4 Tips for Proper Document Destruction

With more and more cases of identity theft, businesses must prioritize proper document destruction to help prevent such incidences. As a result, many companies have turned to professional paper shredding services. In a business setting, failure to select the most suitable service provider could result in compromised trade secrets, employee records, and client data, all of which can cause irreparable damage to a company’s reputation. Here are four tips to help you ensure proper document destruction.

1. Outsource to a professional

Having a separate company handle your document shredding needs is the best option. In-house document destruction takes away valuable employee time, which should be spent on revenue-generating tasks. You can, however, have your staff confirm the documents being shredded are the right ones, especially if you opt for on-site paper shredding services. Also, on-site shredding eliminates the risks associated with transporting the documents elsewhere for destruction. Instead of shredding the documents, some unscrupulous companies will sell them to a third party.

2. Shred on a regular basis

For starters, having a lot of paper around the office increases the odds of a fire, making this practice a hazard. Secondly, getting rid of the mountains of paper allows you to reclaim a lot of free office space that you can put to more profitable use. Thirdly, performing a simple file or word search on a computer is much easier than rifling through a number of filing cabinets. Regular paper shredding frees you up and allows the integration of a paperless document management system, which comes with the many benefits mentioned above. By hiring good document-shredding service providers, businesses can get to the point where they only need to keep a few important paper-based copies.

3. Use the right shredder

Many document shredding machines work by slicing paper into long horizontal strips. Unfortunately, some will produce strips that are so wide you can make out complete words and sentence bits. By leaving some personal information visible, this type of shredding makes it easier for identity thieves to piece shredded documents back together. Cross-cut shredders are a more secure option because they usually cut paper from two directions, which makes it a lot harder for anyone to reconstruct the shredded documents. Choose a company that uses the right kind of shredder.

4. Consider local document shredding companies first

Improper disposal practices can result in violations of privacy laws and any other regulation designed to protect customer data, all of which can endanger your business. As such, you need to select a paper shredding company that’s familiar with the relevant document destruction and disposal laws in your locality. Whenever documents are destroyed, for instance, a certificate of destruction is required by some localities as proof of proper destruction. Reputable, local document shredding companies should know all the applicable regulations as well as the legal requirements. You may be able to find more information online. Shred-it is a good place to start your research.