4 Ways to Tune Up Your Document Disposal Program
Tune-ups aren’t just for bicycles, motorcycles and cars. This is the perfect time of year to tune up your document disposal program. By revising the way you dispose of no-longer-needed documents and files, your business benefits from:
- Increased regulatory compliance
- Improved privacy protection
- Better productivity
Here we offer four ways to tune up your document disposal program:
1. Tighten security
A secure document disposal process should be your top priority. According to a study by Risk Based Security and the Open Security Foundation, over 300,000 records were subject to information breaches in 2013 as a result of improper disposal.
When relying on an office shredder, your documents can still be compromised. If the shredding machine is broken, files are likely to pile up in unsecured areas simply because they can’t be destroyed. Even if the shredder is working properly, it takes so long to shred documents that your employees may be tempted to toss files in the trash. And documents that are shredded may not be completely destroyed. By contrast, a NAID AAA Certified paper shredding service ensures that your documents are destroyed according to strict security guidelines. The facility where your documents are shredded is protected by a controlled access gate, fence, and actively monitored security cameras and sensors. Screened professional shredding technicians handle, transport and destroy your information. Each destruction project is recorded to video and stored for 90 days. And you receive a Certificate of Destruction documenting the time and date of shredding.
2. Set up a routine
Regular document disposal reduces security risks and ensures your company is complying with privacy protection laws such as:
- HIPAA
- FACTA
- SOX
- GLB
A scheduled shredding service not only guarantees that your confidential paperwork is destroyed promptly, but also encourages your employees to regularly dispose of expired paperwork. With scheduled shredding, locked collection containers placed in your office offer a two-second solution to standing over an office shredder for several minutes. When it’s so easy to securely dispose of documents, employees are far more likely to follow through with it.
3. Make it sustainable
Tuning up your document disposal program also creates a more environmentally-sustainable workplace. Documents tossed in recycling bins without being shredded can lead directly to information breaches. But when you use secure shredding service, you know your documents are being properly recycled after destruction. All shredded paper is converted to large bales of paper, and the bales are then turned into a variety of recycled paper products at a domestic paper mill.
4. Include non-paper media in your disposal program
While tuning up your document disposal program, you might as well do the same for your digital media disposal practices. Your backup tapes, hard drives, USB drives, CDs and DVDs also contain sensitive information, and like your paper documents, they should be disposed of securely and efficiently.
With the right professional shredding service, unwanted digital media can be collected alongside your paper records for secure, NAID AAA Certified destruction. A specialized shredder permanently destroys your tapes and hard drives, rendering all data permanently irrecoverable. As with your paper records, you receive a Certificate of Destruction after your media has been destroyed.
With these four steps in mind, you can tune up your document disposal program and keep your business on the road to success!
Richards & Richards provides secure shredding services for business throughout Nashville. For more information, please contact us by phone or complete the form on this page.
