Well, not quite deleted, but simply forgotten about (but a title of ‘why does retention keep being forgotten doesn’t work as well’).
We see time and time again that retention and deletion of data is always missed or mishandled in a range of areas. From agreeing terms in a contract for a service through to organisations just deleting things ‘willy nilly’. Why is it, when it comes to retaining or deleting things, organisations just seem to bury their heads in the sand?
It can’t be a cost thing – or can it? It does cost to adequately retain things, especially for long periods of time. It does also cost to have a ‘secure’ method of deletion. But the cost is eye wateringly extortionate. Not enough to put any organisation off doing it completely. A factor, certainly, but the driving factor I’m not sure.
Is it operational? We often see project and other similar things being very orientated around getting things setup and started but when it comes to maintenance or how it might end up being replaced or removed, very little thought is given to it. Operationally the questions are there and the logic to ask is there. And yet still, the questions don’t get asked or the logic followed through.
Is it cultural / psychological? Basic psychology tells us that we as human being’s don’t like things that are seen as ‘negative’. And lets be honest, deletion or ‘endings’ are negative (rightly or wrongly). So just like we don’t like to talk about a partnership or marriage ended (pre-nups for example), maybe we just psychologically don’t like engaging with ‘ending of things’.
I have no scientific evidence of that, but it does ring true as to why the everyday member of staff just doesn’t think about the final stage of a lifecycle. Or when they do, its done incorrectly and just some mass burning of data with very little thought. Reference the recent deletion issues raised by the ICO against a charity and a police force.
Retention and deletion doesn’t have to be scary, nor does it have to be negative. I think one of the key roles for us as ‘information professionals’ is to change the perception that retention and deletion is ‘boring’, ‘scary’, ‘complicated’, or ‘just a case of dump it in a bin’.
But what do you think? How does your organisation tackle implementing retention and deletion controls? How have you managed to change culture around it or haven’t you and this is still a real issue for you?
