If you are trying to buy or replace your office paper shredder you will no doubt be looking for the best option out there. Sometimes, however, that proves to be a service, rather than the most recent machine in the market.
Having your shredding done by an outside firm has many benefits that can make your business more efficient, and hence more profitable. Hiring a shredding company to completely destroy sensitive documents is a cost-effective approach. When you consider all of the benefits, you may want to get rid of the office shredder and leave it entirely the professionals.
1. Save time. Shredding on an office paper shredder is time-consuming. There’s a limit on how many pages can be put in the machine at once, and this means staff are stuck there feeding it. Depending on the layout of the office, this task can also involve people needing time to carry their shredding across the building, encountering any number of distractions along the way. This is time they could be doing other vital tasks that require their skills.
2. Protect data. Because shredding takes so long, it is likely that something will come up demanding that staff member’s immediate attention such as a phone call or query from a colleague. That distraction makes it for people to inadvertently leave sensitive data lying around.
3. Avoid accidents. Paper shredders contain razor-sharp blades that spin in a way designed to pull paper through them. While most include some safety features, there is always a risk of someone’s hair, clothing or jewellery getting caught in the blades and pulled into the shredder. Not only can this damage someone’s property (or, worse, result in injury) but also incur additional costs, including repairing the shredder.
4. Reassure clients. The people your company does business with want to know their personal details are protected. Reassure is a strong selling point for many businesses. Choosing a professional shredding company that can provide a Certificate of Destruction can give people more confidence in choosing to do business with your firm.
5. Prevent accidental shredding. Shredding is permanent. If staff members are shredding documents as they go, it is very easy when things are busy to grab the wrong paper and put it in the shredder. Having a shredding schedule means that when someone notices a document missing, it can be retrieved before it is too late.
6. Keep the office tidy. When the office paper shredder is emptied, no matter how careful people are, there is usually a bit of a mess. Tiny bits of shredded paper tend to get scattered around, and that means either the office looks messy or people lose even more time cleaning it up.
7. Free up some space. Shredders aren’t usually large but, with the price of office space, every inch counts. Clutter can undermine productivity and cause stress. Getting rid of the office shredder means freeing up a little bit of space.
Choosing a regular shredding schedule means your sensitive documents get destroyed instead of piling up without using up valuable staff time. Your staff have skills and expertise; that’s why you hired them. Why not take this task off their plates to free up their time to use those skills to benefit your company’s mission?