A collaboration data-readiness assessment helps you check whether your tools organize and secure your data. It asks clear questions regarding where your chat data lives, how quickly you can place legal holds, and who can collect records. Answering them lets you spot gaps.

According to Anagram, 40% of workers would break company policy if it meant they could finish a task faster. Speed pushes people to use whatever tool works in the moment, leaving business conversations scattered and harder to control during reviews.

Proper digital communications governance helps you stay in control.

What Is Digital Communication Governance?

Digital communication governance defines how your company handles electronic messages. You can create policies on how long you retain messages and who can access them.

Without clear data governance methods, your IT and legal teams will struggle to manage the sheer volume of messages.

Effective governance means you know exactly where your data lives. Use it to ensure your collaboration data tools are productive and compliant.

What Are 5 Examples of Digital Communication?

Your team likely relies on digital communication daily. Here are five common examples:

1. Instant messaging on tools like Slack
2. Video conferencing on solutions like Zoom
3. Cloud-based document sharing with tools such as Google Docs
4. Emailing on platforms such as Outlook and Gmail
5. Project management with tools such as Jira or Asana

Each channel creates a trail of information you can track with information governance software.

A Self-Audit on Digital Communications Governance

Preparing for legal challenges requires a thorough review of your current technical setup. You should ask a range of questions to assess your readiness and data governance strategies.

1. Can I Identify Every App My Employees Use?

Many employees sign up for new tools without telling the IT department. If a legal issue arises, you can't produce what you don't know exists.

Effective data management readiness starts with a complete list of all platforms your teams use.

2. Do I Have a Clear Policy for Data Retention?

Keeping data forever creates a liability, but deleting it too soon may also be risky. You need rules that specify exactly how long data remains available. Set different timelines based on:

• The department
• The purpose of the message
• Regulatory or contractual requirements
• Risk level if the record disappears

You'll reduce storage costs and the stress of discovery with clear data retention policies.

3. How Quickly Can I Pull a Report for an Audit?

Speed matters when you're under the microscope. Manual exports are slow and often miss the full context of conversations. You can search data in minutes rather than days with collaboration data tools such as Onna.

4. Is My Legal Team Able to Place Data on Hold?

Your legal team should be able to stop data deletion automatically. Legal holds must be defensible and easy to track. If you have to remind employees not to delete things, you're at risk. Keep your records secure by using automated holds to prevent accidental deletion.

5. Can I Search Across Different Platforms at Once?

Separately searching tools like Slack and Teams can waste a lot of time. You need a way to get the whole picture in one place. Investigation strategies often fall apart when data stays in separate silos. You'll get the full picture of an event or conversation if you can conduct a unified search.

6. Do I Know Who Has Access to My Archives?

You should be able to control who can see sensitive company secrets or HR complaints. Get a notification every time someone views or exports sensitive personal data. Use audit logs to identify who accesses records and build trust with your partners.

7. Can My Tools Handle Modern Data Types?

Small details can influence the true meaning of a conversation. Old-school archives often struggle to understand things such as:

• Edited messages
• GIFs
• Emojis

Check whether your information governance strategies help you capture modern data. If you only see text, you might be missing some evidence.

8. Am I Prepared for Internal Investigations?

HR issues often require looking into private messages or deleted threads. You can run a smoother audit for investigations if you have a complete, unchangeable record of past chats. Check if your tools make it easier for you to resolve internal disputes.

9. Does My IT Team Spend Too Much Time on Data Requests?

IT professionals should focus on building systems, not digging for old emails. Audit your system to verify whether your legal team can handle searches across fragmented data without involving IT.

Empower legal users to reduce the burden on your technical staff.

10. Is My Current Strategy Scalable?

Your investigation strategies must work efficiently as your company scales. Check if you have scalable systems that grow with you without requiring more manual labor. Looking ahead saves you from significant stress when your data grows.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Difference Between Data Archiving and Governance?

Archiving involves storing old data to prevent loss. Governance is much broader and includes the rules, roles, and tools you use to manage information in your company.

You need both strategies to be successful and be able to store valuable data for the long term.

How Does Digital Communications Governance Help With Privacy Laws Compliance?

Privacy laws require you to know exactly what personal data you hold. Governance gives you a map of your data landscape. You'll be able to respond to privacy requests more quickly and accurately.

Privacy compliance becomes a routine once you enhance data governance.

Can Small Companies Benefit From a Collaboration Data Readiness Assessment?

Yes. Even a small team can generate thousands of messages in a single month. Starting with good habits now prevents a messy cleanup project later. You can make your business look more professional to future partners or investors.

Streamline Digital Communications Governance

Digital communications governance provides the visibility you need to manage data and ensure compliance. Conduct regular audits to identify your blind spots before they cause a crisis. Face legal reviewers and HR Disputes with confidence by turning scattered messages into a reliable record.

Onna allows you to extract value from unstructured company data. Our open API lets you build custom integrations with the solutions your company uses. Get a demo to centralize your data and enhance information governance.