Establish record retention policy

Trigger: A regulatory change, an internal audit finding, or a scheduled compliance review initiates the need to establish or update retention guidelines.

1. Identify applicable legal and regulatory data retention requirements
2. Inventory existing record types and data assets across business units
3. Define retention periods and disposal methods for each record category
4. Draft the comprehensive record retention schedule and policy guidelines
5. Secure approval from legal, compliance, and executive stakeholders
6. Publish the policy and communicate guidelines to the organization

Outcome: An officially approved record retention policy specifies the legal lifespan and disposal protocols for all organizational data.