All information, from the moment it gets printed or coded, is able to be exploited. Some pieces of information are more trivial, while others are much more important and in need of protecting. The context is what determines how significant a piece of information is, and that context changes quickly in this digital era. No matter how many records you have, you have to be diligent every step of the way, and that includes during the document destruction process. When you’re getting document destruction done, here are some precautions you’re going to want to take.
Determine the Purpose
Before you decide to hire document destruction services, you should determine what purpose your documents have. If your documents are confidential and also non-essential, it’s ok for you to use document destruction services and get them shredded. If they are both non-essential and non-confidential, you can discard those documents immediately. In contrast, documents that are essential and confidential have to be kept for as long as businesses or legal cases need them.
Abide By Legal Compliance Codes
All businesses have to abide by legal compliance codes. Retention, as well as the shredding of documents, must be done in accordance with laws that are put in place by auditing authorities and by the government. This means that, if you want perfect compliance, you’re going to need both a document shredding policy and a document retention policy.
Records That Have to Do with Identity
These documents must be handled incredibly carefully. Identity records hold incredibly precious information, and they are incredibly vulnerable to misuse. When these records end up in the wrong hands, they can be misused in various manners, such as financial fraud, forged documentation, and criminal activity, among other things.
It’s also important to remember that the originator of an identity record is the one who owns it. Because of this, whenever you have a lot of government ID duplicates of people, transactional data, or people’s resumes, you will have to follow all of the local laws, as well as the internal policy guidelines.
Diligent Shredding
It would be awful if you followed every one of the Records Management best practices only to end up shredding them without diligence. It defeats the purpose of Records Management. It is advised that you opt for Secure Document Shredding because it eliminates the chance for human error and prevents the possibility of information being discarded carelessly. It’s also a great idea to hire a professional to make sure the document destruction process goes smoothly, all while reducing the amount of time and money you spend.
Have Questions? Micro Records is Here to Help
If you have more questions about document management software, Micro Records is here to help you with all of your needs. We can help your business to transition to a paperless way of life with outstanding e-forms and technology. For more information about how we can help you implement your new document management software, visit us online or give us a call at 877-410-SCAN. For more tips, tricks, and to see what we have been working on, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.