Is Your Document Disposal Actually That Secure?
With all the challenges to businesses in the current economic environment, there is often a tendency for those at management level to focus all their attention on growth and development – or in some cases, simply keeping the company afloat. Whilst this is a key part of running a successful business, it does sometimes mean that there are other areas that can be overlooked. These tend to be more ancillary areas, such as securely managing your document disposal.
For many in business, when a document goes in the bin this is the point at which it loses its value and, therefore, no longer needs to be a consideration. This is a dangerous way to approach all the paper that is generated by your business. Why? Well because anything that contains information about your company and your customers can be used as a weapon against you. Of course we are all aware of the much more stringent requirements that have recently been introduced with respect to protecting customer data – if you don’t properly protect and dispose of that data then you could find yourself on the receiving end of a criminal prosecution. However, this isn’t the only consideration when it comes to all that paper that you just want to get rid of – what about those documents that contain information on the business itself, on practices, products, research and services that have been developed as a result of a good deal of blood, sweat and tears in the organisation itself?
If you value the goodwill you have established in the business, as well as competitive advantage, then secure document disposal – such as that provided by an on site shredding service – has to be a consideration. It’s such an enormous waste of all that effort to poorly dispose of documents that can then provide an advantage to a competitor, or make it harder for your business to get ahead and hit its targets.
If all this makes you feel slightly uneasy then it might be a good idea to think about how you currently dispose of your documents and whether the method that you’ve chosen is really that secure. If you’re using recycling bins that are taken off site to be disposed of then remember that there are inherent risks here, as the documents have to be handled by humans in between the point at which they leave your premises and become shredded. If you’re relying on employees to carry out your document disposal then have they been properly trained, do they understand the consequences of data loss in this way and can you really rely on them to do the job properly?
For the ultimate peace of mind in this situation, on site document shredding really is the easiest option. It offers the security of knowing that paperwork never leaves the building in whole form and that those who come to carry out the on site document shredding really know what they’re doing. It can also be done at a time that best suits you and is often far cheaper than dedicating permanent resources in your company to what may end up being a substandard service.
Author: Mark Coombes - Follow me on Google+