How to Manage Paper Records During a Litigation Hold
Office moves and renovation projects can create records problems quickly. Boxes get moved into temporary rooms, file cabinets shift between floors, access points change, and teams focus on construction deadlines instead of records control. That is when files get misplaced, retrieval slows down, and records control starts to break down.
The best way to avoid that is to treat records planning as part of the move itself. With a clear inventory, secure handling, retention review, and a plan for continued access, organizations can protect physical records without creating more disruption for staff.
Why moves and renovations create records risk
Physical records are easy to lose control of during a move because they are often spread across offices, file rooms, cabinets, and shared storage areas. Renovations add another layer of risk. Departments move in phases, temporary storage areas are set up quickly, and multiple people may handle the same boxes before they reach a final location.
That creates practical problems right away. Staff may not know where records are. Sensitive files may end up in unsecured rooms. Boxes may be moved without any record of who handled them. When that happens, the issue is not just inconvenience. It can affect privacy, audit readiness, legal response, and day-to-day access to important information.
Records should not be treated like ordinary office contents. Furniture can be replaced. Critical files cannot.
Build an inventory before anything moves
A move is the wrong time to find out that no one has a reliable inventory. Before any cabinets, folders, or boxes are relocated, confirm what is being stored, where it is now, who owns it, and how it should be handled during the move.
A practical inventory should include:
- department or record owner
- record type
- current location
- date range
- retention status
- access frequency
- special handling notes, if needed
This step helps in two ways. It makes the move easier to manage, and it helps reduce unnecessary volume. If records are already past retention and no longer need to be kept, it may make more sense to review them before the move rather than paying to pack, transport, and store material that should already be out of the system.
That kind of review can reduce storage volume, lower move costs, and make the final records layout easier to manage.
Separate active records from inactive records
Not every record should be handled the same way during a move. Some files are still used regularly and need to remain easy to access. Others must be retained but are rarely pulled. Some may no longer need to be retained and should be reviewed for secure destruction before the move.
A move goes more smoothly when records are divided into clear groups:
Active records
Files teams still need to access regularly during the project.
Inactive records
Files that must be retained but do not need to stay close at hand.
Records eligible for destruction after review
Files that may no longer need to be stored if retention requirements have been satisfied and proper review is complete.
This approach helps organizations avoid moving everything by default. Active files can stay available. Inactive boxes can be transferred to secure offsite storage. Records that no longer need to be kept can be removed from the move plan entirely after proper review.
That is often one of the easiest ways to reduce disruption and avoid carrying old storage problems into a new space.
Keep handling controlled and documented
One of the biggest mistakes during a move is informal handling. A few boxes get left in a hallway. A cabinet is moved without being logged. Temporary storage areas are shared with people who should not have access. That is how records go missing.
Every transfer should be controlled and documented. That includes:
- who packed the records
- when they were packed
- where they were staged
- who transported them
- where they were delivered
- who confirmed receipt
For legal files, HR records, financial records, and other sensitive material, documented handling matters even more. Even an internal move should have the same discipline as any other controlled transfer. Clear records of custody help reduce confusion and make it easier to respond if questions come up later.
Labels should also support control without exposing too much information. A box ID tied to an inventory record is usually better than writing detailed file descriptions on the outside of each box.
Plan for continued access during the project
A move should not leave staff guessing where records are or how to request them. Before the project starts, decide how access will work while spaces are being cleared, rebuilt, or reassigned.
That planning should answer a few basic questions:
- which departments will still need regular file access
- which record groups are most likely to be requested
- how retrieval requests will be handled during the move
- whether scan-on-demand would help staff get information without pulling large volumes of records back into the office
Some active files may need to stay in a secure temporary location on site. Others may be better managed through offsite storage with controlled retrieval. In some cases, scan-on-demand can help teams get information quickly without moving large amounts of material back into active work areas.
The key is to make those decisions before the disruption starts. Access plans work best when they are built into the project instead of being handled case by case after staff begin asking for files.
Protect records from damage during temporary storage
Moves and renovations create conditions that are not ideal for records. Dust, moisture, open rooms, after-hours contractor activity, elevator traffic, and short-term staging areas can all create avoidable risk.
Records should not be stacked in whatever space happens to be open. Temporary holding areas need to be chosen carefully. They should be dry, secure, clearly assigned, and protected from unnecessary handling.
This matters even more when building systems are affected during the project. If HVAC, plumbing, roofing, or fire protection work is underway, records should not remain nearby without a plan. Paper files, folders, labels, and other physical records can be damaged more easily than teams expect during construction.
For some organizations, the safest move is to remove inactive records from the site entirely until the project is complete.
Use the move to improve records control
An office move creates extra work, but it also creates a useful opportunity. If teams are already reviewing, packing, and relocating records, that is the right time to improve control instead of just repeating the same issues in a new location.
That may include:
- updating inventories
- applying retention rules more consistently
- moving inactive files to offsite storage
- reducing the physical footprint of records kept on site
- improving labeling and retrieval control
- identifying records that may benefit from scan-on-demand or larger scanning projects
Handled well, the move does more than relocate files. It gives the organization better visibility, less storage waste, and a cleaner process for future access and retention.
A more controlled way to move records
Protecting records during a move starts with a simple mindset. Records need to be managed as records, not packed like ordinary office materials. Once that is clear, the rest becomes more manageable: confirm the inventory, separate active from inactive material, document every transfer, protect temporary storage areas, and plan for continued access.
Office moves and renovations are disruptive enough already. Records should not make them harder.
If your organization is planning a move, renovation, or consolidation, GRM can help you inventory physical records, manage secure transfers, provide offsite storage, support scan-on-demand requests, and reduce the amount of material that needs to move in the first place.
