The Pros and Cons of Paper Shredding Companies
Companies are having to focus more of their attention to
security of information, as new laws passed such as the FTC
Disposal Rule are holding companies more responsible for the
consumer information that they handle. The regulations
have been the part of a growing effort to curb the rise of
identity fraud and theft. The Disposal Rule along with
other state and federal enactments have placed the burden of
protecting consumer information even after it has left their
premises, which has spurred the growth of paper shredder
sales companies as well as contractors who have off-site
paper shredders or mobile shredding equipment. The
question for many businesses is whether to shred in house or
to outsource this service. The pros for using a paper
shredder company are somewhat obvious: being able to
focus on your core business, avoiding the problems
associated with shredder maintenance, and having the piece
of mind that the your secure information is being handled by
a professional that is handling the job properly. The
cons of using a paper shredding service deal primarily with
the last comment, namely, whether or not the the job is
being handled properly. Most state and federal
guidelines are clear in that while you can contract out the
shredding, but you can not contract out the responsibility.
All businesses are required to perform due diligence to
ascertain whether the company that they contract the work to
is performing the job satisfactorily, if not, then the
business itself can be held liable.
For this reason it is best to ask the document
destruction company pertinent question to make sure that
they will perform the job well, and to provide proof that
you took the time to verify that the shredding company was a
legitimate provider. Some of the questions that should
be asked are:
- How does the company screen its employees ?
- What is the quality and particle size of the
shredded papers ?
- Is the shredding done in house or contacted through
another company ?
- What type of insurance do they carry ?
- Can they provide the date, location and type of
equipment used each time they provide you service ?
These type of questions can help you determine whether
the provider you have is qualified, and can help show that
you have performed due diligence in case you ever have to
come before a court due to a negligent shredding company.
Outsourcing the work, rather than having in house paper
shredders can be an advantage, but you must do your
homework.
