New year, new data strategy

Do you work at a legal firm where old habits die hard? You wouldn’t be alone. Despite the digital revolution, many barristers, solicitors, and clerks still generate vast quantities of paper and can find themselves drowning if they don’t get a firm grip on managing it.

So this is the time of year when it feels right to shake things up, give your in-house shredder the boot and adopt some new habits around information and records management.

Of course, the end game should always be a properly implemented Retention and Disposal Policy, in which the statutory lifespan of all types of documents is recorded, so that all your information can be stored, monitored and destroyed correctly at the end of its shelf life. Working to a strict policy fulfilled at the end of the lifecycle by a professional data shredding company like Restore Datashred will protect your clients’ confidentiality and your reputation at the same time as helping you meet your sustainability goals. We think you’ll agree, these are all highly positive outcomes for a strategic focus on managing your valuable data.

There are three areas where we think we can help you update, modernise and implement smooth processes that will enhance security, clear valuable floor and storage space, and save money. What’s not to like?!

One. Get a firm grip on the information cycle: GDPR and heightened corporate social responsibility mean that secure data shredding should play a major role in helping you dispose responsibly and sustainably of your legally sensitive information. By working with records management and shredding professionals to set up and implement a compliant Retention and Disposal Policy, you will be putting the high-risk strategy of using filing trays and the back of the drawer as resting places for important and personal information out of business. Being in full control of file and asset tracking, being able to supply audit trails and certificates of destruction for the data you generate will all help reinforce the security and confidentiality of the legal services you provide to your clients. Now’s the time to check through your processes and paperwork to find out what’s due for destruction… and give one of our customer service teams a call on 0330 0538 541 to find out how we can help you get started.

Two. Change your office environment: make being in control of your information part of the furniture! Data protection stems from how your office is laid out and from making security a core feature of that layout. Restore Datashred makes it easy for everyone at your firm to gain the habit of compliance by supplying a range of easy-to-use lockable secure units that sit unobtrusively under desks or at central points throughout your office. Designed in a number of sizes and colours to suit your office aesthetic, these secure units offer a safe place to store redundant paper assets, away from prying eyes, until we come to collect and shred them, either on- or off-site, followed by the swift provision of a certificate of destruction. Go to restore.co.uk/datashred to discover more.

Three. Manage your budgets more effectively: on reflection, could you have spent last year’s budget more efficiently? Did you manage to tackle or complete the goals you set? Here at Restore Datashred, we offer end-of-life document shredding services that are tailored to you. Whether you have regular five-unit collection requirements or irregular five-tonne pickups following a once-a-year clear-out, one of our specialist 300-strong fleet will be at your service. Prefer to watch your assets tip directly from the security bin on to the shredder’s blades? No problem – our on-site mobile vehicles are perfectly equipped to help. Or perhaps space dictates you simply opt for arranging for us to collect and take your redundant records to be destroyed at a high-security depot local to you. Regular collection schedules; online access to timings, audit trails and certifications; state-of-the-art vehicles and machinery, and thoroughly trained operatives all add up to a smoother, more cost-effective process – and every step is backed by our first class customer service.

Good to know…

• Restore Datashred is serious about security – we are BS EN15713:2009 accredited, so your assets will be treated with the respect they deserve
• We are the only data shredding business in the UK with the ServiceMark award from the Institute of Customer Service
• We are a preferred supplier to The Solicitors Group, the UK’s largest legal and events training company

Take the plunge! Don’t flounder in that ocean of paper. Throw yourself a lifebelt by speaking to a member of our friendly, knowledgeable customer service team on 0330 0538 541.