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THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPER SHREDDING

When making the switch to document management software, there's a lot of important work

that needs to be done before a new system can be considered successfully implemented. Offices

must take the plunge and responsibly dispose of their old horrific machines like the copier, clunky

printers and disorganized file cabinets, and must sort through old documents and get rid of

unnecessary paper to ensure electronic workflow moving forward. Once this data is successfully

preserved within the new infrastructure, it's critical that companies responsibly shred old financial

and otherwise confidential documents in an efficient manner to avoid theft or misplacing. Here

are some simple tips on how to make your transition to paperless airtight without risking a

compromise of your data.

Recycling won't do it

For those who think financial documents are just as easily recycled intact as they are shredded,

think again. Although the act of recycling feels like a permanent disposal, CSO writer Sarah D.

Scalet reminded readers that one man's trash is another man's gateway to identity theft.

"Remember that trash is not inherently private. In 1998, the Supreme Court ruled that Americans

do not have a right to privacy when it comes to their trash," Scalet noted. "What's more, the

Economic Espionage Act of 1996, which made it a federal offense to steal trade information, does

not protect companies that fail to take reasonable steps to protect their information."

Paperless document management is a far more secure system to manage financial documents

and other data, and can event offer a one-step invoice automation process to make the process

simpler for customers and organizations alike. Too often, a business will be excited about a new,

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more useful system and neglect making the full transition, leaving old paper documents highly

vulnerable to compromise.

Be diligent about scanning and shredding processes

It's not uncommon for employees to fall into old patterns of holding onto paper instead of

scanning it into document management software, which makes things more complicated for

those who seek access to the data and becomes a security risk for the company. To avoid this

unneeded stressor, project managers and other figures of authority should regularly reinforce the

daily or weekly scanning of all acquired documents into the infrastructure, which can be

accomplished painlessly with a number of inexpensive smartphone applications.

What's more, neglecting to shred sensitive information could end up informing a competitor

of business decisions if employees aren't careful. A blog post by industry leader Shred Source

reminded businesses of all sizes of the risk taken when this data is left to chance.

"Shred documents that could help the competition," the article stated. "Shred customer lists,

sensitive pricing information, strategic planning documents, and especially trade secrets should

never just be sent to the trash without shredding first."

When it comes to the disposal of items that have been moved to a new infrastructure, it's better

to be safe than sorry. Kick the paper out of the office along with the old file cabinets to enjoy the

benefits of electronic document imaging and a newfound sense of security. [+]

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