E-Mail How Are You Gonna Manage It?

E-Mail How Are You Gonna Manage it?

Helping others Manage the E-Mail Explosion

Richard E Smith, CRM

April 2, 2007

Introduction

Most everyone over a certain age would agree that e-mail has changed the way in which we communicate and conduct business. As a business tool, we use it to rapidly exchange information, collaborate on projects, and make announcements. Never before in history have we had such a wonderful and sometime dangerous tool.

Years ago I worked for the Rexall Drug Company Corporate Headquarters in St Louis. Most of the administrative staff was chained to their beloved black metal Royal Manual Typewriters. I remember sitting in a meeting with the Admin staff when my boss wanted to introduce two new technologies. Word Processing and a thing called Quip which was a very early fax. Most around the table were shocked that he would even consider such items for the officers. I unpretentiously said “cool” that’s a lot better then those clunky old antiques everybody is using to type out memos, letters, reports and other stuff. I suddenly felt the cold hand of “we don’t like change here” descend down upon me. Oh well so much for ancient history 1975-1980.

When many of us had our first experience with e-mail we were excited and many of us didn’t realize the potential and risk associated with this wonderful and exciting technology. Additionally many of us never had any training on what to do, not to do, nor anything else about the risky world we were about to enter. Nor did we realize that this new communication tool would result in our e-mail messages generally having a less formal tone than was typical of written correspondence found in letters and memorandums. Also, many of us failed to recognize that e-mail would be used to do the level of business that all of us use e-mail for today nor that the things we write could be and would be considered business records.

“Records - All books, papers, maps, photographs, machine-readable materials, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by an agency of the U. S. Government under Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation by that agency or its legitimate successor as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the Government or because of the informational value of the data in them.”

Most of us learned later and many still haven’t learned that an e-mail can be and often is a record that must be maintained within a reliable recordkeeping system. We also learned, some the hard way that all personnel are required to follow e-mail policy that often or should cover usage, content, privacy, and records retention.

Therefore, the following is shared with you to help you determine how best to assist individuals in your organization with how to identify e-mails that meet the definition of a record, recognize the records retention portion of managing e-mails that they create, receive, use or maintain and some ideas of what not to do.

One gentleman I know said that trying to teach people how to manage e-mail is like trying to teach someone how to swim in a tsunami. I laughed along with everyone else when this comment was made but didn’t necessarily agree. In my opinion not training employees on Records Management and not including anything about e-mail as records is just irresponsible.

So here we go with some ideas to share with the many people you have the pleasure of working with regarding e-mail as business records.

E-mail Records vs. Nonrecords

Not all records are valued equally. It is important to understand the distinctionbetween records and nonrecords. The meaning of the term record depends on the context in which it is being used. In the context of these guidelines, a record is documentation created or received and used by an office or individual in the performance of Company business. To be an accurate and authentic record, the documentation must contain sufficient content, context, and structure to provide evidence of an activity. However, the physical format or media in which the documentation is conveyed is irrelevant.

Not all e-mail messages document official company business; however, many do.

Therefore, individuals are required to retain and protect e-mail that meets the criteria of being a record according to these guidelines.

Evidence of Official company Business

E-mail messages that document company decisions, policies, procedures, resource expenditures, operations, or delivery of services are evidence of official company business.

Individuals must ensure that these messages are appropriately stored, organized, scheduled, and disposed of according to the Records Retention Schedule.

The following examples illustrate the kinds of e-mail messages that document Company official business:

General correspondence regarding management, financial, operating procedures, or policy matters

Interoffice messages regarding management, financial, operating procedures, or policy matters

Messages regarding company policy or the policy process

Messages regarding vital customer or product information

Messages that are relied upon in the development of management, financial, operating procedures, or policy matters

Nonrecords with an Official Context

E-mail messages may have an official context but not be part of a business transaction. Those messages are nonrecords and should not be retained within a recordkeeping system. The following examples illustrate e-mail with an official context, but no value beyond reference:

General departmental correspondence regarding routine business activities (transmittal messages and responses to routine questions)

Interoffice messages regarding:

–Employee activities (holiday parties, etc.)

–Invitations and responses to work related events (meetings, etc.)

Messages other than those created in an official capacity – unless themessages are relied upon in the development of management, financial, operating procedures, or policy matters

Personal Transactions

Any e-mail message that is neither created nor received in the course of routine orofficial company business may be disposed of immediately.

Filing and Maintenance

Only the official copy of a company record must be filed and maintained within the company recordkeeping systems and the same is true of e-mail records. Only the record copy is to be filed and maintained. Additional copies are considered convenience copies and, as such, arenonrecords. These may be disposed of when they no longer serve a purpose.

Recordkeeping systems may be paper based, electronic or a combination of the two and how to manage these records is usually dependant on one of two choices.

If an individual working on any aspect of company business chooses to

Maintain printed copies of e-mail, the procedures to do so mustinclude the appropriate transmission data, attachments, calendars, and task lists.

Use a software program to automatically capture, manage, and identify theirelectronic records, they may choose to include e-mail records within that system.

Again, all departmental procedures that instruct department individuals must include all the appropriate transmission data.

Department Management Issues to Consider

Department management should consider the ramifications of depending on the users’ personal e-mail directories to act as the recordkeeping system. Decentralization is counter-productive. Control of numerous copies, back-ups, and ultimate disposition is more difficult to maintain.Further, such ad-hoc file systems may not meet the need to provide easy and timely retrieval as required by the company.These file systems are dependent upon the individual user’s availability to retrieve specificrecords or upon the e-mail system administrator’s ability to search users’ directories.

Suggestions for developing simple E-mail Recordkeeping Requirements

The same records management principles that apply to paper records also apply to e-mailrecords. Departments shall, at a minimum:

Write and implement work instructions on e-mail. Instructions at aminimum shall address:

–What is a record vs. a nonrecord,

–How the individual shall preserve the data,

–The names on distribution lists or directories,

–When to requestreceipts and how to preserve the receipts,

–External e-mail systems,

–Circulated drafts.

The individual must also minimize the risk of unauthorized additions,deletions, or alterations to e-mail records (integrity).

Assign a department individual to be responsible for the maintenance of the e-mailrecordkeeping system. This individual is also required to annually monitor the

Use of the e-mail system to assure recordkeeping instructions is being followed.

Train all present e-mail users and provide on-going training for any new users one-mail record keeping requirements This training shall include:

–Defining what is a record vs. anonrecord; how to put records into record keeping systems; preserving data;

–Preserving names on distribution lists or directories,

–When to request receipts and how to preserve the receipts;

–How to deal with circulated drafts;and external emailsystems.

E-mail Records Preservation

E-mail that fulfills the definition of a record must be preserved within arecordkeeping system and if the record is an official company record, it must be maintainedin a format that makes it available if and as required.

All individuals must ensure their records are accurate and complete regardless of physical form or characteristics throughout the required retention period. Several areas must be addressed to ensure e-mail messages are accurate and complete. The recordkeeping system must be able to capture the appropriate information, toensure the records are easily accessible throughout their retention period, and toensure for the timely disposition of records once their retention period is met.

Transmission
Data / Individuals must ensure that as much transmission data as is possible is kept within the recordkeeping system.
At a minimum the recordkeeping system must include the name of the sender(s), the recipient(s), and the date received.
Additionally, if receipt acknowledgements are a part of the e-mail system, users should include those as a part of the record when appropriate. (For example, it may be appropriate to request a receipt acknowledgement when distributing a new policy to staff.) It is important to note that many e-mail systems use aliases to identify users. Therefore, a means of deciphering who the alias belongs to must be maintained. The same is true for distribution lists. There must be a method to identify to whom the individual e-mail address belong. However, when the e-mail is received from an e-mail system outside an individual’s control, this may be an impossible task.
Nonetheless, individuals must make a reasonable attempt to do so.
Authenticity / The system must ensure that once the record is a part of it, it cannot be altered.
Attachments / If an e-mail attachment meets the definition of a record, it must bemaintained within the recordkeeping system.
Calendars and
Task Lists / Some e-mail systems include calendars and task lists for each user. If the information contained in the calendar or task list documents decisions, policies, procedures, resource expenditures, operations, or delivery of services, it may meet the definition of a record. Therefore, all individuals must develop a method of retaining those records within the recordkeeping system.
Accessibility / Therefore, all individuals must develop a method of retaining those records within the recordkeeping system and procedures to make e-mail records accessible when requested.
To ensure the records are easily accessible throughout their retention
period for internal, as well as external use, the recordkeeping system must:

Provide for the clear identification of the record
Permit easy and timely retrieval of individual records andrecords series
Retain the records in a usable format

Retention
Periods / The content of the message determines how long it must be retained. E-mail is not a unique record series. E-mail is simply the method of transmission – like a fax machine or the postal service. All individuals must consult the Company Master Records Retention Schedule to determine the appropriateretention period or contact the Records Management office at ( ) for advise.
Disposition / Regardless of the type of media used to store e-mail messages, therecordkeeping system should have a procedure for the disposition ofrecords once their retention period has been met. However, if e-mailrecords are maintained within electronic recordkeeping systems, all individuals must ensure that all copies including back-ups are purged.
Temporary Hold
Orders / Once a record series and time period have been identified as part oflitigation, a temporary hold order must be placed on the covered records. All individuals must develop a method of retaining those records within the recordkeeping system to ensure that e-mail records are included within the temporary hold order.

A few summary points for training other on how to swim and stay afloat in a tsunami.

Effective Writing

Effective E-mail.

–Use one topic per message.

–Make actions clear.

–Write short, concise messages.

–Proofread your messages before sending.

Important points should be “up front” and not buried in the middle or at the end.
Don’t send all messages out “urgent” because it’s like calling “wolf.” No one will believe you when you do have an urgent message.
Important messages should be followed up by a phone call.
Be careful to use the “To” and “CC” distribution as intended.
Do not put “a cast of thousands” on all your messages because it could cause reader to ignore important messages.
We send too many e-mails.

–Talk to people who sit close by.

E-mail is or can be a an Official Company Document

E-mail is a company record and belongs to the company.
E-mail should be handled as any other letter on letterhead. (Don’t put anything in writing you wouldn’t want discovered.)
E-mail empowers us.
Permanently file important e-mails and do not delete e-mails that you think could get you in trouble. (There is something called “origination fraud.”) Get legal advice if needed.

Be careful about not selecting the wrong person on your distribution lists.
Check people with similar or common names.
Check over your distribution lists regularly.
Action will be taken against you for e-mail misuse.

Security Issues

Keep access code secure.

Do not send confidential e-mail to people who should not receive it.

Is there a “need to know?”
Keep in mind that if we want to “forward” an encrypted e-mail, we must also “encrypt” before sending.

Conflicts & E-mail Don’t Mix

Don’t try to settle conflicts over e-mail.
Don’t write something that you wouldn’t say to someone directly.
If angry, wait until you “cool off” to send it. No one ever regretted the e-mail they didn’t send
E-mail can become a rumor mill.

Recommended must haves for any Records Management Team for e-mail training

E-Mail Rules: A Business Guide to Managing Policies, Security, and Legal Issues for E-Mail and Digital Communication by Nancy Flynn, Randolph Kahn "Whether you employ one part-time worker or 100,000 full-time professionals, any time you allow employees access to your e-mail system, you put your organization's assets, future and reputation at risk."

Commonwealth Films

The Plugged-In Mailbox Email Uses and Misuses

Training Topics:

E-mail derailed—effective vs. ineffective writing: clogging e-mail bandwidth with needless or poorly constructed messages; writing in clear, businesslike language; editing, proof-reading, and fact-checking before hitting “send”; over-use of “high priority”
Nothing Personal—email is not “private property:” email messages are property of the organization; no expectation of personal privacy for email
“Virtual" Food Fights: email used to argue emotional issues or personal conflicts, spreading rumors, errors
“X"-mail: misuse of office systems to browse, download, or circulate sexual, racial, political, or religious material
Sensitive email—handle with care: unauthorized use of another e-mail user's ID; keeping network access codes secure; protecting confidential information
Digital discovery—“E” is for evidence: email seized as evidence during discovery; thinking defensively before writing or sending; the value of proofing and fact-checking; following records retention and deletion guidelines

Overview:

This information-packed, story-based program uses dramatized vignettes to illustrate important differences between using and misusing email and the Internet. An urgent email about a large shipment lost in a train wreck fails to alert anyone at the home office. An intranet bookmaking scheme is uncovered. Downloading and forwarding sexually explicit material from the Internet brings sexual harassment charges to individuals and the organization. Trade secrets are leaked. Carelessly worded email fuels an antitrust case and more …

And Finely

All the very best to all of you in your work and careers, the work you are doing has great value to the organization you work for and for the many wonderful people who make up the organization. You can be

The voice of reason for

1.Assisting individuals at all levels of the organization with making sense of records management expectations imposed by regulatory agencies, customers, legal, and tax requirements

2.Determining with others what industry best practices will best help your organization meet the expectations and requirements for compliance, effectiveness, and cost containment.

3.Focusing in on by being vigilant on helping others improve efficiency that contributes to substantial overhead cost reductions for creating, receiving, managing, using and disposing of company records.