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Correspondence is very costly because it is largely produced through personal effort. In essence, where correspondence is routinized and systematic, it is actually a "form" that is represented in a less "form-like" way to look like, for example, a letter. Hence, form letters.
Correspondence costs are difficult to assess becuase production costs vary by the production process and pay levels of involved persons.
Correspondence ranks second to forms in volume.
High costs represent opportunity for savings through establishment of suitable forms (form letters) and automatic processes (whereby systems are triggered to produce a given form. Technology offers opportunity to tailor content such that the recipient may perceive the form to be a personally dictated and issued communication. Care must be taken in this regard to avoid mistakes that backfire.
Correspondence control involves: receipt stamp and acknowledgment; reading; action such as routing, duplication and fulfillment of requirements that arise from the communication content.
Handling and integration of communications that take multi-media forms is an emerging issue. Email, traditional hard copy letters and memos, SMS and audio clips may all refer to the same content and case, requiring a synchronized management according to the requirements of that case or content (and associated workflows, classification and retention schemes).
Another records management concern is when to address the classification of the record (and user perceptions over what, exactly, constitutes a record in relation to multi-media formats). Early classification ensures that the item is "recognized" for management systematically. Handling prior to classification means, essentially, that the item is uncontrolled until the point of filing when, presumably, its value has reduced.
