General Records Management Guidance

This page provides general guidance, best practices, resources, and links for records management for non-DHS entities in response to questions and inquiries to DHS staff. Government units should consult with legal counsel for official guidance on operationalizing the content on this page.

Key takeaways

1. Records management is a set of best practices to help guide how to keep, organize, and dispose of your records.
2. Follow appropriate statutes; ask your legal counsel to identify those for you.
3. Document your organization methods.
4. Consider your use case and the associated costs of digitizing paper records.
5. Dispose of eligible records on a regular cadence.

Policies and statutes

Government units

• Wis. Stat. § 16.61 defines records management requirements for state agencies. DHS must adhere to these guidelines, but your government unit may not.
• Wis. Stat. § 19.21 requires local government units to retain public records for a minimum of 7 years unless determined otherwise by the Public Records Board.
• Wis. Admin. Code. ch. Adm 12 details the standards and requirements for state and local government records held in electronic formats.
• Wis. Stat. § 140.04(1)(h)8 expects local health departments to implement and maintain the technology needed to support public health operations while simultaneously protecting personally identifiable information and other confidential health information.

Partners and providers

The management of records governed by a contract with DHS must adhere to records retention policies under Wis. Stat. § 16.61(4). Contact the program area you work with for further guidance on retention and disposition of DHS records in your possession.

Records management basics

Records management is a set of best practices to help organize information for easy access and use throughout its lifecycle from creation to disposition.

Creation

Records can be created in both physical and electronic formats. Physical records are most frequently paper, though not always. Many paper records have been converted to microfilm in the past.

Organization

Best practices include using a standardized file naming structure, cohesive folder structure, and documentation of records management decisions.

• If you are maintaining records in physical and digital formats, it can be easier to find records if both formats use the same organizational structure.
• File and folder names should use a consistent naming structure within a single set of records. Example: Electronic files in a single folder are all named with the format “Subject-Type-Date-Version” so a single file name might be titled “ProjectA-Budget-20240801-v001.doc”.
• File and folder names can hold multiple pieces of information. Example: A folder titled “Last Names B (2011-2016)” indicates the content of the folder and date range of the records.
• Consider using subfolders to separate materials into more convenient groupings. Example: If it is easier to find records by someone’s last name and by date, consider having alphabetical folders and folders by date within each alphabetical folder.
• Document your decisions in a reference file so that future staff can understand the history of your organizational structure. These documents are generally called "Read Me" files and written in non-proprietary formats such as a plain text file.

Use

Once we create records, they often stay relevant to our work for significant periods of time. During that time, we may share them with others. This usage and distribution creates duplicate copies of our records. Note that only one version is a record and the rest are non-records. It is important to clarify which version is the record and which are copies. The copies don’t have to be retained in the same way records do.

Retention

It is impossible to retain everything forever-- there isn’t enough space, money, or time to do that. Instead, we must write policies for how long to keep information that balance the need for the information and the resources available to us. The amount of time we keep records is detailed in a retention policy, also known as disposition policies, retention schedules, and retention and disposition authorizations (RDAs).

• State agencies are required to retain records according to RDAs, while other government units are required to follow the retention guidance from state statute and have the option of using RDAs in addition.
• Any vendor, partner, or provider retaining state-owned records must follow the requirements for retaining those records.
• Copies of records are not considered records. They only have to be retained for as long as they are useful and not according to a retention policy or RDA.

Refer to the Public Records Board webpages on Statewide General Records Schedules and Local Unit General Records Schedules for additional record retention information.

Disposition

Once you have retained the records to the appropriate amount of time it is time to disposition them. We use the term “disposition” because there are multiple options for what to do with the records.

• An RDA or retention schedule will detail the disposition method, usually as destroy, destroy confidentially, or transfer to a specified entity.
• Local government units must notify the Wisconsin Historical Society before destroying obsolete records. For more information on notifying the Wisconsin Historical Society or transferring local government records with historical value, please see the Wisconsin Historical Society webpage.
• Confidentiality should be maintained when destroying any materials with PII, whether records or non-records.

Electronic records

Going paperless

Before choosing to store records digitally, consider the following points:

• Holding records electronically does not change the records management statutes that must be followed surrounding retention and disposition.
• Scanning the paper records is not dispositioning; it is a transfer of format. There is still a need for a process of disposition of the electronic documents at the appropriate record retention time.
• Scanning records takes time and resources and should only be done if the benefits to storage or usage outweigh the costs.
• The Wisconsin Historical Society has provided further guidance on digitizing records.

Managing electronic records

• When rearranging electronic records, it is best to map the overall folder structure before rearranging the materials to ensure the structure meets staff needs. Once determined, it is best practice to create a “Read Me” file to document decisions so in the future the reasoning and layout are easily understood as new folders are created. This process often takes trial and error, so test the organizations structure on a subset of records before applying the structure to everything.
• Automation can be a useful tool for streamlining the disposition process. Consider tools that can aid in identifying records eligible for disposition, and have staff review to confirm accuracy.

Additional resources

Public Records Board: Guidance and best practices from the oversight body for records management for the state of Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Historical Society: Guidance on digitization, electronic records, and notification of obsolete records.

Folder and File Naming Conventions - 10 Rules for Best Practice: Article by Vincent Santaguida.

Best Practices for Folder Structures: Guide from the University of Washington records management office.

Recommendations on File/Folder Naming Conventions: Naming guide from the University of Washington records management office.

Recommended Practices: File Organization: Data Management Recommended Practices from the University of Pennsylvania Penn Libraries.

Records Management Guidance: Resources and tip sheets from the State of Michigan's Records Management Services.