Paperwork is a must – you can’t live without it, and can’t imagine life without it.
It’s among the current times’ most necessary problems. Although there’s an ongoing shift to an increasingly digital, and even paperless offices, the reality is that organizations and businesses will have to deal in paperwork regular for the next few years.
That’s why the majority of companies today do not just accumulate large amounts of paperwork throughout their business operations They also need to determine the best method to securely dispose of this paper.
In most workplaces it comes down to performing shredding on site DIY or hiring a professional shredding company to handle the entire process.
In this blog we’ll discuss the advantages and drawbacks of employing shredding services, especially when compared with disposing of confidential waste on your own.
As a business that must to be on top of its spending and security of data, it’s crucial to weigh the aspects of the pros and cons to choose the most suitable option for your business’s requirements.
In-house Shredding
Pros
Complete control of documents If you decide to manage all confidential waste within the company there is no need to have any external assistance involved. This is great if have time to spare and staff that is properly trained however, not every company is able to afford this privilege.
Cost-effective Professional shredding isn’t cheap, therefore internal processing of confidential waste avoids the cost. This is usually the case for smaller businesses which only produce small amounts of waste paper.
Shredding upon demand – any sensitive documents can be destroyed instantly on site. This speedy process can reduce the chance of confidential data being stolen or lost.
Cons
Inefficient resource allocation – only a few companies produce as much paper waste that they are able to effectively handle shredding at home. Many businesses handle large amounts of paperwork, which requires considerable time, staff and financial commitments in order to handle their destruction of sensitive information.
The quality and price of an office shredder even though a basic office shredder won’t cost you a lot however, it won’t be capable of handling the volume of paperwork needed by the typical office. Cheap “strip-cut” shredders can also be the most vulnerable shredders with a number of cases of highly confidential documents being rebuilt using the strips that were disposed. The more durable, industrial-style shredders for offices can be extremely expensive and come with high costs for maintenance that many companies can’t afford.
Risk of data breaches increasing While shredding in-house gives the organization full control over their waste disposal procedures however, many employees will lack the proper training to process and handle sensitive documents in total in compliance with GDPR guidelines. Additionally, if documents aren’t destroyed immediately following usage, the inadvertent storage of sensitive materials on site could raise security issues.
External Paper Shredding Services
Pros
More productive – due to the time and effort involved in shredding documents being taken care of by an outside shredding company staff can concentrate on what really is important. The price and efficiency of shredding will depend on the size of your company. If, as with most companies have to deal with large volumes of paperwork on an every day basis, the odds are that a professional service for shredding is the best option for you.
Guaranteed GDPR compliance – not only are the professional-grade shredders used by paper shredding near me companies better than the office-grade shredders their employees are properly trained to handle, destruction and processing and disposal of waste that is confidential. The introduction of stringent new GDPR regulations, which took effect in 2018 failure to ensure the secure disposal and storage of your private information could lead to significant penalties.
Eco-friendly – many businesses who specialize in shredding confidential documents recycle the majority of their garbage. Shredding services can reduce your carbon footprint and save your company time and money!
Cons
Economy of scale – If you’re a small business or generate a low amount of waste paper regularly employing an expert shredding service might not be cost effective. Therefore, you will need conduct a cost analysis of using a shredding service in comparison to the time, money , and energy required for your business to manage confidential waste on its own. For smaller companies that have a private garbage disposal container could be the best option for cost savings.
Transport and storage risks The staff of professional shredding companies have been trained extensively in secure disposal and data security procedure There is no way to minimize the possibility of a breach in its entirety. The human error that can occur in this field is inevitable, but it’s more likely to occur with trained professionals than with untrained office personnel.
A bad shredding service professional shredding services are only as good as the business which is executing it. The GDPR, as well as the other UK legislation on data protection are clear about how best to manage confidential waste however, not all shredding companies adhere to the requirements of these laws. This is why it’s important that if you decide that your company might benefit from shredding services make sure you conduct your due diligence in finding the right shredding solution for your needs as a business.