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Confidential paper documents can pose a big threat to the integrity of a business as well as the person or business to which the document relates. Some companies in the U.K don’t have a secure disposal process in place to destroy and recycle confidential waste or lack space for archived documents to be stored in accordance with GDPR. In the worst-case examples, some businesses don’t even take regard to the latest laws surrounding GDPR and documents which need to be destroyed are treated the same as any other waste and end up in the general waste bin. Identity and general fraud are still a huge problem in the UK. Any confidential waste left within easy reach of fraudsters (such as in the general waste) leaves customers in extremely vulnerable positions as well the business-facing unrepairable brand damage and hefty fines from the ICO.
The good news is it’s now easier than ever to be GDPR compliant and ensure all confidential documents are destroyed correctly and any archiving needed to be kept in accordance with law is stored in a secure and safe location.
If you’re still not convinced about the need for an appropriate document management process, have a look at these 9 reasons why Businesses need to be Shredding.
1. Increase your and your Employee’s Productivity
Ripping, tearing, cutting or scrunching up paper is not a safe way to destroy anything containing confidential information. You risk creating pieces of paper that contain different quantities of information and all it takes is a fraudster to take the time to reassemble to pieces, just like a jigsaw. The time taken for employees to attempt to destroy the paper waste could be much better used on focusing on their main role. Professional Shredding Companies can quickly and easily destroy large volumes of confidential documents into small pieces making them impossible to ever be reassembled.
2. Being GDPR Complaint
GDPR means that if you handle any form of confidential information, you must act responsibly. This can range from your customers to your employees to even your vendors. To protect both yourself and the people who use your business it’s critical that you dispose of confidential information in a responsible way that limits the risk of any data breaches. The maximum fine that can be imposed on a business for a negligent GDPR data breach is up to £17.5 million or 4% off the company’s annual global turnover.
3. Prevent Company Information from being Leaked
Paper documents can contain a wide variety of details about your business beyond you, your staff, your customers and your vendors. Information containing the companies day to day operating schedule, quarterly sales targets and figures, management, CEO changes and trade secrets are all reasons to ensure confidential documents are managed and destroyed securely. The downside of this data getting into the wrong hands can vary from damage to a potential promotion campaign to company investors losing trust and interest.
4. Protect Employment Details
Companies store a lot of details about current and past employees on paper this can lead to identity theft and ruined reputations when seen by the wrong people. Your employee’s home address, contact details, national insurance number, disciplinary and promotional details, wage and even whistleblower statements are all examples of very sensitive information. Not only is it essential this information is kept away from anyone outside of your business, but it’s also very important to keep out of reach of any current employees in your business that could see private information related to their co-workers. This can result in a huge breakdown in trust within your team leading to demotivation and dissatisfaction among the team members impacted.
5. Confidence and Reassurance to your Customers and Vendors
Expectations from your customers and vendors are for you to protect them from any negative impacts that could arise from the release of their confidential information. Similarly, with your employees, the expectation is the same regarding their personal information such as their bank details for wages. By using a secure shredding service, everyone involved with your business will be assured that the company is taking confidential management seriously and eradicating the risk of any information that needs to be kept confidential getting into the wrong hands.
6. Protecting Yourself
It’s imperative that you protect yourself from identity theft and fraud. A fraudster or thief who can view your personal information has the potential to damage your reputation, your finances and even your business. One of the common ways a criminal can damage your business is by accessing documents in general waste that should have been destroyed. Documents such as bills, bank statements, wage slips, supplier invoices and sales receipts can all be used to take out substantial loans and credit cards under the business name. Our shredder will Cross Cut documents into 12mm pieces, eliminating the reassembly and use of any of these documents for any criminal activity.
7. Free up your Space
It’s easy enough to fill up a storage room with unnecessary paperwork, it doesn’t take long for it all to pile up. As the years pass by you can find yourself running out of room or even worse paying for extra storage to keep all of the redundant information in stacked boxes and old filing cabinets. When you shred everything that you don’t need, you can save some money by downsizing your storage and spending less money on the building’s rent and utility fees. On the other hand, you can re-evaluate the space that you now have free and utilise it for other uses for your business.
8. Reduce your Fire Risk
Paper is an accelerant fuel for a fire. A room filled with paper that is exposed to a heat source will burn exponentially faster and hotter than another room containing none. Unfortunately, it’s not unheard of that building containing large volumes of paper can and do catch on fire and to make matters worse, due to the floating burning paper in the air, the fire can spread fast to other parts of the building. You can avoid this potentially devastating scenario by limiting how much paperwork you store in the building(s) used by your business.
9. Reducing your Carbon Footprint
Being “more green” is more important now than ever. Not only is it great for the environment but your company’s reputation. We recycle 100% of all the paper and cardboard that we shred. All paper that is shredded is sent to a paper mill where it is made into pulp ready to be re-manufactured into different products such as paper towels, printer paper and toilet paper.
At Cross Cut Shredding we understand the risks and rewards of confidential document management. We work with multiple businesses across the South West across a broad range of industries to ensure that the productivity and security of their business are efficiently managed.
