Shredding Best Practices
When it comes to your organization’s confidential documents, there’s one proven method of disposal: shredding. Most companies deal with sensitive data on a daily basis—everything from your customers’ credit card information to your employees’ social security numbers. The real issue arises when it’s time to dispose of these sensitive documents. This is where shredding must come into the play.
Shredding helps protect the sensitive information of both your employees and your customers. It also helps prevent identify theft, a continuously growing threat in our country where even children are being targeted! On top of that, today’s privacy laws continue to crack down on businesses and the handling of sensitive information. There are various penalties that can be quite severe for businesses that do not comply with regulations.
Now that we have covered the importance of shredding in the workplace, let’s focus in on some of the best practices of shredding to ensure the security of your documents.
Determine what to shred
The first step to following shredding best practices is to decide which documents should be shredded versus which documents simply can be recycled. Any document containing employee or customer information—such as names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, bank account information, invoice balances, and private health information—should be promptly put into your “to shred” file. While you’re at it, don’t forget to shred any document containing proprietary company information to ensure it’s kept private.
Shred regularly
Shred all documents on a regular basis. Standardize your shredding procedures to ensure that no document falls through the cracks. In other words, set up a schedule to shred your hardcopy documents. This schedule will ensure that your documents are being shredded regularly throughout your entire company. Just keep in mind, the longer you leave confidential documents unsecured, the better chance for that information to leak into the wrong hands.
Always shred before you recycle
More than ever today, it is important for businesses to focus on the environment as we move toward a sustainable future. Some businesses consider the recycling bin to be just as good as shredding. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Recycling bins can easily be raided by those looking to steal identities. For this reason, it’s important to shred in-house or use a reliable third-party service provider that can shred your documents with the proper environmental standards in place.
When it comes to the shredding of your organization’s documents, contact Infomax Office Systems for more information or to establish best practices at your office.
