Successful Shredding For Small Businesses

We know that shredding is an essential task. Many of the printed documents circulating in the workplace contain sensitive information that if lost or stolen, could be very damaging for a business. In fact, PwC estimate that for small businesses, the average cost of a security breach is a staggering £311,000¹. Efficiently destroying any sensitive information that is no longer required will help to limit the risk of data leaks from occurring.

So for small businesses, what are the issues faced when attempting to shred documents to prevent a data leak?

The need to shred efficiently

In the case of large corporations, the availability of large shredding machines that have the capability to shred hundreds of sheets at once means that these companies are able to destroy confidential documents quickly and efficiently. In SMEs, there will still be a designated individual within the company who is responsible for data compliance. It is up to this person to ensure that everyone in the office knows they must destroy all sensitive documents. But it’s important that all staff share the task of shredding paperwork, so one person is not left to face a mountain of paper that needs to be destroyed.

While in theory this seems straightforward – everyone is responsible for his or her confidential documents – it becomes more complicated in practice. The traditional manual feed machines that are often used by individuals in small offices can struggle to manage large volumes of sensitive documents that SMEs typically should shred.

In a survey of employees, 53% of respondents said that they tend to shred in batches. This means that the task of shredding becomes even more time consuming as office staff attempt to feed multiple sheets into a manual shredder. This impacts on productivity in the office. SMEs, even more than large organisations, cannot afford to suffer a loss of productivity and therefore need a solution that fits their shredding habits.

The impact of paper jams

Using a shredder that jams frequently is a common occurrence in workplaces and inevitably leads to a lot of frustration for staff that need to shred in a hurry. 64% of survey respondents who were asked to name the biggest issue they experience when shredding said that paper jams were their worst problem. If busy office workers already need to spend hours of their working time manually feeding paper into their shredder, a jam occurring will only exacerbate their loss of productivity.

Traditional manual feed shredders that don’t include jam prevention technology often result in a loss of time for staff and a waste of resources for small businesses. Added to the stress and inconvenience of fixing paper jams, a more practical solution for shredding large volumes of paper cost effectively in an SME environment is essential.

Efficient shredding

The answer to these headaches is a modern shredder that can destroy multiple sheets at once and which prevents jams from occurring, not a bulky machine that takes up valuable office space. Tools such as Rexel’s Mercury shredder range are a great solution to make shredding a simple task and are perfect for SME use.

Mercury’s Strip and Cross Cut capabilities ensure SMEs can securely destroy their sensitive information, while Jam Free technology stops the shredder from jamming if too much paper is fed into the machine. Users can also reduce the time they spend shredding dramatically, as Mercury capabilities mean that multiple sheets can be destroyed at once.

This winter, Rexel is running a Cashback incentive on its leading business machines including selected Mercury shredders. When buying a Mercury REX1323, RSS2434, RDX2070 or RSX1834, you can receive cashback with your purchase. It has never been a better time to invest in a shredder that’s designed to support your business.

To find out more about this unmissable offer, please visit https://cashback.officerewards.eu/ or follow @rexeleurope on Twitter.

Sources

¹ 2015 Information Security Breaches Survey, executive summary. Commissioned by HM Government. http://www.pwc.co.uk/assets/pdf/2015-isbs-executive-summary-digital.pdf