Whether you have pallets of sensitive documents or just a few boxes you need destroyed, you may be considering using the services of a professional document shredding company. But do you know what to look for to get the best deal? Here are 10 pointers to guide you in the right direction, from Corporate Storage Services of Clifton, N.J.:
1. How often do you need the services of the document shredding company? Maybe you need it every few weeks. Or just several times a year. Whichever, you need to check whether they have call-in service when you need them.
2. There is always a possibility that the need for document shredding comes up unexpectedly, as a huge volume of paper has been generated which needs to be destroyed. Would the company be available for such call-in service? If yes, how much prior notice does it need?
3. Would the company provide you with free containers, placed strategically, for ease of use? If needed, can it provide extra containers without charging anything extra? Check for the quality of such containers and whether they are lockable or not.
4. Check whether the shredding service follows the strict security standards as instituted by the National Association of Information Destruction (NAID). NAID is a nonprofit group that certifies document and other private information-destruction companies. It will ensure that the company is following all governmental regulations and keeping all shredding and destruction services secure.
5. The company should provide you with a certificate of destruction—an important legal document—immediately after it has undertaken a shredding assignment. This document should be duly signed by the company representative, dated, stamped and the method of destruction should be mentioned with a reference number. Some shredding companies provide this certificate every time, while some may give this along with their monthly invoice.
6. On-site or off-site? There are two types of shredding services: on-site shredding and off-site shredding. On-site shredding is the most secure process because as the name implies, all confidential materials are shredded on-site, at your facility. With off-site shredding, your confidential documents are brought back to the shredding company’s plant to be shredded.
7. Are you obliged to sign a long-term contract with the shredding company? There are several companies which do not require any signing of any contract.
8. What about their payment terms? Do they want you to pay upfront before any services are rendered?
9. Check what kind of materials they destroy. For example, CDs, DVDs, X-ray plates, etc., may need to be destroyed. Would they do these jobs, too?
10. Finally, check whether the shredding service is bonded and insured. This is because you would need insurance, especially if you are a large company.
For the smaller jobs …
If you need to safely destroy a small amount of documents, hiring a mobile shredding unit may be overkill. There are several office supply stores, as well as FedEx and UPS, which can do the job if you bring them the goods. UPS, OfficeMax and Staples will do it for 79 cents per pound; FedEx and Office Depot charge 99 cents per pound.
