PrintingNews.com

Printers worldwide are often faced with having to manage the proper disposal of their customers' sensitive documents and other materials that should be destroyed. Yet, purchasing decisions for shredders that are made on the basis of price alone often overshadow proper consideration of the consequences from mishandling sensitive documents. Have you considered the impact on your company and reputation should sensitive customer materials fall into the wrong hands? Moreover, what if your company inadvertently leaked the confidential information of a customer?

"I'm not sure it would be as reliable or safe as my first choice," a survey respondent said about the shredder he purchased for his large company. When you need to invest in a document shredder, can you afford not to be sure it will meet your firm's needs?

That survey, recently conducted for GBC by independent researchers, revealed that nearly two-thirds of businesses and organizations—a whopping 63 percent—replace their shredders within three years of the purchase date. Such a short product life cycle is clearly an unnecessary waste of office budgets, time, and productivity.

One key reason for regretful shredder purchases is that companies often don't properly assess their true needs in advance, and consequently buy shredders that perform far below their expectations. The study found that most respondents "under-bought" by purchasing lower capacity, under-powered shredders incapable of handling their document shredding needs. This then forced them to upgrade later and incur further costs. In other words, many buyers purchased a shredder that created more problems than it solved.

Assess Sheet Capacity Needs

The survey results show that more than one-third of users are unsatisfied with the low sheet capacity of their current shredder. Employees can waste 3.5 days a year clearing shredder jams, which means a typical company staff of 75 people waste enough time to occupy one full-time job. With 60 percent of users experiencing shredder jams at least once a month, businesses lose efficiency, which could be resolved easily with a shredder with higher sheet capacity.

Protect Your Organization

However, low sheet capacity problems pale in comparison to the vulnerabilities of improper security resulting from under-buying a shredder. Companies are at risk of damaging their reputation with identity fraud by not properly protecting their sensitive and confidential information, or that of their customers. Can your company afford that kind of cost?

Your company and your employees need to have a persistent and unyielding awareness of these risks. The threat of bin raiding and identity theft looms. Studies from the Identity Theft Resource Center report that identity theft cost U.S. businesses and consumers $56.6 billion in 2005 alone. Your customers entrust their confidential and strategic information to you, and it's your company's responsibility to protect it.

Better adherence to company shredding guidelines happens when it is easier for employees to shred—and choosing a shredder with the features that are right for your organization's needs plays a key factor in making that happen.