Despite many companies moving parts of the document management systems into the cloud, businesses continue to create and manage vast amounts of paperwork. Different documents warrant different disposal processes. But there is so much more to destroying a document simply throwing it in the trash. There are steps you can take to effectively manage documentation and mitigate security risks. Here are the processes we manage at Happy Faces Records Management to keep all that old paperwork in check.
Hard Copy Destruction
Despite advances in paperless productivity, most businesses still inevitably create a lot of printouts, hard copy documents, and records. The question of what to do when those documents no longer are needed becomes one of combined convenience and security. If your employees are printing out documents at home, they still need to comply with document destruction or disposal in order to protect your business from sensitive information falling into the wrong hands. The easiest way is likely to ensure employees continue to shred (both horizontally and vertically so that reassembly is next to impossible), documents so that no information is available to unauthorized viewers. Other forms of destruction such as incineration and pulping may not be practical in a home office environment.
Compliance
Your company’s records are a critical resource and their disposal requires the proper investment of time and resources to ensure your compliance with federal and state regulations as well as ensuring the security of your employee’s and client’s information. Poor record disposal can result in security breaches, loss of confidential information, and lost privacy. Failing to heed security related laws and regulations can result in costly fines or even imprisonment. Make sure you know what regulations apply to your document destruction before you take any action.
Recycling
How do companies balance the need for security and their desire to become more environmentally sustainable? Your choices are limited if you’re not working with a document management service. Shredded paper can be reused as packing material, but that also exposes companies to significant risk. Commercial shredded paper may be accepted by recycling companies if it’s free of plastic and metal. However, this is not appropriate for highly confidential documents. Sensitive information may still be reconstructed, which can result in privacy violations and possible legal action. Make sure you are working with a high-quality document management company that takes responsibility. They can help you address the challenges of balancing security with a desire to be sustainable.
Digital Files
The destruction of paper documents is only effective if the digital files are also destroyed. Simply deleting the files is not enough. Until that space has been written over, the possibility of recovering data still exists. Similar to shredding important paper documents, to ensure that personal information is not easily accessed you need to “shred” the digital files. There are a variety of software programs that can do this. If you find the process confusing, a client manager at Happy Faces can explain what is required.
For more guidance on how to keep your data security high even with teams working from home, connect with the team at Happy Faces Records Management today.
