Shred on Site

When it comes to ensuring the destruction of documents, many businesses opt to buy a standard shredder and have this operated internally by staff. It might seem like the most cost-effective option for dealing with obligations to safely destroy documents but it actually has a lot of disadvantages. If you’re keen to ensure compliance, and cost-effectiveness, across your business then you should avoid shredding internally and use a shredding partner in 2022 - here’s why.

• Internal shredders tend to be more expensive in the long run. It’s not just the upfront cost of the shredder that you need to consider but the ongoing maintenance and repair, the energy it will use as well as the time your staff will have to devote to operating it. It can be difficult to ensure that you have a reliable secure shredding schedule in place internally, especially if it means taking staff away from their day-to-day roles to do it. Plus, it may actually cost more in wages to have an internal shredder than to use a confidential shredding partner.
• Limited use and the impact on productivity. Most standard shredders are renowned for how frequently they break down, especially if you’re trying to shred something challenging. This can negatively impact productivity in the business, as staff are called away from their own roles to try and fix the situation. If you want to have access to reliable shredding - and to be able to shred anything, from documents to external drives or uniforms - a shredding partner will be essential.
• There’s no transparency in a data breach situation. If your business does suffer a data breach then you’ll have no clear chain of custody of the documents involved. Anyone could have handled - or mishandled - internal shredding and it will be difficult to provide the right proof to satisfy compliance requirements. However, if you’re working with a shredding partner you will receive a Certificate of Destruction of the documents in question, as proof of your compliance so you’ll be able to protect the business from penalties and fines even if a data breach occurs.
• Mitigating the risk of data theft or breach. A shredding partner will provide you with lockable consoles for the documents that need to be shredded, as well as a reliable schedule so that you always know when documents are going to be destroyed. This will help to ensure that you don’t have documents building up in piles around the office and leaving your business exposed to potential theft or loss. You also have the option of on-site shredding, which means documents are destroyed before even leaving the premises, providing the optimum level of security.
• Professional shredding is effective. Some standard shredders simply don’t destroy documents to the extent that is necessary to prevent the data in them being accessible. A shredding partner will use industrial shredders, cross-cutting paper into tiny strips that can’t be pieced back together afterwards.

From security to peace of mind, these are just some of the reasons to avoid shredding internally and use a shredding partner in 2022.

Get in touch with us today to request a quote for all your shredding needs, whether that’s a one-off service or setting up a regular service. Why not try our online tool.