We’re here to put an end to that idea. Even a young organisation that has only been around for a few years can benefit in many ways from starting an archive right now. If you are just beginning to think about or plan your archive project, here are some reasons why your organisation could use an archive and why now is the best time…
Putting together business archives is the same as putting your personal life in order.
As time goes on, you gather more and more papers, digital files and artifacts. If you ever want to find items again and make use of them, they have to be organised in a way that makes sense. Your company is collecting physical and digital artifacts at an amazing rate. This includes things like emails, product designs and prototypes, presentations, cultural initiatives, memos, and even swag. All of these things show the culture of your organisation and should be selectively kept in your archive.
(If you’re wondering what the difference is between “archive” and “archives,” it’s this: an archive is the physical place where a company keeps its archives, which are the historical collection itself.)
Just like the proverbial tip of the iceberg, only 10% of cultural artifacts are “visible.”
The rest are often less obvious and may take a deliberate policy to collect. Business goals, perceptions, beliefs, values, norms, unwritten rules, all these things are often taken for granted as part of ‘known’ company lore, but the present moves on quickly, and they are easily lost. Building up a storybank is essential. It will provide you with strong and diverse content for future business histories and marketing initiatives.
The point is, if you wait too long, building an archive from scratch can be hard to do, so don’t wait and let your archive project turn into a big ugly mess. An orderly archive that is well set-up up in the first place is easier and cheaper to maintain.
Let’s Get Started
A business archive has a lot of value, not just for a company that has been around for 100 years, but for any business, at any stage of its life.
If you’d like to see some additional uses of a business archive, please see our complete list of ways businesses can take advantage of archiving by looking at our Company page. Contact us to learn more about our planning and implementation strategies. Expert advice is on hand – whatever your archival needs.
