A Basic Approach
No
filing strategy: You create no folders, keeping all
emails in the inbox.
Filing
system: You use a simple filing scheme based on
topical areas. In this way, you can incorporate your office’s
records retention and disposition schedule.
You
use a combination of filing system and usage of inbox
to store emails.
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Deal with bad electronic filing systems now,
the problem will only get worse as more
records are created.
Plan ahead--coordinate with paper filing
system.
Create a directory tree with primary subjects
divided by secondary subjects.
Keep all files together in a central directory/
folder.
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Each folder and each file needs a logical place
in the filing structure, so arbitrary decisions
are limited.
Filing structures must be easy to understand.
Focus on business processes, not records.
Define activities associated with each
business process.
Determine how records are retrieved and
accessed.
Use consistent terminology.
While there are no
limits to the number
of sub-folders that
you can create, your
filing system may
become confusing if
you have more than
3 or 4 levels of subfolders.
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Follow the ABC Rule; use titles that are:
Accurate, Brief, and Concise.
Use default application file extensions.
Titles should have only one interpretation.
Avoid repeating the folder name in file name.
Determine subject content when naming.
Use version numbers, if necessary (useful for
e-mail attachments)
Be consistent with case numbers, dates,
upper vs. lower case
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As new projects are started and new records
are created the filing system will need to
change.
As some folders grow they may get too large
and will need to be divided.
Eventually some folders may need to be
eliminated or combined with others.
Managing a filing system is an ongoing
process.