Organizations generate large amounts of data daily, but not all should be kept indefinitely. A retention period defines how long data is stored before deletion or archiving. These periods depend on industry regulations, business needs, and legal requirements. Clear retention policies ensure efficient record management and compliance with data protection laws.
Retention periods apply to various types of data, such as:
- Financial records – invoices, tax documents, and payroll reports
- Customer data – personal details, transaction history, and support logs
- Employee records – contracts, performance reviews, and payroll pieces of information
- Legal documents – contracts, agreements, and compliance reports
Understanding the importance of retention periods ensures proper data governance and risk mitigation.
Why retention periods matter?
Retention periods are crucial for businesses to ensure:
- Legal and Regulatory Compliance: Data retention requirements by industry vary, and failure to comply can result in heavy fines and legal issues.
- Data Security and Privacy: have in mind that outdated or unnecessary data that you keep increases the risk of security breaches. Proper data retention policies may help reduce vulnerabilities by ensuring sensitive information is not kept longer than needed.
- Optimized Storage and Cost Management: Storing excessive amounts of data can be costly. Regularly purging outdated records helps optimize storage space and reduces operational costs.
- Efficient Data Management: Retention policies enable businesses to categorize and manage data efficiently. It ensures that relevant information is easily accessible while reducing clutter.
- Litigation Protection: Retaining data for the appropriate period helps organizations protect themselves during legal disputes, as they can provide necessary documentation when required.
Under GDPR, personal data storage must follow key principles, including storage limitation—data should only be kept as long as necessary for its original purpose. This prevents indefinite processing and ensures organizations set clear retention periods based on legal and operational needs.
How to determine the right retention period?
It is very challenging to determine when data should be stored or deleted. The GDPR doesn't specify an exact retention period. However, it states that it should be limited to what is necessary for the data's intended purpose. Carefully evaluating the following factors helps determine the appropriate retention period:
- Regulatory Requirements: Different industries have specific legal requirements regarding data retention.
- Business Needs: Data that holds value for analytics, customer insights, or operational processes may require extended retention. However, businesses should balance retention with security risks.
- Data Sensitivity: Highly sensitive data should be retained only as long as necessary to prevent security risks.
- Litigation and Audits Organizations must consider potential legal claims and audits when setting retention policies. Maintaining records for the recommended period ensures businesses are prepared for any inquiries.
Automation and Technology Leveraging modern software solutions, like KORTO, can automate retention processes, ensuring data is securely managed and disposed of when necessary.
Best practices for managing retention periods
To implement effective retention policies, organizations should follow these best practices:
- Develop a clear retention policy example,
- Categorize data by importance,
- Digitization: Where possible, store documents in digital form, making them easier to manage and access.
- Automate Data Management: Use tools like KORTO to automatically handle data storage and deletion. This reduces mistakes and helps you follow the rules.
- Update Your Policies Regularly: Data retention rules can change, so it's important to check your policies from time to time to make sure you're still following them.
- Teach Your Team About Data: Regularly educate employees on the principles of secure document storage and management.
- Delete Data Securely: When data is no longer needed, make sure it’s safely deleted or archived so no one can access it without permission.
Achieving better organization with secure document storage
Efficient and secure document storage requires careful planning, understanding applicable regulations, and applying best practices.
Whether it is storing medical, accounting, or other documents, the key to success is the right approach at the organizational and technological level. Let's remember that proper document storage not only protects us from legal consequences, but also forms the basis for building trust and professionalism in any organization.
