What are business archives?

• A unique asset which every organization has, but many do not utilize.
• They capture the knowledge and experience of working for your organization.
• They can be documents, videos, photographs, and advertisements.
• They can be physical or electronic.

Why have business archives?

• Growth.
  • Archives can be used in marketing and customer/member relations to increase Sigma brand knowledge and awareness.
  • Archives have direct commercial value as a source of new product innovation.
  • They are literally full of ideas that can be rediscovered and repackaged for today's members.
• Differentiation.
  • Sigma is unique — with its own story of achievement, company culture, reputation, products and people.
  • Telling Sigma's story through product literature, websites, and employee-created materials can create the kind of loyalty and pride that leverages a real competitive advantage.
• Protection.
  • The archive is the memory of Sigma.
  • It holds knowledge and evidence of business, chapter, and educational activities forgotten when employees and members move on.
  • Archives can provide evidence against litigation, trademark and copyright infringement, or assault on reputation.
  • They are an unparalleled source of management information.
• Corporate Memory.
  • Exposure to the corporate memory shows today's employees, from boardroom to mailroom, that Sigma has weathered
    • business and economic uncertainties,
    • technological and organizational change, and
    • growth and recession.

By keeping archives Sigma captures today's experience, knowledge and company know-how for tomorrow's team.

It's a powerful tool, it's company generated and it's Sigma's... so don't throw it away  — make it work for Sigma employees and its members!

Corporate Memory: A guide to managing business archives. The National Archives, United Kingdom. July 2009