As a business owner, you may want to consider hiring document shredding services. Many businesses, such as law firms, accountants and large corporations, to name a few, produce a lot of documents that contain confidential information. The purpose of a paper shredding company is to provide businesses with a means to get rid of those documents without spending a lot of time standing in front of a small waste basket shredder.

A document shredding services industry overview reveals that the most crucial element of the service is security. You must make sure that information remains confidential up and to the point of document destruction. Keep the following in mind as you look into shredding companies:

1. Only use paper shredding services that require their employees maintain special certification and training to destroy your documents.

2. Document shredding companies that provide on-site document destruction services are more secure.

3. Document shredding solutions that include recycling will ensure that no one will ever see your confidential information.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Verify that employees of shredding companies have the required certifications

The National Association for Information Destruction (NAID) certification program creates a process that ensures security on many levels, including operations, employee screening and insurance. NAID also performs an annual audit of a paper shredding business that maintains membership. While the law doesn't require a document shredding company to obtain AAA certification for its employees, you shouldn't trust a company that doesn't establish that requirement on its own.

I recommend: Search for companies that maintain a membership with the National Association for Information Destruction. Stick with shredding businesses that are proud of their AAA certification, such as Jayhawk File Express.

Ensure security with onsite paper shredding services

There are a number of paper shredding companies available, but the best possible security comes with a service that destroys your documents on site. Some pick up your locked storage container and take it to an offsite shredding. Unfortunately, this can mean that a number of people come into contact with the papers before destroying them, running the risk of identity theft. It's better to use a service with trucks equipped with shredders to do the job right there in your business's parking lot.

I recommend: A Shred Ahead uses mobile shredding trucks to shred documents onsite. Accurate Document Destruction offers onsite shredding as one of its three shredding plan options.

Go green by choosing document shredding companies that recycle

Not only will recycling the paper confetti produced from shredding documents help the environment, but it will clinch the fact that the confidential information contained on those documents won't fall into the wrong hands.

I recommend: Secure Eco-Shred provides its clients with a document each year stating how they have specifically contributed to helping the environment by using its service, which recycles all shredded material. Your company saves one tree every time it fills two Shred-it consoles.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  There is no need to worry about paperclips, staples or other binding materials on your documents. Document destruction business shredders are capable of handling large quantities of paper and binding materials, saving your business time.

Before you begin to answer the question you need to ask yourself why you are shredding and how much you have.
Why should I shred? There are many reasons why a business should shred. The first answer I normally hear is "its the law." While it is true that privacy laws including HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and FACTA (the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act) require businesses to properly dispose of customer information that is only part of the story.Information disposed of in the trash is no longer considered protected by the Espionage Act. Simply put, if you throw your customer lists away, you can expect no legal protection if they end up at your competitors.What should I shred? It is easy to track official business records. They are accounted for and shredded on a schedule. But what about all the paper in the office or the records that employees keep in their desks. These daily business records are rarely accounted for but are often the most damaging to your company during litigations.
What criteria should I use?

Security. The first and most important factor for any shredding program is security. There must be a documented chain of custody for records from their creation to destruction. There must also be a verification system in place for the people handling the material.

Cost. The objective of all document destruction programs is to eliminate the problem of sensitive documents ending up in the trash. If your shredding is too expensive you might not shred everything the law and good business practice require.

Ease of use. You don't want your valuable employees wasting their time at the shredder.

Manageability. You need the ability to manage the document destruction program for the whole company and have certification that it is being handled properly.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Buy a Shredder

When most people think of shredding they imagine the cheap home shredder available at the local office supply store. They are cheap for a reason. Everything else about them is very expensive. Their slow speed and continuous maintenance lead most offices to quickly abandon them.Advantages. If you have office staff with extra time the only cost is the price of the shredder. The paper never leaves the custody of your employees.Disadvantages. Even with a big shredder this is a tedious job that is often times ignored until the pile overwhelms the shredder. You need to keep a record of all shredding activity so you have documentation for FACTA and HIPAA compliance. Shredders do require maintenance and you must dispose of the shredded paper.

I recommend: Paper Shredders

Mobile Shredding Service

If you took an industrial shredder and mounted it inside of a truck you would have a mobile shredder. These monsters chew up 2,000 pounds of paper an hour. A mobile shredding service will place locked bins inside your office and then empty them on a schedule. Since they bring the shredder to you, you can witness the shredding.Advantages. You can witness the shredding for your own piece of mind. It takes a few minutes to shred what an office shredder would take hours to do. The service provides the documentation for compliance recordsDisadvantages. These services are designed for medium and large offices and can be too expensive for small offices.

I recommend: Mobile Shredding Service

Off-Site Shredding Service

The biggest of all the shredders are located in 'shredding plants.' They can eat through 20,000 pounds of paper an hour. Like a mobile shredding service, locked bins are placed in your location but the contents are taken back to the plant and shredded.Advantages. Since these shredders are so efficient this is the lowest cost alternative for bulk shredding. The service provides the documentation for legal compliance.Disadvantages. This service is designed for large offices and can be too expensive for small offices. Unless you follow the truck to the plant you can not witness the shredding.

I recommend: Offsite Shredding

Express Destruction

A hybrid of plant based shredding, Express Destruction uses FedEx to transport the material from your office to the shredding plant.Advantages. The price is similar to plant based shredding but for smaller volumes of material. Employees aren't burdened with the shredding and you receive documentation for legal compliance.Disadvantages. This service is designed for smaller offices and is not a good solution for more than ten boxes of material. You cannot witness the shredding.

I recommend: Express Destruction

Document shredding companies are becoming more popular and necessary for business owners. The constant threat of fraud, identity theft and competition from other businesses all contribute to the ever increasing need for document destruction services.

Your business isn’t immune to these threats, regardless of how careful you think you are being. Simply tossing or recycling papers isn’t enough. Destruction is the only absolute for any document that contains even a smidgen of confidential information. An examination of document shredding services basics reveals:

1. Shredding companies provide on-site document destruction or off-site facilities.

2. Business shredders have the ability to eradicate mass quantities of papers.

3. Using a paper shredding service is the only sure-fire way to protect your business and your clients.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Obtain document shredding services

Many businesses, such as law firms, accountants and large corporations, to name a few, produce a lot of documents that contain confidential information. The purpose of a paper shredding company is to provide businesses with a means to get rid of those documents without wasting a lot of time standing in front of a small waste basket shredder.

I recommend: GovernmentSecurity.org provides a list of 10 things to consider when hiring a shredding service. Brinks Document Destruction has services geared specifically toward small businesses.

Shred all imaginable documents with shredding services

One option that shredding companies provide for smaller businesses are massive bulk shredders. These shredders, which may stand 4 to 5 feet tall, remain onsite for shredding purposes. Businesses that produce mass quantities of confidential documents can use the offsite shredding option. The paper shredding company provides lockable paper storage containers, much like small dumpsters, and picks them up when full. The service destroys the documents in a large machine than can even eat through staples, paper clips and other binding materials.

I recommend: Companies like Shred-it and ShredNations destroy the materials they pick up in your business’s parking lot. They equip their trucks with shredding machines, so there is less human contact with your confidential information.

Keep information confidential through paper shredding services

The largest threats to business today include identity theft and corporate espionage. Nearly every document produced in a place of business contains vital information, whether it is a client's address, an employee's medical records or information about business strategies. Legislators continue to put laws and regulations in place, but preventing confidential information from making it into the wrong hands in the first place, by destroying such documents, is the best means of protection for your business.

I recommend: Document Destruction Service has National Association for Information Destruction (NAID) certified security operators, and its mobile shredder means no one comes into contact with your private information. North American Shredding also provides records retention services to store important documents that you need to keep for a while.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you're interested in also helping the environment, choose a paper shredding company that recycles the confetti that document shredding produces.

If your business deals with customer personal or financial information or patient health information, an appropriate document shredding company will be important. Document shredding rules are governed by several acts including the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA). You will want to make sure that your document shredding company abides by these guidelines. When looking for document shredding services, the following key terms are helpful to know.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

National Association of Information Destruction (NAID)

The National Association of Information Destruction provides a voluntary certification process in which document shredding companies can participate. This involves an audit with a security professional, who ensures that the standards and guidelines for proper document destruction are followed.

I recommend: The National Association of Information Destruction page provides more information on certification.

Certificate of destruction

Issued by document shredding companies, a certificate of destruction provides proof that your documents have been destroyed. This documentation is often required to meet compliance standards for document destruction.

I recommend: Gilmore Services describes a certificate of destruction on its website.

On-site shredding

On-site shredding is a method of shredding in which a mobile unit comes to your office and provides document shredding. This is a popular option for document shredding because it allows you to witness the destruction of your documents.

I recommend: Iron Mountain discusses on-site shredding in more detail.

Unbroken chain of custody

An unbroken chain of custody refers to the process in which documents are securely handled by the document shredding company. The custody of your documents are secured in locked cases and taken to their destination safely.

I recommend: Scroll down the page at Shred-It to see a description of an unbroken chain of custody.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)is a law enacted to protect patient information. It provides guidelines on health information, how it is stored, who is able to access it and how it is to be destroyed. Document shredding companies can aid in compliance with HIPAA guidelines about data destruction.

I recommend: LA Records Management discusses HIPAA and document shredding as you scroll down the page.

Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA)

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) is an act that governs personal credit information and how it is accessed. It helps to protect private credit information and it requires that documents with this information are disposed of in a secure manner.

I recommend: Sarasota Document Shredding discusses FACTA and document destruction compliance.