TeamHave you ever considered paper shredding and document destruction services? If you didn’t, it might be a good idea to try one. We will emphasize the importance of shredding paper. Today, it is important to keep the information in the digital format, as well. You should check out these types of software that every business needs. It could really help your business.
Why do we need to shred documents?
Whether it is your office or your home office, papers pile up really quickly. These could be non-important documents that contain no useful information. Or it could be confidential documents that contain very valuable information, usually clients’ information.
The first type, the not-so-important documents, we need to shred in order to clean up piled-up paper. Clutter is undesirable in your home, as well as in your office. That is why we need to get rid of it. The second type, the confidential documents need to be shredded for reasons other than clutter. Many businesses have a relationship of trust with their clients in which clients share sensitive data. Well, this data needs to be protected either by proper storage or by destruction when you no longer need it. This way, you make sure that this data doesn’t end up in the wrong hands.
A data breach is a very serious thing and you need to make sure that it doesn’t happen to you. It doesn’t have to be just sensitive data from your clients, you could have documents with your own, personal sensitive data. In this case, you need proper document destruction, as well.
Reasons to shred documents
First, you need to sort out the documents. Separate those that you will keep and store from those you will shred. Then, you can decide whether to buy a paper shredder and do the shredding yourself. Or you will purchase a shredding service. And this is why you should consider paper shredding.
1. To obey the law
Most states have laws that protect the data and stipulate that businesses destroy personal data like personal address, salary info, or medical info. So, by law, you are obligated to destroy it.
2. Avoid identity theft
If you just throw out documents in the trash, you are giving an option to criminals to get to your or other people’s personal information. Identity theft is a serious threat today. And if a criminal finds out enough info about a person, they could easily steal the identity and make significant damage to a person. They could get to the credit card info, they could end up owning a person’s email account, etc. All of this can cause a lot of problems and a lot of stress in a person’s life.
3. Keep your data confidential
As we mentioned earlier, confidential documents that you no longer need should be destroyed. Otherwise, if they get into the wrong hands, that information could be abused. If you shred these documents, you will have peace of mind knowing that data is safe.
The data could refer to business data like sales records, client lists, future products info, etc. Or it could be confidential documents with your clients’ data. If you are the one who leaked the data, you will lose consumers’ trust and that could easily ruin your business.
These documents could also refer to your own employees like salaries, disciplinary measures, redundancy information, etc. This information should not be disclosed to other employees because they could create a hostile working environment and you should avoid that.
4. Save storage space
Even though it might not seem that paper takes a lot of space, they do. Over time, they pile up and can take up your whole storage space. So, why keep something you no longer need? Get rid of unnecessary documents, free your storage space for more important documents.
5. Care about the environment
To care about the environment is very much appreciated these days. So, if you recycle your paper and other materials, you could show your clients and business partners that you care about the environment. And shredding paper is making the recycling process much easier.
6. Avoid fire hazard
Having a lot of paper piled up can be a real fire hazard. If the fire occurs, not only you could lose you the furniture and all the valuable things in your office. You could also lose the important documents that contain valuable data. To avoid that, only keep the documents you really need to keep. There is no need to hold onto something you don’t really need.
