Selecting shredders for an office has many variables to take into consideration. How many shredders will be needed for a large, multi-department company? What kind of shredders may be needed also varies from office to office from security requirements, to shredding capacity requirements, to simple convenience for employees. Also, an off-site shredding service may seem like an option for managing large volume document destruction, but with that option comes numerous drawbacks. In fact, your company may already have a shredding company performing the work, but factors such as cost may be making this option questionable. Here are some tips for creating and following a shredder acquisition plan that remains on-site and that can help save money and enhance overall productivity with document destruction.
Businesses who manage large volumes of confidential documents may rely on shredding companies. However, there are many downsides to outsourcing your shredding services.
Paper shredding services can cost more than in-house shredding, but if a business must adhere to identity theft and records management regulations, shredding companies are seen as an unavoidable cost by any business who wishes to stay within those guidelines while managing high volume shredding. These costs can actually be reduced with on-site shredding while still meeting strict regulations.
Paper shredding companies need to schedule regular visits to destroy documents, which means that confidential documents remain un-shredded and exposed waiting for service calls.
With the removal of confidential documents from a company to be destroyed comes the risk that those documents may fall into the wrong hands. Converting to an in-house shredding solution can eliminate the compromises that businesses have to make for shredding companies. When it comes to presenting this proposal, stick to the numbers to show the gains of an on-site conversion. The chart below reveals the savings that are possible.
As an office manager, departmental manager or facilities manager you may propose an on-site shredding initiative as a way to save the company money, improve productivity and maintain company security. Using these simple steps can help make the conversion smooth and trouble-free. Because shredding services are typically employed by multi-departmental offices with high volume shredding, we will use this as our most complex model for conversion.
Creating a Document Destruction Policy gives employees clear guidance on what company documents must be destroyed. What needs to be shredded varies with every workplace and you can use your best judgement to evaluate specific documents that you feel may contain critical information that could be compromised. Here is general list that can be helpful:
Evaluating shredding needs is more than deciding what departments do/don't need a paper shredder. Rather it may be a question of quantity. Some departments, such as a financial or human resources department, may have a higher shredding demand requiring large cross-cut shredders with greater run time and sheet capacity. Still others may not have the same shredding volume, but may shred more often throughout the day, a greater frequency.
For departments or areas of the office that require heavy-duty shredding, a commercial shredder is best. Create a shredder station, typically by a copier or by other shared business machines. Commercial shredders can feature paper jam prevention, quiet performance for shared workspaces, auto oil features for reduced maintenance, larger sheet capacities and long, sometimes continuous, run times if necessary.
What is Run Time?Determines how long the shredder can operate before it needs to cool down. Longer run times allow for heavier shredder usage without delay.
For departments where shredders are used more frequently throughout the day, desk side office paper shredders offer greater convenience and immediacy. For example, hospital records management or medical case management may need to shred personal medical documents right away. In some instances of high frequency, small office shredders offer the greatest benefit. Many desk side cross-cut shredders feature paper jam prevention, quiet shredding, as well as safety features to prevent accidents. Many small office shredders can handle documents with paper clips, staples, as well as credit cards and CDs, which in an environment of high frequency shredding enhances productivity by reducing the need to prepare a document to be shred.
High Productivity Shredding: Upgrading to Automatic ShreddersFor even greater productivity, Auto Feed Shredders are the next grade of performance. Auto Feed paper shredders automatically shred without requiring manual feed, allowing workers to get back to other office tasks. Auto Feed models are available in both commercial size and small office and (in some models) handle staples, paper clips and documents with the same ease as traditional shredders.
Conversion Mapping involves determining how many and what type of shredders will be needed and where they will be located throughout various departments. Ask questions and observe in each department. Learn how often shredding company bins are being emptied and how frequently workers need to make trips to the bin to deposit documents. This will help determine the number of larger commercial shredders and how many desk side office shredders will be needed. Use this shredder selector tool for more assistance.
Small office shredders located for frequent shredding
Commercial shredders located for high volume shredding
In some instances, a single department may require both types of shredders. Certain individuals may be handling confidential documents frequently, while the remaining department may be performing high volume shredding.
Understanding the paper shredding needs of your company can help you introduce efficient document destruction policies, save costs by managing shredding in-house, and improve productivity by introducing the right shredders for every department.