With the New Year around the corner, now is the perfect time to consider what changes could be made to your internal business procedures, for a more successful and secure 2015.
Office shredders are widely used among organizations throughout Dallas in an effort to destroy the private contents of old business files, before they are tossed away. After all, using an office shredder helps to maintain organization, and guarantees your sensitive information is secure…right? Wrong. Sure using an office shredder is more effective than failing to use one at all, but there are several downsides to these little devices that your Dallas business may not realize.
Here are 5 reasons to should ditch your office shredder in the New Year:
Office Shredders Fail to Shred Paper Thoroughly
When it comes to most office shredders, documents are shred in strips only; a cross-cut. Unfortunately when these strips are dumped into the recycling or garbage bin, they can quickly be accessed by dumpster divers. Identity theft happens, and we continue to hear about incidents on the news where individuals fall victim to this crime. The reality is paper strips can be reassembled back together easily enough, especially if there is enough intent and determination to perform a fraudulent act. At Armstrong Archives our state of the art shred equipment is specialized and thoroughly shreds all documents into confetti-like material which is 100% irrecoverable.
Office Shredders are an Additional Expense
Office shredders require operating; when you consider the time and attention that is required for an employee to feed several documents through a shredder, you’re using valuable employee time for a task that takes away from productive work duties. Not only are they time-consuming to operate, they also lack reliability; paper jams often take place when the machine is overworked. When you take into account employee wages and any costs related to maintenance and replacement fees, you’ll likely find that you’re investing more in your office shredder than you would with regular document shredding offered by professionals.
Office Shredders May not Protect You from Audits & Legal Consequences
Unlike a professional document shredding business such as Armstrong Archives, using an office shredder for your document destruction needs, provides no legal evidence that your business is adhering to secure and adequate shredding practices. Should your Dallas business experience an audit, there will be no audit trail indicating that you are in fact shredding regularly, which could find your business in legal trouble. At the end of the day, in-house paper shredding fails to offer reliable documentation of what’s been shred, when it was shred, and who completed the shredding. Armstrong Archives offers convenient document shredding services that can be arranged to fit your specific schedule. Furthermore, we will provide your Dallas business with documentation following each shred, that outlines documents were securely shred, and in accordance with state privacy regulations. This Certificate of Destruction will give you the peace of mind in knowing that our process ensures your confidential data will never become compromised.
Office Shredders Are a Safety Risk
While it doesn’t happen often, office shredders can cause the occasional incident; cuts can occur if your employee fails to operate the machine properly, as the blades can be quite sharp if you’re not careful. Plus, office shredders create paper, plastic, and metal fragments that if left unattended could cause a fire. Why risk such a liability when you can hire skilled professionals to look after your document shredding.
Office Shredders Cause Clutter and Extra Mess
Handheld shredders will generate additional mess in your office that somebody will be tasked to deal with regularly. You have enough to worry about when it comes to maintaining a clean and organized work space, why add to the pile by having to also deal with cleaning up paper? on Save yourself the time and nuisance, and instead turn to Armstrong Archives for your document shredding.
Whether you are interested in regular scheduled paper shredding or a one-time purge service, our process guarantees your information remains secure through our strict chain-of-custody. Dump your office shredder and get in touch with us today. Call us at 972.635.0983.
Posted By: Sherri Taylor – President/Managing Partner
Sherri Taylor is the Managing Partner and President of Armstrong Archives, one of the largest independent records and information management companies in the Dallas/Ft Worth area.
