May 17, 2022

The Benefits of Utilising an On-site Shredding Service

Both storing and destroying your confidential data incorrectly can increase the likelihood of a data breach. Therefore, one of the most secure solutions is to utilise is an on-site shredding service. On-site shredding assists in safeguarding your business’, customers’, and employees’ confidential data.

There are many benefits to using an on-site shredding service. However, it’s essential that the service provider and their shredding processes are secure, this ensures that the risk of a data breach is minimised, and your confidential data stays private.
 
Benefits to On-site Shredding
1. Document Security: compared to disposing of your confidential data in general recycling bins where office personnel and visitors could potentially see your confidential data, with on-site shredding your confidential datais kept in locked consoles and then securely destroyed.

2. Convenience: this method of document shredding is a convenient end-to-end approach that’s arranged by the service provider - from transportation to the shredding process itself, your trusted provider will take care of it all.

3. Saves employee and company time: having your employees shred your company’s confidential data isn’t time well-spent and also exposes your business to the risk of human error if documents aren’t disposed of securely. Utilising on-site shredding will save employee and company time while also being more secure with your confidential data.

4. Environmentally friendly: another important benefit to on-site shredding is that it’s both secure and environmentally friendly. At Shred-it, we only work with supply partners that recycle the paper we’ve shredded, and this helps keep our end-to-end process both safe and eco-friendly.

5. Customer peace of mind: utilising on-site shredding can give you the additional peace of mind that your confidential data is securely destroyed. Typically, a mobile shredding truck will come to your place of work and provide you with a Certificate of Destruction so you have physical, as well as visual proof, that your confidential data is destroyed.
 
Things to Remember Before Using On-site Shredding
The benefits of on-site shredding offer many advantages for businesses and organisations. However, it’s also important to make sure that the following measures are considered before shredding your confidential data:
 
Retention Periods and GDPR
Before you start thinking about using an on-site shredding service, make sure that you have complied with government retention periods and GDPR guidelines.

A 2019 survey found that 30% of European businesses are still not GDPR compliant. [1] This can result in sizeable fines as well as leaving businesses open to a potential data breach.

By complying with government retention periods and GDPR guidelines your confidential data is more likely to stay private.

Whether you are a business or self-employed, make sure you’re up to speed and follow the latest legislation and guidance for your industry. Relevant documents that people and businesses may need to keep include:

1. Bank documents and account statements
2. Tax returns and records
3. Accounting records, documents, receipts, and invoices
4. Payslips
5. Credit and loan documents
6. Inventories
7. Management reports
8. Copies of commercial or business letters sent/received
 
Workplace Document Retention Policy
To help you and your business comply with retention periods and GDPR guidelines, it is best practice to set up a workplace document retention policy. This type of policy will ensure that those all-important retention periods are met and that you are only retaining relevant documents.

To set up your own workplace document retention policy, simply follow the steps below:

1. Set out guidelines on how long certain types of documents need to be retained.

2. Follow government guidance and legislation as well as your own guidelines.

3. Consider the purpose of the documents you are retaining.

4. Put a secure destruction procedure in place, such as on-site shredding, to destroy your confidential information.

5. Keep the retention policy up to date to reflect changing legislations.
 
Employee Training
A recent study found that 85% of data breaches were due to human error so it is essential that businesses and organisations invest in employee security training so confidential data is less likely to be breached. [2]

With data breaches costing businesses €3,721,600 in 2021, employees need to be made aware of the following aspects of data security training [3]:

1. The biggest driver of data security training is to improve the overall level of data security within the organisation.

2. Regular training ensures that employees stay up to date on the latest data security practices, so company confidential data stays secure.

3. Training must address risky work habits, such as losing laptops or phones and mishandling data.

Ensuring employees are fully trained can help safeguard retention periods and GDPR guidelines, ready for you to dispose of your confidential data securely through on-site shredding.
 
Secure On-Site Shredding with Shred-it
Once you have met the above suggestions, your confidential data can be more secure before and after you dispose of it.

Shred-it’s industry-leading On-Site Shredding Service can help your business or organisation keep confidential datasecure while helping to minimise the chances of a data breach.

Our safe, end-to-end secure chain of custody uses lockable consoles and barcodes that are scanned at every touchpoint to help further enhance the security of your confidential data – after which, shredded materials are recycled so we can all play our part in helping to safeguard the planet.

For more information about our On-site Shredding Service, please get in touch today to see how our services can protect your company, customers, and employees.


Sources:
[2] Forbes
[3] IBM