Routine Management and Retention
Summary
Make efficient use of time by dealing with an email the first time you open it, then classifying it and filing it. Initial classification may be by deciding if the email is:
a) A record of University business
b) For reference only
c) Personal
d) Spam/Junk mail
Once this has been done the email can be further categorised and saved on SharePoint/S:Drive with related records if necessary.
Content
When you first open an email decide which of the following categories it comes under (classify it) and then file it. Is the email:
a) A record of University business
To decide whether an email is a record you must assess whether:
· It contains a business decision
· It provides evidence of an action or transaction
· It has long term value for future reference or historical purposes
· It contains information which may need to be provided as evidence in a court of law if the University’s decision is challenged
· It records contractual undertakings entered into by the University
· It commits the University or its staff to certain courses of action including the commitment of resources and provision or purchase of goods or services
· It documents the establishment, negotiation and maintenance of business relationships with clients (including staff and students) e.g. provision of information or a request from a student.
If the answer is yes to any of the above then it is likely the email is a record and should be stored and retained appropriately on SharePoint/S:Drive with the relevant retention periods/deletion dates applied to them in accordance with your department’s Records Retention Schedule. The same applies to records of routine business information/correspondence/transactions - these should be saved with other related records to ensure that records are retained as long as necessary.
b) For reference only – e.g. office information, announcements, cc’d messages for information only, meeting reminders, telephone messages, etc. may be deleted immediately or shortly after receipt, when the contents are no longer relevant. Others, which are of use in the short-term and contribute to the compilation of minor records should be stored and retained as per above
c) Personal - As detailed in the Information Security User Policy (section 6), the University permits personal use of systems subject to a number of conditions as long as this does not interfere with, or impinge on, University business in any way. Keep personal emails to a minimum to avoid using University server storage space. Delete once used or retain on H: Drive if the correspondence relates to your employment – set review/deletion dates
d) Spam/Junk mail – delete immediately – do not click on any links within spam emails – further guidance is available on the Information Services webpages
Once this has been done the email can be further categorised and saved on SharePoint/S:Drive with related records if necessary. If the record contains personal, sensitive or confidential information the access permissions on the site/folder in which it is kept on SharePoint/S:Drive must be restricted so that only people with the necessary permission have access…even if this is only yourself and your manager.
Page last reviewed 28 March 2019