What Is Secure Shredding? Why Your Business Should Do It?

Data protection and privacy have become a crucial element in every business process. This is most especially the case since the birth of the Data Protection Act 1988 (DPA). And if your company obtains information deemed under the latter, you are expected to protect that information. This responsibility is something that you need to embrace company-wide.

One of the ways to do this is through secure shredding for any document and/or paperwork that contain the aforementioned information. Otherwise, you will be faced with a great risk, painting a bad picture of your company’s reputation. As such, it is imperative to consider professional shredding services.

Regulations Under DPA

Under Section 55A of the Data Protection Act 1988, companies are subject to fine of up to £500,000 if proven to have breached the aforementioned responsibility. The same section of the act suggests that companies must be well-aware of this responsibility, which covers the storing and proper destruction of paperwork or document that has personal information. If one or more of your customers experienced identity theft because the said information was stolen from your rubbish, this will immediately reflect negatively on your company. Even more so, customer trust will start to fade, damaging your business’ success.

What Documents Require Shredding?

This is definitely one of the biggest questions people have when it comes to secure shredding. They do not have concrete knowledge about which document or paperwork can be shredded. Basically, if a document does not contain personal information, there is nothing to worry about disposing and/or recycling it. But if it is the other way around, you need to perform some shredding.

Here are some of the many examples of waste that you can shred:

• Bank Statements
• Credit or Debit Card Information
• Employee Pay Stubs or Records
• Documents That Contain Name, Address, Email, or Phone Number
• Sales Receipts and/or Copies
• Voided Checks
• Tax Returns
• Photo IDs

It should be noted that the above-mentioned only lists some of the document and/or paperwork that needed to be shred. Other examples may also be unique according to your business nature.

Benefits of Using a Shredding Service

There is nothing wrong about shredding documents or paperwork yourself. The law itself does not see it as a violation. However, you cannot take the fact away that a shredding service offers an array of benefits when compared to DIY. And considering the benefits it provides, it is safe to say that it is totally worth it.

So, without further ado, here are they:

Fights Identity Theft

Through this type of service, you can steer clear from identify theft from waste. Since the waste is shredded securely before disposal, it is impossible for other individuals (e.g. employees, customers, etc.) to experience identify theft. Keep in mind that the latter can easily be experienced through business paperwork, so it is best to cover every possible angle.

Protects Customer Details

The idea of the DPA is to make sure that customer information is protected at all cost. This is exactly what a shredding service offers. By securely destroying a document or paperwork, it guarantees that the information does not fall into the wrong hands. Ultimately, this promotes and even improves customer trust in a company or business.

Safeguards Employees

Not only does this service protect customers, but it also keeps the best interest of employees. In the exact same way, employees of a company do not have to be burdened about their personal information falling into the likes of exploiters or identity thieves.

Apart from the aforementioned, the service can also help you avoid all that clutter. Why? That is because it allows you to store documents in the company accordingly. In other words, you will obtain an extra space, which you can use for other purposes. Moreover, doing so can greatly reduce the risk often associated by excess paper or documents.

As you can see, there is a need to subscribe to a shredding service. While it will require you to invest, the return is definitely worth trying. Just keep in mind that personal information should not be handled incorrectly; otherwise, you will be facing a handful of consequences.