Transitioning to an electronic content management system is a great way to be less reliant on paper documents and records. But what happens when it comes time to dispose of sensitive paper documents that have been scanned into a system?
Most small-to-medium-sized businesses would simply look for a third-party document shredding company. But how do you know you can trust a document shredding company with your sensitive documents? In this piece, we’re going to look at three questions to ask when selecting a document shredding company you can trust with your organization’s documents.
1. Is This Document Shredding Company Accredited?
The input of other satisfied customers can be a helpful tool for determining which document shredding company to utilize. Despite not having as much weight as it did when the yellow pages were a winning resource, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is still a decent way to narrow your list of shredding company candidates. You can access a log of BBB-certified document shredding companies in your area by visiting the website of the Better Business Bureau. You can also call a BBB office near you to inquire on the accreditation status of a certain document shredding company.
2. This Document Shredding Company Certified?
Due to the sensitive information being handled, there are various organizations that provide surveillance to the document shredding industry. The primary document shredding watchdog group is the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID). Their certification process for companies who wish to obtain a NAID certification includes, but is not limited to, background and drug testing for employees, shredding procedure reviews, and shredding material disposal procedure reviews. Every step of the process is closely monitored by this third-party organization to make sure the trust that businesses have placed in document shredding companies is not abused.
3. Is This Document Shredding Company Insured?
If you feel the need to shred certain documents, this means that the documents contain sensitive information. If this information were to fall into the wrong hands, this could compromise the security of businesses and individuals alike. Exposing this information, even accidentally, can result in expensive lawsuits. If businesses were to expose sensitive information through negligence, they could also open themselves up to HIPAA violations and break other laws concerning sensitive information. These violations can result in steep fines. For these reasons, it’s important to inquire about a document shredding company’s insurance policies. It’s important to know that even if the worst-case scenario occurs and the shredding company somehow exposes company documents where the should not be observed, your company will not be found legally or financially liable.
