How To Start A Shred All Policy at Work
- 1. How to start a shred-all policy. Shredding all your paper documents reduces risk and improves compliance. Here’s some guidance to getting started. More and more companies are turning to a “shred-all” policy in order to strengthen their information privacy and confidentiality policies and processes around the disposal of paper documents. A shred-all policy stipulates that once any paper documents are no longer needed for business use or for compliance purposes — no matter what their content — they’re shredded instead of thrown in trash cans. There are plenty of reasons to put this policy to work at your company. The multiple benefits of shredding all documents. The primary reason companies are instituting a shred-all policy that includes recycling is that it simplifies document disposal for everyone at the workplace. By creating and maintaining a shred-all policy, it takes decisions out of employees’ hands as to whether or not documents contain confidential information. This, in turn, reduces the risk of an information breach, while it also increases your company’s ability to stay in compliance with the various federal regulations that are in force. Federal and state privacy regulations carry steep penalties and fines for non-compliance. And there’s been more legislation enacted over the last ten to 15 years to protect consumers in many ways. These include the: • Sarbanes-Oxley Act • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) • Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act • Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) Two additional benefits include better internal protection, so that none of your proprietary information gets into the wrong hands, and the policy’s environmental friendliness. When documents are destroyed and then recycled, they can be used again for paper products to save on valuable natural resources. Using a professional shredding service that provides you with a certificate of destruction and recycles all documents after they’re shredded ensures there aren’t any gaps in security in the process. About Shred-it Shred-it specializes in providing a tailored document destruction service that allows businesses to comply with legislation and ensure that their client, employee and confidential business information is kept secure at all times. Shred-it provides the most secure and efficient confidential information destruction service in the industry. Call your local branch: 877 24-SHRED (74733) Visit our website: shredit.com Visit our Customer resource site: shredit.com/myshredit
- 2. What to consider before moving to a shred-all process: • A shred-all policy requires executive approval and buy-in, along with continuous communication to all your employees and contract personnel. • The process you put in place must be enforceable. • The new procedures involved in shredding all documents will likely take some adjustments and getting used to, so it may be best to start this as a “work in progress” that you can update as necessary. • Part of that adjustment process involves educating your employees so that they understand why their document- disposal behavior matters and feel personal accountability for the new process. Some other questions you’ll want to answer: • How much employee convenience is necessary to achieve the level of security and privacy your company needs? • How should you communicate the proper level of executive mandate for document confidentiality to your employees? Through emails? Signage? Regular meetings? • How and where will you situate secure shredding consoles versus food trash cans in your workplace? • Should each employee have a confidential desk container and food trash can? • Do you also want a console to be located by each printer and fax machine? • Who in your company will monitor the shred-all process at each office, checking all copiers and printers for stray documents before the office closes and ensuring that employees have emptied their confidential desk containers? Tips for a successful shred-all policy: • Take the time to document the flow of confidential information in your company — where it’s created, how it’s stored and who is able to access it. • Be sure to conduct regular security assessments to help you identify any vulnerable areas and potential security risks in your workplace. • Update your document-destruction policies based on your assessment findings and any new or updated privacy legislation. • Train your staff in secure document-destruction procedures. Display your commitment to your policy and help them understand that protecting your customers’ — and your company’s — confidential information is essential to a thriving business. How to start a shred-all policy.