How to Prepare for Professional Document Shredding Services

If your business has documents with personally identifiable information (PII) that you need to get rid of, the safest route is to hire a professional document shredding service. This is much more convenient than people think, and many services are staffed with trained professionals who understand how to keep the information safe right up until the moment it is destroyed.

If this is your first time using a professional document shredding service, understand that the process is quick and painless. To ensure everything goes smoothly, this article will provide some tips on preparing for your first appointment.

What Are You Shredding?

Before you can shred any documents, you need to decide which documents need to be shredded. Are you just shredding paper, or will you also be shredding hard drives, floppy discs, or another type of file?

Once you know what documents need to be shredded, you’ll need to collect them. This process can take some time, especially if you’re sifting through a file cabinet. However, it is important to be diligent and make sure you have everything you need. The last thing you want is sensitive information lying around because you were in a rush.

When determining which documents need to be shredded, identify which documents contain PII. This includes physical addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers. You’ll want to keep everything required for legal compliance and shred the rest.

How Much do you Have?

Now that you have identified and sorted the documents you will be shredding, you’ll need to provide the shredding company with an estimate of how much you have so they can anticipate the workload.

For an accurate estimate, try using a banker box. These handy storage receptacles are uniformly sized, making it easier for companies to provide an accurate estimation.

Do the Prep Work

Before you take the documents to the shredding company, you will need to make sure to remove the documents from any enclosing binders. You won’t need to remove any paper clips or staples, though, as the machines used by professional shredding companies are powerful enough to shred and sort them alongside the paper.

Schedule an Appointment

Once you have everything sorted, boxed up, and ready to go, it’s time to make your appointment. Some companies prefer to schedule appointments by phone, but nearly all have scheduling services available online. Just make sure to call them during their regular hours of operation.

When you speak to a company representative, they should give you a pickup time. If their time conflicts with your schedule, you can always request something more convenient.

Meet the Technician

When the technician arrives, you will meet with them and show them where the papers are. They will collect the papers and take them to their shredding site. If you used storage bins to hold the papers, the technician will remove the papers and leave the bins with you.

Obtain a Certificate of Destruction

Once the shredding has been completed, make sure the company gives you a certificate of destruction. This is proof that the company complied with your request to destroy the documents you left in their possession.

Need Document Shredding Fast? SEAM Is Here to Help

If you need a reliable and reputable document shredding service, SEAM is here to help. We provide service throughout North Dakota and South Dakota. Contact us today and let us know how we can help.