Availing ourselves of this rare opportunity for amazing alliteration, we present our Top 22 Things to Do in 2022.
Submit your remaining paper records for storage at the Records Center before February 2022. 
Stop printing records created or received on a computer--emails, spreadsheets, presentations, reports, databases. Save e-records electronically (in their native format).
Review our Fetch the Future hub for guidance on creating an ideal state for electronic records, choosing the right electronic storage location, best practices for folder structures, and best file naming conventions.
Review/update your departmental retention schedule and office retention procedures with Records Management (email Emily at elemieux@uw.edu).
Schedule a free visit from the Records Management ROT Squad.
Set up bookmarks in the UW General Records Retention Schedule to identify the retention of the records you work with most.
Put a link to our website on your unit’s website, intranet site, canvas page, newsletter, or other frequented webpage and encourage users to sign up for our Records Management Services newsletter.
Apply the Retention Schedule and conduct a ROT (Redundant, Obsolete, and Transitory) cleanup of your email;
...and conduct a ROT cleanup of your shared drive;
...and purge obsolete records from your database;
…and when you are in the office, review any lingering paper records to see if they are past retention and can be shredded;
or schedule an office-wide cleanup day to tackle all your online ROT! The ROT Squad would be happy to advise.
Delete any copies of records that have been uploaded to ARIBA. ARIBA is the system of record. Copies of attachments are duplicates that can be destroyed at any time.
Take the Records Management online trainings yourself and ask your new employees to take our trainings as part of onboarding.
Establish an off boarding procedure for the records of your departing employees.
Create a scanning policy and have Records Management approve it so that you can get rid of your lingering paper records. Still working remotely? Pursue a scanning policy now to have it in place when you return.
Streamline your brainstorming and work in progress by using an electronic solution like Miro, Trello, or Kerika.
Look into using a team communication platform like Slack or Teams to cut down on the amount of intra-office emails and work more effectively.
Consider how to better consolidate and organize your electronic records. Email Sean at seanw13@uw.edu.
Assess your vital records and take steps to prevent them against disaster.
Consider disaster prevention and recovery and complete a business continuity plan.
Review Zoom and Other Conferencing Best Practices to ensure your recorded meetings are managed properly.