Three reasons to consider a one time paper shredding service when employees return to the office

As millions of people across North America begin the second month of working from home, one question looms large above all else – when will we all be back in the office?
 
Regardless of when that happens, the surge of workers returning to the office will force many organizations, even those who have already contracted document destruction services to securely and professionally destroy paper and digital documents on a regular basis, to consider a one time purge of sensitive documents workers may have kept at home during the pandemic.
 
Given this need, Shred-it is pleased to introduce a new offering – Express and Priority One Time Shredding Service, with a guaranteed 2 or 5-day turnaround! We are dedicated to protecting organizations by ensuring that confidential information remains confidential. Experience the Shred-it difference.
 
While decluttering the workplace will improve the work environment for returning employees, document purges will also have a significant impact on information security.

How a One Time Document Purge Can Protect Sensitive Information 

Here are three reasons why all organizations should be considering a one time document purge:

1. Better protection against theft: Employees working from home right now may be consolidating sensitive paperwork in a grocery bag or the like. Following remote work best practices, like keeping sensitive information in a locked cabinet until it can be properly destroyed, is a next best step but it’s not a permanent solution. Once employees are back in the office, encourage them to safely bring in any sensitive documents from home to have them securely destroyed in a one time purge. Follow up by implementing a Clean Desk Policy to continue best practices moving forward.

2. Reduce human error: According to Shred-it’s 2019 Data Protection Report, more than 52% of C-suites say that employee negligence or accidental loss is the root cause of data security breaches. Reduce the risk by doing a one time purge to clear the workspace of excess and untidy materials such as loose and boxed paper documents and old CDs, thumb drives, and hard drives. Research has also shown that clutter is distracting and getting rid of it will help employees do their jobs more effectively and make fewer mistakes.

3. Secure document management: Documents that contain personally identifiable information (PII) should never be stored in easily-accessible office areas. Once the document purge is complete, an organization may decide to adopt a more official document management process. The policy can help by directing daily workflows, storage requirements for PII, and data retention schedules. A one time purge may also make it clear to the organization that on-going secure destruction will be helpful too.

Protect Your Business with our One Time Shredding Service

For this service, a Certified Security Representative will come to the workplace to remove all of the collected documents, hard drives, and other media. Using industrial-grade equipment, paper will be securely shredded, and digital media will be crushed and sheared. There are often specialty shredding services too for items such as identity cards that may have expired.
 
Take a first step towards greater protection by learning more about Shred-it’s new Express and Priority One Time Shredding Service with a guaranteed 2 and 5-day turnaround. Contact us for a free quote or to learn more about how else Shred-it can protect your documents.