Case Studies

1. Fortune 100 Corporation Was Operating Without a Records Retention Schedule Since the Inception of Their Company - 30 Years!

One of the most important systems to have in any size company is a Records Retention Schedule, which identifies what you have and how long you need to keep each piece of information. In short, this company was retaining records longer than necessary, which was costing them excess money for storage space plus creating a potential legal exposure.

The Hyder Solution:

Hyder & Associates established a customized Records Retention Schedule for their corporate headquarters. As a result, their legal counsel requested that the program be extended internationally so Hyder & Associates established a Records Retention Schedule for their international subsidiaries in Europe, Asia and Latin America. This required onsite visits to each of their fifteen locations.

Benefit: With their new Retention Schedule, the company is now saving considerable money on valuable office space due to the timely destruction of records that had met their legal requirements.

2. Fortune 1000 Corporation in the Manufacturing Industry Was Operating Without a File Plan and Unable to Find Legal Records When Faced with Litigation

This corporation was in the process of searching for necessary legal documents during the document discovery phase of a law suit. However, due to the lack of a consistent methodology of filing, which covered decades of time, certain records could not be located.

Their filing system varied from alphabetical to chronological to numerical, depending on each individual administrator's own filing system. This created confusion and chaos when it came to finding documents, particularly after those doing the filing had left employment.

The Hyder Solution:

• Conducted an assessment of their strategic plan.
• Developed an overall File Plan system taking into account the types of files that were created and received.
• Developed a File Plan for their Law, Tax, Human Resources, Accounting and Sales Research departments.
• Wrote policies and procedures for filing.
• Made recommendations on Records Management software.
• Converted 150,000 files to new methodology
• Implemented File Plan in the Document Management System (DMS).

Benefit: With their new File Plan in place, this corporation was able to respond to the litigation in a timely and accurate manger. Overall, they are able to find all information quickly without delays.

3. Major Warehouse Cleanup & Inventory

Case Study: This manufacturing company acquired a 500,000 square foot warehouse consisting of over 100,000 boxes minus a Records Inventory.

This scenario was a challenge due to the magnitude of the number of boxes and lack of a File Plan or box inventory. Due to an earlier acquisition, their records dated back twenty and thirty years. The company desperately needed our help in sorting through the mess to determine what to do with all these records, particularly many valuable vital records.

The Hyder Solution:

1. Assessed the overall situation and established a strategic plan.
2. Developed a Records Retention Schedule to identify how long the records needed to be retained.
3. Evaluated and made recommendations on new shelving equipment.
4. Inventoried the contents of each box (over 100,000 in total), a project which lasted 1.5 years.
5. Entered information into Records Management software on each box along with a retention/destruction date.
6. Destroyed boxes that had met their legal requirements.
7. Wrote procedures and trained client staff.

Benefit: This Company is now running an efficient operation, shortage costs have been substantially reduced, and administrators know where all their records are located.

4. Large Manufacturing Plant Was Moving Operations Offshore
And Needed Assistance with Indexing Records for Storage

The Hyder Solution:

• Assessed the overall situation
• Determined the volume of records
• Determined the disposition of records: which to stay in the U.S., which to move offshore, and which to destroy.
• Developed Records Retention Schedule.
• Wrote Records policies and procedures.
• Trained staff on how to inventory.
• Developed close out procedures for the staff to follow when boxing and indexing the records.

Benefit: As a result of these services, the company was able to quickly complete the project. All of the valuable records were accounted for and disbursed to their appropriate destinations with no records lost.

5. Major Corporation Needed to Downsize While Maintaining Current Records

Major oil products marketing firm was merging five physical offices into a single corporate headquarters building. This required moving 850 employees from 44 departments along with all their records. However, the architect for the new building did not allocate sufficient space for files. To complicate matters, the corporation did not have a Records Management Program.

The Hyder Solution:

• Assessed the situation and developed a strategic plan to solve multiple records issues.
• Developed a Records Retention Schedule.
• Assisted with offsite storage vendor selection.
• Completed space planning for 26 central file rooms.
• Made equipment recommendations.
• Wrote RFP for imaging software and records management software.
• Assisted with vendor selections for new imaging and bar code tracking technology.
• Acted as the Project Manager for the implementation of seven imaging and document management applications, which included protecting the client's interest in areas of budget, schedule and scope
• Worked extensively with the systems integrator, the client's procurement department, scanning service bureau, and client's computer support staff to keep the project on schedule and budget.
• Designed a corporate File Plan.
• Converted over 300,000 file folders from a top tab folder to side tab folder that included colors and bar coding.
• Wrote records management policies and procedures.
• Trained over 400 staff in records management procedures.

Benefit: The Company implemented a standard set of hardware and software for imaging and document management and successfully implemented the seven systems within months of starting the engagement. As a result, staff efficiency was maximized and costs were reduced. The customer service application was extremely well received and later adopted by multiple entities following the company's acquisition.

6. Government Entity Required a Needs Assessment Study
For Imaging Records

The different divisions of a Southern California city were frustrated with their current solution for imaging and document management. There was no consensus regarding a strategy to move forward and they lacked a budget to implement a unified approach.

The Hyder Solution:

• Developing a complete set of observations and recommendations as well as identifying the enterprise priorities and opportunities for greater efficiencies.
• Presented the findings and recommendations to the city's Information Technology Executive Board (ITEB), enabling the support and approval of the project.
• Presented the plan to multiple division executives.
• Garnered the buy-in of all city divisions, which brought them together in support of a single system procurement for imaging and document management.
• Assisted the Information Systems Division with development of a budget and staffing plan to manage the system once implemented.
• Worked with the city to form a Records Management Steering Committee.
• Facilitated the meetings to ensure equitable representation for the entire organization as well as unbiased and central accountability for roles and responsibilities.
• Wrote the RFP for imaging, document management and workflow.
• Managed the complete RFP process:
  • Conducted vendor conferences
  • Responded to RFP related questions from vendors
  • Set up a scoring matrix for selection of a short list
  • Orchestrated the city staffs' vendor reference checking
• Was instrumental in vendor negotiations.
• Developed a pilot program for user testing.
• Assisted with scope of work definitions.
• Negotiated a reduced price for many of the tasks outlined in the final scope of work.
• Assisted both city staff and the vendor with the system design to meet the city's business requirements.

Benefit: The City's Information Technology Executive Board recommended a multi-year eight figure budget to install and maintain an enterprise-wide imaging, document management and workflow system. With the justification written by Hyder & Associates, the project was approved by the City Council and the city procured a single system that met all the diverse requirements of the many divisions. The city was also able to obtain the system and services for a substantial discount.