer, the schedule. Cadence Group experts can quickly assess and align your schedules to streamline business processes and improve compliance. Learn more about our Records Schedule tool, it allows you to visualize the relationships between old and new schedules and links to the legal citations that drive the retention recommendations.

Keeping a legal research team or hiring outside counsel is costly and largely unnecessary. Let our experienced team complete legal and regulatory research and provide legal citations for the U.S. and countries worldwide. Your Records Retention Schedule can then be updated based on best practices in risk mitigation, and legal and regulatory retention requirements.

Documents and email have a way of accumulating. You want to clean out the obsolete information, but need to do it in a compliant manner. Cadence Group offers solutions to help identify and destroy as much eligible records and information as possible, based on risk and retention requirements. Whether you decide to leverage your existing tools or evaluate and purchase a new product, the Cadence Group team can help you manage the process to ensure compliance, a sound information architecture and a sustainable program.

Utilize our triage methodology, proprietary tools, and our understanding of legally defensible destruction strategies. Quickly reduce the risk associated with your growing stockpile of physical “records” and electronic documents and email. Learn more about ePurge^SM, one of the tools in our toolbelt.

Whether you need someone to provide one-on-one records management training, in-depth classroom learning opportunities, online or classroom-based certificate programs, or customized training, your information professionals will gain a theoretical and practical understanding of physical and electronic records and information management (RIM). Training Programs include:

• RIM Awareness 101
• RIM Policy
• Electronic Records Management Training
• In-depth Records Coordinator
• Document Management, Records Management, Web Content Management
• Records and Information Cleanup Events
• Copyright Issues and Information Center Operations

Training will enable your organization to mitigate financial and legal risk, share data and knowledge across the enterprise, comply with laws specific to your industry, and increase employee productivity.

Strong programs are effective when they align with real-world business practices—great RIM programs do not operate in a vacuum but rather in each and every work station. We understand that each department has their own business processes; we assure that each component of operations aligns with RIM policies. By carefully developing protocols that keep the end-user in mind, we assure that they easily become a seamless part of daily operations, assuring compliance and delivering increased efficiencies for the organization.

Need to support your staff through the cleanup and implementation of your RIM policies and procedures? Need ongoing records and information management support for your record coordinators and administrative staff? Learn more about Compliance Help Desk.

Whether you need records management leadership or staffing support, Cadence Group can help. Throughout the operational year, you may need different types of RIM skills. We can put together a program that addresses your scalable skill needs so that you invest in the skills you need when you need them. We handle the recruitment of professional RIM personnel to staff the RIM Program office, or offer an outsourced RIM Program office that addresses all aspects of a record’s (electronic and physical) life cycle –saving you as much as 30% on the cost of running many business operations.

Keep your programs strong with review and audit programs. We offer annual Records Policy Reviews–a survey of existing business units conducted to solicit changes, additions, or deletions from the existing Records Retention Schedule and RIM policy. We’ll then input changes into the Records Retention Schedule and update the legal citations and retention, based on any new legal or regulatory requirements. Additionally, an enterprise-wide RIM audit compliance review makes departments aware of the importance of following the RIM Policy and Procedures. Cadence Group will make comprehensive or random office inspections, analyze the results, summarize the findings, recommend steps toward compliance, develop future audit focus point areas, and can support training and cleanup activities.

Cadence Group objectively consults on the selection of information management products including Enterprise Content Management (ECM), Document Management System (DMS), Records Management System (RMS), etc.

We do not sell these products. Instead, we offer you an unbiased approach to software evaluation, partnering with you to select the best technology available for your environment, and fully leveraging your current technology to constrain costs. Our consultants lead and/or facilitate the steps necessary to help your organization select the best product, with the greatest return on investment. As part of our software evaluation process, we:

• Gather and Prioritize Business Requirements
• Combine with Industry Standards/Requirements for software
• Build a Request for Proposal (RFP)
• Identify Key Vendors to Respond to RFP
• Guide Qualitative and Quantitative Evaluation
• Support the Selection of Vendor
• Oversee the Implementation, Rollout, and Training