Most businesses have sensitive information that needs to be kept confidential. From personal employee files to financial statements, any private information leak could cause major havoc for your business. That’s why paper shredding services are important. They play a key role in safeguarding your business documents and other sensitive information. However, it’s absolutely understandable that you might feel hesitant to hand over these documents to an outsider. But it would be a waste of resources to undertake this time-consuming activity yourself, so what do you do? Hiring a document shredding company is the smart, cost-effective and convenient option. In this post, we’ve outlined some things you should keep in mind when choosing a document shredding company. 

Legal Compliance

Shredding documents isn’t as simple as it might seem. The laws pertaining to the destruction of documents are different for every industry. The shredding service you hire should be knowledgeable about data security legislations and assist you with legal compliance. 

Certifications

Since paper shredding involves legal compliance, find a company with the necessary certifications and accreditations. 

Reputation and Reviews

A well-established company should have positive reviews and should be able to provide references. Check on third party review websites to get the scoop on the company, as well as on their social media sites to find out what people are saying. 

Hiring Practices

A shredding company won’t be anything without a trustworthy staff. When you’re considering a shredding company, enquire about their hiring practices. Ideally, their employees should be hired after a meticulous selection process and background checks. They should also go through rigorous training for handling sensitive business documents, which is required by law. The employees should have and wear photo identifications. The company should also take the initiative to conduct annual criminal background checks to prevent any breach of security. 

Secure Equipment

A capable document shredding company will have secure equipment at its disposal. If you are sending your documents off-site for destruction, it’s imperative to ensure they are locked in safe boxes to deter tampering in transit. TDS Safeguard utilises the highest standard industry equipment for effective destruction of sensitive documents. 

Security

The security of your confidential documents is the top priority. A lot of shredding companies offer both on-site and off-site shredding services. For the sake of security, look for a company that offers on-site shredding service. This way you can have some control over the process. On the other hand, there is no harm in choosing off-site shredding services as long as the company can effectively guard your documents. A reliable shredding company should have a secure chain of custody. High level of care and discretion should be maintained from collection to destruction. Only bonded shredding technician should have access to your documents. 

Customer Service

The quality of customer service is an easy way to determine the calibre of a company. Choose a company that offers dependable and flexible customer support. They should be good communicators and respectful of your time. If you’re unfamiliar with the process, they should be able to patiently take you through it and help you find a suitable service.

Environmentally-Friendly

You can’t hire a shredding company that doesn’t follow responsible recycling practices. Always select an environmentally-friendly company. After all, this is the only planet we can call home. We have to protect it. 

Additional Services

It’s obvious that every shredding company will provide shredding service. But the top companies will offer other services to add to your convenience. For instance, some companies offer security consoles for free, which you can use to store sensitive documents. Most businesses are moving towards a paperless practice. Therefore, find a company that provides hard drives and other media destruction in addition to paper shredding services.

Certificate of Destruction

It is imperative to choose a company that offers a Certificate of Destruction. This will act as proof that your documents were properly destroyed. 

Hopefully, these pointers help you find the perfect document shredding company for your business.