Despite many companies moving parts of the document management systems into the cloud, businesses continue to create vast amounts of paperwork. This is especially true for the paperwork involved in recruitment and hiring processes. Various documents require different levels of management. But there is so much more to destroying a document properly than throwing it in the trash. To manage increased security risks of improper disposal, you need to have a strategy. 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 print outs, 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? If you are not working with a professional document management service such as Happy Faces Records Management, your choices are limited. Shredded paper can be re-used as packing material, but that also exposes companies to significant risk. Commercial shredded paper may be accepted by recycling companies so long as it is completely free of plastic and metal and contained within clear plastic bags. 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 who takes on the responsibility of recycling for you, and who can help you address the challenges of balancing security protocols with a desire to be sustainable even when working from home.
Digital Files
The proper destruction of hard copy documents is effective only if the digital files are also destroyed. Simply deleting them is not enough. Until that space has been written over, the possibility of recovering data still exists. Ensure your personal information is not easily accessed by “shredding” the individual files. There are a variety of software programs which can shred files. Pick the one that works best for your needs.
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.
