Your Quick Guide to Data Retention Policy!

Be it a startup or a multi-national company, data is actually very important for every business out there. But storing, managing, and updating the same is easier said than done.

Companies spend most of their time on data management actually. This is certainly because we are living in a time where data is increasing every day. This is when a data retention policy comes into play!

For the uninitiated, implementing a well-defined policy for data retention can do wonders for companies in a number of ways.

Curious to know more about this policy?

Let’s dive into the blog and start exploring together. Not to forget, we have a surprise for you towards the end.

What is a Data Retention Policy?

Data retention policies, as the name suggests, is a clear framework that companies use to grow the lifecycle of their data. In simpler words,

In simpler words, this is the policy that gives clarity to a company that for what period several data types such as customer records, financial data, or employee information, should be retained before deleting or archiving them.

Like all other policies of a company that gives structure to its operations, the data retention and destruction policy template is also a crucial one. It ensures the safety of every data in an organization, no matter how trivial it is.

Let’s understand the importance of this policy in the next section!

What is the Importance of the Data Retention Policy?

As we already mentioned earlier, a policy for data retention makes sure that a company complies with laws related to data protection without fail. This, in turn, can allow companies to stay away from non-compliance issues and most importantly, hefty fines.

In addition to this, data retention policy is also a great tool for managing risks effectively, thereby cutting down the misuse of sensitive data and any such potential security breaches or misplacement.

Need to mention, such a policy will also allow a company to manage resources effectively, thereby cutting down any unwanted expenses that often come out of nowhere.

Last but of course not least, the policy also facilitates secure data storage along with a systematic way to manage all your business data.

5 Benefits of HR Data Retention Policy

There are actually many but have a look at the top five key benefits of implementing an effective HR data retention policy:

– Ensured Compliance:

Let’s not forget that we are living in a complicated & dynamic regulatory landscape. In such a scenario, a policy for data retention policies can ensure a company stays compliant with all legal needs.

To make the most of this policy(data retention solution), you must clearly define the retention periods for different data. This not only benefits employees but also helps companies maintain their goodwill while ensuring utmost compliance along the way.

– Smoother Data Management:

Managing data is one of the most vital processes of every business, regardless of its size and the industry it belongs to. With the  date retention policy in place, a company can effortlessly sort, manage, and retrieve any data. This simply means that anyone in the company can have access to critical information in no time, thereby making business processes smoother and faster.

When everyone in the workplace clearly has an idea of how different data is managed and retained, there won’t be any room for confusion or clutter.

This streamlined way of data management will eventually increase overall efficiency as well as give them quick access to important data for important processes like employee performance evaluation.

– Cost Savings:

Not many know that a well-designed data retention policy can also help companies save money. Yes, you read it right.

When you eliminate manual ways to store piles of documents and files, you eventually save a large chunk of money as well as admin overhead. Plus, implementing an effective policy for data retention can also streamline all business, HR, and employee-related data once and for all. In addition to this, employers can enable cost-effective HR management and at the same time, free up resources for other value-adding activities.

– Increased Data Safety:

Who doesn’t want to keep their data away from data-related risks? Every employer wants to. Data security is essential and so, is a data retention policies. The data retention policy, in itself, plays a crucial role in data security. By outlining how you as an organization manage as well as store data, you can protect sensitive data from all risks and the wrong hands. This would typically be an extra layer of protection to all your business data which will always make sure that no data is used or shared across the workplace without any specific reason.

– Easier HR Operations:

Last but not least, an HR policy for effective data retention can also improve and optimize human processes like never before.

When everything related to data and managed retention is decided and shared across a company, everyone, especially HR managers can effortlessly take care of all information safely, track it, and make the right decisions. This, in turn, leads to systematic data management, saving both the time as well as effort of HR professionals. They will never face any issues. On the contrary, they can easily access any data anytime, anywhere.

As a result, HR teams will be able to invest more time in creating strategies and plans for other business operations.

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5 Things to Keep in Mind While Writing Data Retention Policy

These five points will help you to draft the best data retention policy for your organization:

– Ensure Compliance:

Like any other policy, the data retention policies should also be designed in a way that is compliant with every statutory law. For this, you should take some time before jumping into designing the policy. Spend time understanding the laws related to data that are applicable to your business. Having a clear idea beforehand will help you to come up with the most effective policy for your organization.

– Proper Data Classification:

The second thing to take care of is clearly defining the different types of data your company manages on a routine basis. Start by categorizing all information into several specific groups depending on their significance as well as sensitivity.

Say, for instance, data such as employee information, financial documents, and intellectual property may have different retention needs. So, look closely at every data and categorize accordingly.

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– Decide Retention Duration:

Once you are done categorizing all the data, the next step should be deciding the duration at which you will retain all the categorized data. The period you choose will certainly be based on several things such as compliance needs, organizational requirements, and much more. So, take enough time to decide what retention period will work best for your organization.

– Permissions:

Now that you have categorized and decided on the retention period mindfully, the next thing you should focus on should be who can access and manage those data. In addition to this, you should outline the security measures to make things more smooth.

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– Deletion Process:

Data retention policy is is one of the most important factors you should give special attention to. Sit with your team and decide how can you securely dispose of different data once it is of no use. Ensure that the policy addresses different methods such as shredding, degaussing, and more to avoid data-related risks while deleting them. You can also check sample data retention policy here.

A bonus tip: You can even use HR software like Superworks to make the whole process more convenient and faster for everyone. If you have questions about how to create a data retention policy, so you can check below ready made template.

Data Retention Policy Template

Data Retention Policy Example

So, When Are you Implementing a Data Retention Policy?

Now that you know everything about the data retention policy, it is high time for you to implement the policy at the earliest. After all, it is for the safety of your data. Utilizing reliable help desk software can streamline the implementation process and ensure efficient management of data retention practices.

We hope the templates and examples in this blog will help you to design an effective policy. Also, if you wish to get your hands on easy-to-customize and smart HR document, do not forget to check Superworks.