Flying Filing Squad Blog

Four Critical Success Factors for a successful retention and disposal implementation

Flying Filing Squad have identified four critical success factors:

1. You’ve got to have the courage to get started;
2. You’ve got to have a list;
3. Meeting Archives NZ’s needs speeds the process and costs less; and
4. Project Relationship management is critical.

Often organisations can be overwhelmed by the size of a  job. This in turn leads to them not getting started. Another reason not to get started is that the total job may go over 2 - 3 years.

Without a list, nothing will happen. Ideally the list has all of the information about the files. Implementation always involves checking the file title, open and closed years, part number and file reference. It is a speedy job if the information only needs to be checked rather than keyed in.

Archives New Zealand has 96,000 metres of archive as at 2011. They take a planned approach to transfer and that process is well documented. Early contact with Archives can save a lot of time as you will be clear about what is needed.

And as with all well run projects, managing the relationships is critical. Setting up good reporting lines, having face to face discussions and providing regular reports will ensure that all flows well.

Contact the Archive to organise transfer

It is my experience that the Archive likes to take a planned approach to transfer. Once a transfer archivist is assigned the organisation has a point of contact. This is particularly helpful in going through the process of listing and boxing through to the eventual sign off of transfer and access documents.

The other benefit to getting this work done is cost savings - up to $6 per box per annum (depending on your off site storage suppliers pricing)

Cost Savings Assessed

To prepare the business case to get this work done, this may be the first thing that you have to do. You can only do it if you have a list of what is in the boxes.

Imagine that you have 144,000 files in 7,500 boxes. Each year it costs $6 to store one box or $45,000.

You realise that that you can destroy 60% and transfer 40% to Archives. Annual savings of $45,000. Makes sense to process it

Assess percentage of files for transfer to Archive

We know how many London Boxes (that's what we call them in New Zealand) are needed to put 1 metre of files in. It is a simple equation; divide the total linear metres of files for transfer by 5 and the answer is the total number of boxes needed.

The Archive needs this information too so that it can prepare for the transfer.

Volume of files for destruction

When assessing cost savings, it is important to keep an eye on the volume of files that can be destroyed.

The Flying Filing Squad has implemented retention and disposal schedules and found that some of the files could have been destroyed ten years previously. Imagine if there has been 100 boxes stored for ten extra years. An extra $6,000 has been spent over that time (average annual storage seems to be $6 per box)

So, apply those schedules when the file is created and take charge of the destruction when it is due