Training on Developing and Implementing a Corporate Records Retention Schedule

Organizations often struggle with balancing compliance, operational needs, and cost when managing records. Developing and Implementing a Corporate Records Retention Schedule equips professionals with practical skills to create, implement, and maintain an effective retention program that aligns with legal, regulatory, and business requirements.

This hands-on course guides participants through the entire process of building a defensible retention schedule. You will learn how to identify and categorize record types, determine retention periods based on legal and business requirements, and establish clear procedures for secure disposal. The training emphasizes creating practical, user-friendly policies that employees can follow, minimizing compliance risks and operational inefficiencies.

Through case studies, exercises, and scenario-based learning, participants will gain expertise in mapping record series, conducting regulatory research, implementing governance structures, and rolling out retention policies organization-wide. By the end of the course, participants will be able to reduce storage costs, ensure legal compliance, and maintain only the records that truly matter to the organization.

Duration

5 Days

Who Should Attend

• Records and information managers

• Compliance and risk officers

• Legal counsel and corporate secretaries

• IT and data governance professionals

• Department heads responsible for recordkeeping

Individual Impact

• Gain the confidence to develop and maintain a legally defensible retention schedule.

• Reduce personal workload by knowing exactly what to keep and discard.

• Improve professional credibility as a trusted records management advisor.

• Strengthen decision-making with a clear compliance and business framework.

• Enhance career growth by mastering a core records management competency.

Organizational Impact

• Reduce storage costs and digital clutter through systematic retention.

• Lower legal and regulatory risks during audits or litigation.

• Improve efficiency by ensuring quick access to the right information.

• Support compliance with data privacy, finance, and sector-specific regulations.

• Build stronger governance and information lifecycle management practices.

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Explain the purpose and benefits of a corporate records retention schedule.

• Identify legal, regulatory, and business drivers for retention.

• Classify records into logical series that support compliance and efficiency.

• Draft, review, and approve a retention schedule.

• Develop strategies for implementation, training, and ongoing updates.

Module 1: Why Retention Matters

• Risks of keeping too much vs. disposing too early

• Legal and regulatory frameworks shaping retention

• The role of retention schedules in audits and litigation

• Case Study: A company fined for over-retention—what went wrong

Module 2: Researching Legal and Business Requirements

• Finding applicable laws and regulations

• Balancing compliance with operational needs

• Handling multi-jurisdictional requirements

• Practical Exercise: Map legal and business drivers to sample records

Module 3: Building the Retention Schedule

• Defining record series and categories

• Determining retention periods and triggers

• Using templates and metadata standards

• Practical Exercise: Draft a retention schedule for HR and finance records

Module 4: Gaining Approval and Buy-in

• Working with legal, compliance, and business stakeholders

• Documenting defensibility and risk management

• Governance committees and policy approvals

• Case Study: How one global firm secured executive sign-off

Module 5: Implementation and Maintenance

• Training staff and rolling out policies

• Integrating schedules with ECM/EDRMS systems

• Monitoring, auditing, and updating schedules

• Practical Exercise: Develop an implementation and communication plan