Document shredding services can provide invaluable value to protect the entrepreneur or personal owner from fraud and identity theft. It is essential that the process of document shredding are undertaken regularly.

Document shredding has existed since the early 1900s. However, it began to gain popularity after the 1950s, when governments began using it as a result of the Cold War. In the early days of the shredder, only governments saw the need to destroy critical documents by undertaking the process of document shredding.

Later, other business owners began to see the need to protect critical company information and began investing in paper shredders.

This was the result of industrial espionage and what was affectionately called “landfill,” usually reserved to uncover critical details of the company’s internal operations or brands, patents, and other important information on internal strengths and weaknesses of a company.

Resource one, a website hosts free document shredding throughout the year in which you can safely destroy your documents containing confidential and personal information.

Importance of document shredding

Prevent identity theft

In 2012, approximately 16.6 million residents over the age of sixteen were victims of identity theft. This data was provided by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. To protect your employees, customers, and businesses, it is essential to destroy documents when they no longer need them. When these documents are still in your possession, it is important to store them in a safe and secure place.

Protect your customers

Following the previous point, it is important that you do everything possible to protect your customer’s identities. Even if you should not write your credit card information, it is important to immediately destroy this information. The same applies to any document that has confidential information about your customers.

Ensure privacy

The legislation on privacy and information security is increasingly stringent and continues to be applied rigorously. Sanctions can be serious for companies that do not comply with these regulations. You have a duty to protect the personal and secure information of your customers. If you do not, you run the risk of receiving fines for mistreating customer information.

Protect your employees

Employees have a legal right to privacy and expect you to keep their personal information safe. Where are you discarding cancelled checks, old check decks, hourly tickets, medical records, copies of identity documents, etc. If you simply throw them in the trash, you are not doing everything to ensure that your employee’s privacy and identity are protected. Document shredding is a better alternative than merely throwing them away.

You will save space

Do you really need all the documents that accumulate in your office? If you have a document that occupies space in your office, consider destroying those documents instead. By destroying all those useless documents, you will create additional space in your office for other more important things.

You probably already know that a document shredding service can be a valuable asset for your business but what you might not know is that not all document shredding companies are the same. Here are some questions you should ask before taking a paper shredding service to help you destroy documents.

Recycling

Does the document crusher service participate in ecologically sustainable practices? Is it important to you?

The time period in the business

How long has the company been in the business? Does the document shredding service have references that it can provide?

Cost

Find out how much a document shredding service costs and compare it with other services. Is it profitable for you? Will there be additional costs for your needs? If so, what will they be and when will they be supported?

Dimensions

Is it a small or big business? Can they manage the volume of business you have? Does the price vary due to the size of the company?

Paperless products

Will they destroy objects that are not made of paper? If so, how do they manage these services? Are there any additional costs associated with these services? What arrangements should be made?

Safety

Will they be provided with a security container for your shredding? Will they get a unique key to protect your container or a combination lock for your container? If not, how can you be sure your documents are safe? Can you change the lock in the trash?

Other materials

Should all materials be in the containers the company supplies? Can they make exceptions to the rule for you?

Frequency

How many times will they come? Do they need to plan in advance? Can they come during non-business hours? Are there any additional or hidden costs for these services?

Licenses

Are they certified in the document shredding industry? If not, are they working to achieve it? Have they been checked to verify the document destruction practices? Will they give you a copy of this?

Representative

Will they have the same representative to collect the crush? If not, will they have one or two representatives? Can you request the same representative? Will they take special requests into account?

You should be able to create a list of possible companies based on the attributes highlighted above. From there, you can involve a document shredding company and request more information about the nature of the services they provide. This could be things like technologies, strategies, tools, and their professionalism. If you have confidence and are optimistic about their services, then you should continue and hire them.