3 min read

Did you know that there are over 2,600 landfills across the United States? If you simply throw out your sensitive documents, they’ll end up in one of these landfills — that is if they don’t end up in the hands of someone else first. It’s much safer to destroy sensitive documents instead of throwing them away so that they don’t get into the wrong hands.

When it comes to hiring a professional document destruction company, you want to make sure that who you hire is reliable. You don’t want to turn your company’s sensitive documents over to just anyone. So how do you know who you can trust? Keep reading to learn the 4 vital questions to ask before hiring a document destruction company.

1. Are You Certified?

In theory, anyone can start a shredding service, which is why it’s crucial to make sure that you’re dealing with certified professionals.

You shouldn’t do business with anyone until you’ve confirmed that they’ve been certified by the National Association for Information Destruction. AAA-certified shredding companies must meet strict yearly requirements that protect confidential customer information.

Hiring a certified shredding company will give you the peace of mind that your business and your customers are protected.

2. Where Does the Destruction Occur?

When it comes to finding a reliable document shredding company, you should ask them how they plan on destroying your documents. A shredding company may destroy your documents off-site, on-site, or both. There are pros and cons to each method.

On-site destruction allows you to supervise the process and ensure that your sensitive data is unattainable. Off-site destruction means that your papers will be leaving your business intact on a secure truck and destroyed at a shredding facility.

Learn which method the destruction company uses and how they keep your documents safe.

3. How Much Do You Charge?

Not all document destruction services cost the same. As you search for the right provider, you should write down their costs for comparison.

You may need to get a custom quote, depending on the work involved. Whatever you do, don’t forget that the cheapest may not always be the best. When it comes to sensitive data, it’s better to pay for high-quality services now rather than pay for damages later.

If your data ends up in the wrong hands, your business and your customers could pay the price for years to come.

4. How Does it Work?

Now that you’ve found out if the destruction company is certified, where they shred your documents, and how much they charge, it’s time to learn more about the process involved and how it will work for your business.

If you just need a one-time shredding service, the process will be different than if you need recurring shredding services.

If you need recurring shredding services, they will bring one or more secure containers to your office depending on your office size and number of employees. The secure bins will be placed around your office to make it easy for your team to deposit sensitive documents. They may also train your team on the importance of document destruction and teach them what documents need to be shredded. They’ll even help you come up with a destruction schedule.

Ready to Hire a Document Destruction Company?

Now that you’ve learned all about 4 vital questions to ask before hiring a document destruction company, you can make sure that all your sensitive data is safe. The last thing you’d want is for your business and customers to be compromised.

Federal Records Management & Shredding is a document destruction company in Fort Wayne. With years of experience and a AAA-certified staff, we can offer you the highest-quality document and data destruction services on the market. From paper shredding to hard drive destruction, our expert team can handle it all.

Do you have questions or concerns about our highly-rated services? If so, please be sure to reach out to us so we can address them as soon as possible.