The Challenge
COVID-19 pandemic has altered the way in which people work, from shared office spaces to remote home working. These new circumstances demand a different security stance, especially when it comes to maintaining data security in regulation with GDPR.
Managing remote teams can be difficult without the stress of ensuring everyone is keeping company and client’s data secure. Not having all the data under one roof and without having processes put into place can increase the risk of data theft and data breaches with fines up to £18 million.
Our client approached us with this exact issue and asked for advice on how to keep their teams’ data secure whilst remote working. The main problem being the number of documents that had accumulated over months of working from home and how to manage these documents to create space and keep data secure.
The customer required collections across the UK for its’ remote workers. Firstly, for documents that had been created and were required to be stored securely. Secondly, for documents that had been created that could be shredded straight away.
The Solution
The majority of the employee’s files were legally required to be stored for seven years in line with their document retention policy. We collected all documents from numerous homes across the UK and transported them to one of our secure storage facilities. We offered our scan on demand service, so the team are able to store their files off-site and retrieve them digitally on a pay-as-you-go-basis when needed. This service minimises physical contact and the number of confidential documents at home.
We organised for any confidential documents that were created but didn’t need to be stored to be shredded. We provided an on-site shredding service for each location via one of our mobile shredding vehicles. As the files contained sensitive information, they required a professional service to handle the documents to ensure GDPR compliance. Placing files in the home recycling bin or in a home shredder isn’t a secure method of disposal. After the secure removal of their paper documents a certificate of destruction was provided as proof.
We recommend a simple policy going forward for the entire team to stay on top of their data. With another on-site shredding service booked for the team in advance to avoid the increase in paper documents at home.
The Result
As a result, the customer is continuing to comply with its’ document retention and destruction policies whilst adhering to strict GDPR guidelines. Additionally, the remote staff members are not keeping confidential documents for longer than necessary. There is now more space in their home offices, keeping paper documents to a minimum. Reducing the risk of a data breach or any documents being misplaced at home.
With a large amount of paperwork taking up space in multiple homes, we helped create space for a better working environment and a plan going forward to help the team stay on top of their documents.
Whilst many employees are currently remote working across the UK, business processes, workflow solutions and permission-based access to relevant company data is paramount. With Shredall SDS Groups’ service offerings, we can maintain the levels of security and compliance whilst enabling remote workers to access the relevant documents to enable a smooth, secure and seamless working environment.
“Shredall provided a very fast and efficient shredding, storage and scanning service from my home. The entire process was really easy with excellent communication from the team. Once the shredding sacks arrived, I simply booked in a time and date for collection. I handed over my stored files in a box and let Shredall SDS Group handle the rest. Our business will certainly be using Shredall SDS Group again for our document management. The process felt very safe in their hands and they provided a Certificate of Destruction and confirmation once all services were complete." Office Manager for Digital Agency.
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