Cintas Scores with 7 Winning Plays Records Managers Can Learn from Football

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As many football fanatics begin preparing tailgate meals and finalizing their fantasy football rosters, Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS), a leader in secure records management services, announced seven tactics records managers can learn from the game of football.

“Just as football teams need to protect their end zones from their opposition, businesses also need to protect their private information from ending up in the wrong hands.”

Just as a poor defense can cost a football team points, data breaches cost businesses an average of $5.5 million per year, according to the Ponemon Institute. As a result, records managers should regularly review their playbook to execute game-winning document management programs. Cintas will discuss this and its document management programs at booth #527 during the ARMA 2012 Conference held September 23-25 at McCormick Place in Chicago.

“The concept of ‘team’ isn’t limited to just sports but also applies to many facets of a document management team,” said John Otten, Marketing Manager, Cintas Document Management Division. “Just as football teams need to protect their end zones from their opposition, businesses also need to protect their private information from ending up in the wrong hands.”

Consider the following elements of a football program when reviewing your document management program:

1. Select the coach. As a coach leads a team, your organization needs a decision-maker to serve as the records management main point of contact. This individual will monitor and track employee and department compliance. Draft solid starters who will be responsible for structuring the program, delegating tasks and assigning appropriate contacts within departments.

2. Train your team. Great teams execute their playbook flawlessly because they’ve had the right training. Once you assemble the records management team, it is important to train staff to ensure they understand the purpose of the program and what is expected of them. In addition, an effective records management program will continuously change so it’s important for the main contact to stay up-to-date and communicate changes in laws and industry standards.

3. Develop a playbook. Develop a policy statement that outlines specific program guidelines including the purpose of the program, individual responsibilities, ownership, legal status, privacy and goals. This ensures executives and employees know exactly what is expected of them and how the records management program will apply in everyday business.

4. Don’t turnover the ball. Cyber attacks and data leaks pose huge liabilities to businesses. Hackers continue to execute increasingly sophisticated attacks across virtually every industry and business size. Along with excessive costs, data breaches and security issues jeopardize a business’ reputation.

5. Have a solid defense. To avoid potential threats, it’s important to proactively protect documents throughout their entire lifecycle. The complete lifecycle of a record includes four stages: creation, distribution, storage and disposition. Also, ensure your records management program complies with federal, state and regulatory laws along with internal company policies.

6. Win on special teams. By partnering with a secure shredding provider that is AAA NAID-certified and PCI-DSS compliant to ensure privacy, security and compliance, you can ensure that your records stay secure. A provider can securely and properly shred documents that have reached the end of their useful life. Document storage facilities are also equipped with 24-hour security cameras, alarm systems and fire protection systems for storing documents.

7. Be ready for overtime. To limit risk, businesses must proactively protect their sensitive company and customer information with a comprehensive records management program that covers digital and hard copy data. Three key components to incorporate in your records management program include document shredding, document storage and document imaging. It is also important to establish a digital destruction policy as hard drives can hold literally millions of pieces of important or confidential information, and a data breach involving these types of storage devices can potentially be disastrous.

Cintas offers customized document management consultations, as well as secure document shredding, storage and imaging programs. Its services are designed to provide businesses with data privacy and security, compliance with regulatory requirements and more efficient control and access to information. Cintas is the first North American AAA NAID-certified and PCI-DSS compliant document management provider.

For more information on Cintas’ document management programs, please visit www.cintas.com/documentmanagement.

About Cintas Corporation:

Headquartered in Cincinnati, Cintas Corporation provides highly specialized services to businesses of all types primarily throughout North America. Cintas designs, manufactures and implements corporate identity uniform programs, and provides entrance mats, restroom cleaning and supplies, tile and carpet cleaning, promotional products, first aid, safety, fire protection products and services and document management services for more than 900,000 businesses. Cintas is a publicly held company traded over the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol CTAS and is a component of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.