These services create or update the enterprise records retention policy and schedule, working with Legal, IT and other stakeholders to achieve consensus on requirements including regulatory compliance, litigation readiness, operational productivity and cost control. Policy implementation plans can include effective file plan development for e-mail and electronic files, as well as recommended project plans covering all aspects of a Records Management Program.

Records Retention Policy Development/Refresh – Create a draft records retention policy, or recommended updates to current policy, reflecting inputs from Legal and IT staffs as well as representatives of key stakeholders. Typically includes a policy business drivers report that summarizes the business drivers for the policy, such as regulatory compliance, litigation readiness, operational productivity and cost control. A policy development project generally follows and extends a records management assessment, and is completed in conjunction with creation or update of the records retention schedule.

Record Retention Schedule Development/Refresh – Update or create a table of record types and corresponding retention periods, covering business records maintained in paper and electronic formats. This Records Retention Schedule typically contains example document titles from a record types inventory that is developed during this project or a preceding assessment phase, and it is generally considered an appendix to the records retention policy.

Policy Implementation Plan Development – Develop an actionable Policy Implementation Plan that recommends follow-on projects to address opportunities identified during the assessment and policy development process. Includes tasks, priorities and timelines for projects in areas such as Records and Information Management organization and staffing; improved practices and tools for capture, filing, retention and disposition of paper records and scanned documents; management of electronically stored information (e-mail, electronic files, etc.); litigation hold and discovery processes; and employee training.

File Plan Development for E-mail and Electronic Records – File plans provide essential guidance for organizations deploying an e-mail and file archiving system. Contoural consultants work with Legal, IT and other stakeholders to define filing categories, tools and processes for classifying messages and documents for retention and disposition in accordance with the records retention schedule. File plans are designed to optimize user compliance and to leverage available technology capabilities. These projects typically include workshops to build consensus among internal stakeholders, and may specifically address the client's selected archiving technology solutions.