The decision to out source your records to a purpose built Record Management Centre is certainly not to be taken lightly and needs to consider many factors.

In most cases companies’ base their decision initially on price and then bring into consideration factors such as service standards, facility and location. However, a recent survey by O’Neil in America found that Information Managers actually rated facility at the top of their ‘wish-list’ followed by service, then price and finally technology. Whilst we constantly strive to ensure that these four factors exceed our customer expectations, our most important contribution to the process is the bond of trust and complete transparency that we like to instil from the outset.

This document has been designed to highlight the key areas that need to be considered when assessing the benefits of outsourcing, and which provider to choose to meet your individual needs.

The areas listed below will raise the key issues in record management and then highlight how C&V Data Management Services have responded in the service they offer:

Location Insurance Security Layout/Filing Fire Prevention/Disaster Recovery Technology Personnel Service Pricing

C&V Data Management Services' success has been built on its commitment to customer service in all its products, and in no circumstances would this high level be jeopardised to secure a new contract or generate higher profit. We strive to make our Record Management Centre and service an extension of your own company enabling you to have complete control as and when you require.

Naturally the closer the centre to your business the more beneficial, however it is not a necessity for basing your final decision. A facility that is nearer may be able to offer better turn around times for file retrieval, but another further a field may be able to offer higher service standards or is superior in disaster prevention issues. If you are unlikely to be recalling large volumes in short time scales the locality need not be such a high consideration. Also worth considering with the locality is the impact such factors as rent and crime/insurance can have on the price for storage. The higher the overheads the more possible future impacts on your budgets!

C&V Record Centres are based in Lutterworth and Leicestershire; only 2 miles from Junction 20 of the M1 Motorway. In a recent report conducted by the Leicestershire Police, Lutterworth was found to have the lowest crime and highest detection rate in the whole of the county. Our facilities are under Harborough Borough Council control and are all under long term lease.

Due to security considerations, C&V Data Management Services are prevented from knowing the intrinsic value of the items stored in the boxes. Customers are therefore responsible for making their own insurance arrangements for both boxes and contents. In most cases this is nothing more than changing the address on your current policy.

We do however have insurance policies for the buildings along with relevant service supports. We are more than willing to provide copies or originals of these policies as required

All good record centres understand the need for strong security measures not only for precaution but also for the reassurance that clients need when considering that their most important company documents are residing outside their premises.

Our record centres are manned 24 hours a day and this is supported by both closed circuit cameras and third-party security protection.

Our procedures are such that no external personnel can enter the loading or unloading bay without supervision and the only time clients are left unattended in the record centre is when they are reviewing their own boxes in the purpose designed customer review section. At no times are external person(s) allowed unsupervised in the actual storage section of the centre.

As history has unfortunately demonstrated, even the most sophisticated establishment is susceptible to events beyond human control. In the unlikely event of a fire outbreak, our record centre is protected by a number of fire suppression systems. With service standards dictating that these must satisfy a certain level, we have every confidence in the prevention of such an eventuality.

Upon receipt of your files a unique identity number is processed and matched with your documents. This number is in the form of a barcode, which is then fed into our dedicated computer along with submission date, location and storage term. Only authorised personnel have access to this computer, and without this, your files cannot be retrieved without great difficulty. Once we have registered all of your documents, you receive a checklist of our identification numbers alongside your reference, which we will then ask you to quote when retrieving a file.

Personnel are often forgotten when considering the key factors for choosing your supplier, however as these are the people who will not only be dealing with your records but also yourselves on a regular basis, it is very important that they reflect and understand your expectations.

All our staff are easily identified from their uniforms, which also makes identifying any intruder or temporary employee easier.

Each employee has a background check before employment, along with the requirement to sign a confidentiality agreement. If an employee breaches this confidentiality agreement then legal action will be taken.

We also actively encourage client visits, in order to enable them to meet and greet the whole team who actively manage their records rather than just the delivery driver. It is this sort of approach which enable us to build up the level of trust and promote the ‘extension of your own company’ feeling.

As a firm we believe in tailoring our service to meet our clients exact requirements. We believe that it is pointless offering services such as free retrieval and delivery of files if a firm is looking at deep storage and is unlikely to recall boxes until destruction time.

Therefore our actual service must depend on your needs and from the beginning the Records Centre Manager or the Accounts Manager, will sit down with you and discuss what your requirements are and the various options available to you to ensure that we create the most cost effective service. The many aspects of our services though are as follows:

Initial consultation and detailed proposal A personalised collection and delivery service carried out by C&V Data Management Services Ltd Files stored in a humidity controlled environment Files are stored in a secure location with state of the art security Each file/box is catalogued for added security and easy retrieval Each file/box is tagged with a computer security number that can only be accessed by authorised personnel on our secure mainframe computer Guaranteed delivery within 24 hours Costs agreed for ease of budgetary calculations Office space that was formerly being taken up by files can be made readily available for office expansion Destruction service with review dates prior to the disposal of any files or documents Service standards that are constantly monitored

As we pride ourselves on providing our clients with a tailor made service, a true picture of the overall cost cannot be determined until both parties have met and discussed certain requirements. Typically, our quotation covers the number of boxes deposited and all movements. Payment is easy – we simply invoice you every month/quarter for the service provided. We believe this uncomplicated system will assist you in projecting your budgetary requirements and enable any storage costs to be allocated to your internal cost departments.

Your problem – Our solution!

Legislation can play a big part in what a company can or cannot destroy, dictating that certain records must be stored for a minimum of 5 years ranging to those that must be stored indefinitely. It is here that we can offer you the ultimate solution in dealing with the pressures of having to maximise every bit of office space. With files often over-running the office, off-site record management has to be an option worth considering. C&V Data Management Services can offer you a maintainable, easy to use and economical service complete with peace of mind for all your storage needs – C&V…Your Storage & Archive Partners!