Shredding on your own?

Shredding on your own? The average office shredder might seem like an inexpensive way to destroy confidential documents but the office shredder can be risky and more costly than you think.

There are loads of document destruction policies globally in place for good reason. The impact, especially in a digital age, of becoming victim to identity theft, fraud and other fraudulent crimes are dangerous.

The prospect of identity theft is a real and present danger facing many private citizens and business owners today. Even though identity theft is something most people believe will never happen to them, this malicious act destroys the lives and livelihoods of individuals and employers every day. That’s why it’s absolutely imperative that you do not give hackers any inroads to your confidential information.

One of the simplest and most efficient ways to do this is by shredding sensitive business documents. Obviously, there are documents in every business which cannot be shredded but a general rule of thumb is to dispose of documents which are no longer necessary. Some of these include old bank statements, company tax records and any correspondence which exposes potentially vulnerable information.

While most offices have paper shredders, this is not always the safest way to dispose of unwanted business documents. Most office-sized shredders take significant time to feed and are not equipped to accommodate often large business documents.

In addition, shredders with a larger capacity require significant capital investment. They need regular maintenance and if something goes wrong they can be costly to repair. Lastly, if you shred your own

Our tip? Read this before you D.I.Y shred again.

Here are the hidden costs and risks – Shredding on your own?

1. The actual shredder: Might have a fixed, relatively low up-front price tag but there are additional maintenance, replacement and cleaning costs to be considered. The shredding of large amounts of paper in-house can also produce a fine dust, affecting employee health.
2. Human Error: We’re people! It’s only human nature to make mistakes but a mistake when shredding can be life-changing (not for the better). Office shredding often leaves decisions to the employees. Negligence on an employees behalf can cause threat to information safety.
3. Risk of Data Theft: Data theft is a pressing concern for all businesses. By shredding confidential documents yourself, you risk personal information being stolen.
4. Talk about compliance: When shredding is done in the office, the employees responsible for the process, often do not have suitable training in document security, retention and disposal. There is also no proof destruction.
5. On the Clock: High time and productivity costs of employees adds up. Office shredders can’t handle paper clips and staples and documents need to be arranged into easy to shred portions. The employees will also need to empty the shredder and clean up.
6. Effectiveness: Paper is often cut into long strips by office-grade shredders. These can easily be pieced back together and increase the risk of a security breach.