Is Your Current Shredding Service Really Right for You?

Professional document shredding has become the unofficial industry standard for destroying confidential data that is no longer needed.

But did you know not all shredding services are the same – nor should they be.

Every company and workplace has its own special needs, requirements, and preferences.

Here are 8 ways shredding services should be customized to you.

1. Volume: The amount of paper earmarked for secure shredding depends on many things. The workplace may have green office strategies as well as a Shred-it All Policy, which means all documents that are no longer needed must be shredded. The average office worker still uses about 10,000 sheets of paper a year. The Paperless Project also reports that the worldwide consumption of paper has increased 400% in the last 40 years.
2. Confidentiality: A lot of confidential information is generated in the workplace. Personally identifiable information (PII) includes name, address, phone number, account numbers, school and health information. There are corporate trade secrets, HR information, and corporate finances. There’s often confidential data on post-it notes, travel documents, and shipping labels too.
3. Purge? A major purge (or even implementation of a Clean Desk Policy) helps protect confidential information – and reputation.But the sudden accumulation of paper should not end up in open recycling boxes or the garbage.
4. Storage space: Paper that needs to be securely destroyed has to be stored somewhere until it is shredded – and stacking boxes in hallways is not recommended. Having business documents shredded on a regular basis means storage space could be better utilized.
5. Business: Increasingly, customers and third party suppliers are insisting on formal and documented shredding and information destruction. Secure shredding may be necessary to win client contracts too. These third parties want to make sure that their business partners are as security-driven as they are.
6. Protection from litigation: Companies are legally obliged to comply with privacy laws and legislation and destroy sensitive documents that are no longer needed. A Retention Policy helps identify when data can be disposed of. Every company must stay on top of changing laws as well, and partnering with a document destruction company that keeps up-to-date with privacy laws is an added security measure.
7. Budget: It’s important to look closely at costs. It can be more cost efficient to have a regular service versus infrequent purges. Storage costs must be added to the cost of on-demand or infrequent shredding.
8. Scheduling: Sometimes it’s simply more convenient to have scheduled document destruction services versus having to make a decision to call for a on-demand service.  

Most professional document destruction companies provide On-demand Shredding Services for document overflow or less frequent needs as well as Scheduled Shredding Services that are customized to customers’ timetable and requirements.

A secure chain of custody is critical for all services. For on-going service, locked consoles will be placed in convenient locations in the workplace. Certified Security Representatives will remove collected documents for secure shredding using industrial grade equipment. A Certificate of Destruction will be provided after every shred.

Start Protecting Your Business 

To learn more about how Shred-it can protect your documents and hard drives, please contact us to get a free quote and security risk assessment.