What Data Retention Policy Best Practices Should I Follow?

 

Although there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to data retention — requirements will vary depending on the size of your business, the industry in which you operate, the type of data you process and so on — there are a few best practices to follow when creating a data retention policy: For more at Data Retention Policy

 

Do your research, first. Make sure you are aware of and understand all the regulations that apply to your business and any legal obligations before you get started.

Determine what your business needs are. Although legal requirements come first, any data retention policies that you implement should also be designed in such a way that they streamline business-critical processes and promote efficiency.

Make data retention policy development a team effort. In order to create a record retention policy that is truly comprehensive and represents the interests of your entire organization, you need input from multiple different voices, including your in-house legal counsel, finance department, accounting team and other various departmental managers and supervisors.

 

Don’t overcomplicate things. Use simple language and straightforward terms when drafting retention policies. This will not only make them easier for employees to understand but will also increase the likelihood of adherence. And remember: You can always start small and make changes over time as needed.

Create different policies for different data types. Not every piece of information needs to be stored for the same length of time — it varies depending on the business need and applicable regulatory and/or legal requirements.

Be transparent. Let your customers, subscribers and users know what information you intend to hold on to, how it will be stored and how it will be used. Where possible, give them control over how their data is used.

Invest in an archiving solution. Certain email, social media and text/SMS messaging archiving platforms enable you to create custom record retention policies and automate the data retention process, thereby saving you time and effort. Look for a solution that enables you to organize data according to your business requirements, offers robust search functionality and has built-in security features.

Consistently back up your data. Doing so will not only protect you from a compliance standpoint, but also reduce or eliminate the risk of data loss in the event of an outage or unexpected downtime. For more at Data Retention Policy

Don’t hold onto data longer than is necessary. Although it might seem like best practice to operate with an abundance of caution and retain data indefinitely, doing so actually leaves your business open to risk. Excess data not only consumes valuable storage resources and slows down systems, it also makes you more vulnerable in the event of a data breach or security incident. That said, deletion is permanent, so you’ll want to carefully consider which data to archive and which to get rid of.