Staff Reporter
Windhoek-The process of document destruction is the final stage of a document’s life cycle, and is a task that is essential to protect confidential information about businesses and clients. As a result, simply throwing the old documents away is not a safe option and serious businesses have been advised to make use of professional document shredding, which has been described as the only way to ensure total peace of mind.
According to the Document Warehouse, situated in Windhoek’s Khomasdal neighbourhood, a sticky note detailing the date and time of the next company meeting isn’t nearly as confidential as the telephone numbers or bank details of a previous client. Some examples of the types of documents that call for the acquisition of professional document destruction services include documents containing financial information of any kind, documents containing insurance policy information, documents containing credit and debit card numbers, documents containing confidential employment information (such as salaries, employee home addresses etc.), documents containing education information (such as graduate certificates) and copies of ID documents, driver’s licenses and passports.
“Aside from peace of mind, there are several other advantages associated with outsourced document destruction. These include saving money and time as well as lowered associated risk,” said Ray Vries, sales and marketing director at the Document Warehouse.
In terms of saving money, Vries noted that when document shredding needs are outsourced, money will be saved as there will be no need to purchase a hefty shredder for the office. The initial cash outlay for a shredder is, after all, not the only expense incurred as it will require regular servicing and maintenance which will add a fair amount too.
“Generally, outsourced document destruction is incredibly affordable, especially if a large amount of shredding is required as a discounted rate is usually applicable,” Vries added.
In terms of saving time, Vries noted that hundreds of documents each month takes up a substantial portion of time. Outsourcing the job means not worrying about dedicating any time or staff to this tiresome task, thus increasing business productivity.
Also, when shredding documents onsite using a shredder, there is an increased risk that the documents could fall into the wrong hands before they are destroyed.
“When outsourcing the job, the documents will be destroyed swiftly and effectively, making it a much more risk-free process,” Vries concluded.