Electronic Mail Communications

Electronic mail systems facilitate communications as well as act as a carrier for the transfer of work documents and reports. However, e-mail systems are usually not recordkeeping systems in and of themselves. Most current systems lack functionality for the convenient identification and transfer of e-mail records to secured filing systems. A number of problems can arise when electronic mail is not managed, resulting in inefficient information retrieval, lack of disk space due to an overabundance of communications, and the loss of significant communications.

Best Practice

Each unit should determine the effect of electronic mail systems on the unit's ability to document the primary activities of the office. While there are no centralized tools developed for the management of university electronic mail, there are steps each unit can implement based on the needs of the office to better ensure the retrieval of e-mail records for current administrative use as well as long-term historical purposes.

Overview

Many consider electronic mail a distinct category of records that should be handled differently from other records created in the office. However, electronic mail is essentially a mode of transmission for messages or information. It is a widely used communication system and as we become more comfortable with the technology it is being used to facilitate a wide range of business activities.

One of the most difficult aspects of the current electronic mail systems is that the systems are not designed as recordkeeping systems. This means that management of electronic mail is not part of the system design, rather e-mail needs to managed by understanding what types of records are created using e-mail communication systems. Just as with "traditional" paper records, a good place to start in the management of electronic mail is to develop guidelines on how electronic mail records will be classified, retained, and stored.

Below is an outline of some of the decisions that should be made during the development of guidelines that will aid in the overall management of e-mail.

  1. Determine the types of records created using electronic mail systems and determine the retention period required for the records in each category. The retention period is determined by legal, fiscal, historical, and administrative requirements.
  2. Investigate the functionality of the e-mail systems that are in use within the unit. Many systems now include features such as filtering that can aid in managing communications.
  3. Determine how electronic mail communications will be filed.

    Non-transitory electronic mail communications should be filed in a way that will ensure that the communications are easily retrieved. A useful practice is to create a directory structure based on the functions and activities of the office. Developing a set of shared directory names within the office will aid in information retrieval over time.

  4. Much of the responsibility for the daily management of electronic mail communications will fall on individual employees. Roles and responsibilities should be clearly defined. The record creator and recipient need to make the decisions regarding the disposition of electronic mail communications.
  5. Determine how electronic mail communications will be stored. Records selected for retention can be stored on-line, near-line in a document management system or recordkeeping system 1, or off-line on a physical medium. This decision will be based on the needs of the unit and cost associated with the three storage options.
  6. Determine procedures for systems security, back-up, and disaster recovery.
  7. Part of managing e-mail includes establishing practices within a unit for the proper use of the e-mail. See "Guidelines for Implementing the Proper Use Policy of the University of Michigan: Responsible Use of Technology Resources"
  8. As noted in the overview, this best practice outlines just some of the decisions that will aid in the management of electronic mail. In addition to this best practice, there are related U-M policies and guidelines that should be consulted. See "Information Technology Policies at the University of Michigan."

    1. Documentum Records Manager is one example of a record management application. See Phil C. Bantin, Records Management in a Digital World for more examples.