- 01 | 07 | 2025
When records management is done well, you barely notice it. Files are where you need them, when you need them. Everyone knows the process. Retrieval is fast, and audits are low stress. But when records are mismanaged or not managed at all the consequences can be serious, far-reaching, and often expensive.
Unfortunately, too many organisations still treat records management as an afterthought. “It’s just filing,” some say until it isn’t. Until a regulator comes knocking. Until a critical document goes missing. Until you waste another day trying to track down something you should’ve had at your fingertips.
The real cost of poor records management? It goes beyond admin inefficiencies. It impacts compliance, reputation, productivity, and your bottom line.
In this article, we’ll look at what that cost really looks like then show you how to fix it using modern, secure records management solutions.
This is perhaps the most obvious day-to-day cost. When records aren’t stored properly whether they’re in a disorganised file share, scattered across desks, or buried in archive boxes it takes longer to find what you need.
Multiply that lost time across an entire department or organisation, and it quickly adds up to thousands of pounds in lost productivity every year. And it’s not just time it’s morale, too. Constantly hunting for documents is frustrating and demoralising.
OASIS Group Insight: Many of our clients come to us after years of putting up with inefficient access to key records. Our solutions, like FileSmart, enable intelligent classification, metadata tagging, and instant retrieval eliminating the document scavenger hunts once and for all.
Poor records management can put you at serious risk of non-compliance with data protection regulations, particularly GDPR. If you can’t prove how long you’ve held a record, why you’re keeping it, or who’s accessed it, you may fail an audit or worse, face a fine.
Whether it’s employee data, financial records, or client information, every document has a lifecycle. Without a structured, enforced retention policy, there’s a strong chance of keeping records longer than legally allowed—or disposing of them too early.
Did you know? Under GDPR, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued fines to UK companies for failing to safeguard personal records. Inadequate access control, unauthorised deletion, and poorly managed retention are all frequent violations.
Physical storage costs can be deceptively high especially when you’re holding on to everything “just in case.” Filing cabinets take up valuable office space. Off-site archive storage, while often necessary, becomes expensive if not managed carefully.
And then there’s digital sprawl: uncontrolled growth of files across cloud drives, email inboxes, and local folders. Without structure, duplication and storage bloat are inevitable, driving up costs and complicating version control.
How OASIS Group helps: With smart records lifecycle tools and secure document scanning services, we help clients move from chaotic, costly storage models to lean, compliant systems that only retain what’s truly needed.
Lost or mishandled documents especially those containing sensitive information can lead to reputational damage. It only takes one breach or data access request gone wrong for trust to be eroded.
Clients and stakeholders expect organisations to manage records securely and professionally. Poor document control signals poor governance.
Each of these issues could have been prevented with better records governance and each is a scenario Oasis Group has helped clients address.
Dispersed information is hard to manage. Step one is to bring your records together, whether digital or physical. That means consolidating network drives, reviewing archived paper files, and eliminating duplicate systems where possible.
A centralised approach also enables better oversight, security, and consistency across departments.
Scanning every document without a plan is inefficient. At OASIS, we help our clients digitise their records in a way that’s purposeful and secure. Our document scanning service is tailored to your priorities whether that’s compliance, retrieval speed, or operational cost reduction.
Using scan on demand, we only digitise what’s actively needed, while the rest remains securely stored in our facilities. This means you don’t pay to scan documents that no one will ever access again, but you retain the ability to retrieve anything quickly when required.
Retention schedules shouldn’t rely on human memory. Modern records management tools, like FileSmart from OASIS, offer automated enforcement of retention policies. You can define how long different record types are held, when they’re reviewed, and when they should be securely disposed of.
This ensures compliance and dramatically reduces your long-term storage liability.
Even the best system fails if users don’t know how to use it. Good records management involves process and people. Make sure your staff understand how to classify, store, and retrieve records and when to escalate issues.
We work with our clients to deliver practical, non-technical guidance that fits their workflows and responsibilities.
Having a policy on paper isn’t enough. You need technology that helps you enforce it in practice. FileSmart, our SharePoint-based EDRMS, enhances records governance without disrupting existing systems.
It includes:
All built into the familiar Microsoft 365 environment many teams already use.
If you’re unsure whether poor records management is costing you, consider the following:
The cost of doing nothing is rarely zero. In many cases, it’s far higher than investing in a solution that saves time, reduces risk, and supports compliance.
OASIS help organisations move from fragmented, costly records processes to streamlined, compliant management.
Our services span:
You don’t have to tackle it all at once. Many of our clients start small auditing a department, digitising priority records, or piloting FileSmart with a single team.
