The amount of paper documents in the average American office is growing fast, taking up valuable space in the process space that could be used to build more sales in a challenging economy.

Business owners who think all shredding companies are alike aren’t asking the right questions.

Now that more and more businesses are converting valuable office space into revenue generating profit centers, shredding companies are growing too. With new regulatory laws that govern document retention, like HIPAA, the need to securely dispose documents that contain facts about a company or its employees, personally identifiable information is paramount.

Some business owners have compact, desk side shredders in their facilities, while others employ a shredding company to quickly destroy these documents on a regular basis, saving time, money and resources for companies that need to cut costs.

With  so many shredding companies emerging in the business landscape, it is often hard to tell them apart. There are some important things to consider before hiring a company that offers you the lowest price.

 

There are three basic types of paper shredding services; on-site, off-site and remote shredding services. On-site shredding is usually more preferred, especially when dealing with confidential documents, since it is more secure. On-site shredders come to your location and destroy your documents as you watch.

 

On-Site, Off-Site and Remote Shredding – Which do you need?

Off-site shredding refers to the kind of service where shredding the documents takes place at the shredding company facilities. This is not ideal for shredding confidential documents, since it requires the documents to be transported. Remote document shredding services are for clients who require more security since it will immediately destroy the documents, unsorted.

 

Price doesn’t always protect you from possible financial risk

You may find a lot of large companies in the shredding business making bold promises based on the lowest price. But the shredder beware, not all shredders are alike.

First, hire a shredding company that holds AAA NAID (National Association of Information Destruction) certification as a proof of secure and reliable shredding service.  This assures that the company complies with stringent information management standards that safeguard your company from potential liability.

Only after thoroughly researching the company you use should you decide on which type of shredding service would be suitable in handling the documents that you needed to dispose.

Think about the service time. How many hours or days do you plan to have your office documents shredded? This will guide you in setting up the shredding service you need without unnecessarily disrupting your operations.

Sometimes, you may need to also have your document soft copies destroyed along with paper documents. Choose a shredding service company that offers destruction of all your materials, regardless of whether they are paper-based or not.

If you encounter a shredding service that offers cheap rates, look out for hidden charges. More often than not you may encounter miscellaneous service charges, fuel surcharges or other fees that aren’t included in the quote you receive.

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