Regardless of the size of the company, an enterprise email archiving solution is required to give the transparency and visibility required.

Many HR managers, on the other hand, still don’t have complete visibility into employee correspondence. This can cause management to lose awareness of corporate email communication, which is crucial when an issue emerges that necessitates access to staff emails.

How quickly can HR go through all of their company’s emails to find what they need?

Unfortunately, most businesses discover how difficult it is to search for and retrieve specific emails only after they are under investigation. Historical emails are spread across users’ local storage (such as PST files) and multiple mail accounts, so finding one specific email can be extremely challenging.

Let’s take a look at how a corporate email archive might help your company in these situations.

Providing proof in case workplace harassment

Bullying in the workplace is a common problem many businesses face. A verbal or physical harassment claim is difficult to prove unless there is some kind of record, such as video footage.

As a result, emails frequently play a significant part in such allegations. Because most conversations are sent via email, both internally and externally, being able to refer to specific emails can be crucial for providing essential supporting evidence.

An enterprise cloud archiving solution that captures all emails rather than relying on employees to archive emails on their own. It provides HR managers with the transparency and visibility they need to conduct a fair investigation in case of misconduct.

In situations like these, an archive that allows many users access is beneficial, as HR should be able to collect and evaluate sensitive data without involving IT.

Protecting against misuse of email

If employees misuse business email, the organization may find itself in legal trouble. This might be anything from sharing inappropriate content to tapping the “Reply All” button by accident.

It’s not enough to trust your staff to exercise common sense when it comes to email etiquette. Sending a copy of your company’s email usage policy to employees via email is one approach to guarantee that they are aware of it.

Then have employees respond, stating that they have read the policy and agree to follow it. The reply will be saved in your email archive, ensuring that you have a record in case of a dispute.

You’ll have a record of any inappropriate work emails if you use an email archiving service, even if the employees who sent and/or received them erase the messages from their inboxes between system backups.

Emails are time-stamped and digitally fingerprinted at the point of storage and retrieval, ensuring that the information is correct. This is critical if these emails are to be used as evidence in a court of law.

Ensuring regulatory compliance

Not only is retaining each email an excellent insurance policy for future harassment claims, but it also ensures that you comply with state-mandated employee legislation.

Each state has its own set of rules about how long you must keep employee performance records. For example, the Fair Work Act requires a minimum of 7 years.

Every email written between coworkers should be kept since it can be viewed as important to employee work performance. HR managers are at a huge disadvantage if they do not have access to an entire organization’s email archive. It is far safer to keep a copy of every email.

Best Practices for Enterprise Email Archiving

Because email is the primary means of communication for organizations both internally and externally, it is critical that they do everything possible to maintain complete visibility.

Make sure to follow these data archiving best practices:

• Every email should be saved — The first and most fundamental thing you can do to assure complete visibility and comply with state law is to accomplish this. Employees who delete emails can cost you a lot of money and effort.
• Have a clear email policy in place — It must be specific and you must demonstrate that employees have completely comprehended and agreed to the policy. When it comes to workplace bullying, this may cause bullies to be more cautious with their email usage, but it is still a useful tool for assisting with an inquiry once an issue has arisen.
• Ensure accessibility and searchability — This will allow you to save time in the event of a dispute, as well as avoid fines for late data production in the case of an eDiscovery request. It would be preferable not to rely on IT to collect this type of data, especially in instances like the ones described above, because HR must be able to respond and acquire this data quickly.

Wrapping up

Although you cannot control what workers say or how they interact with one another, having an archiving system in place that saves every employee’s email guarantees that none is unintentionally deleted and provides HR managers with the transparency and visibility they require in difficult situations.

Author bio: 

Stella van Lane is a Sydney based mom and a passionate writer in love with coffee, chocolate, music, books and good vibes. Her top interests are business, technology, health etc.