Human error is a huge threat to any industry. It exists in all walks of life from the medical to the legal and service professions. Avoiding this one hundred percent of the time is unavoidable because at the end of the day we are all human, but there are strategies that we can put in place to limit it at all costs including the vital step of confidential shredding.

1.      Have centralised control

Don’t allow everyone and anyone easy access to your documents within the company. Have a specific information security officer who will be responsible for giving access to employees who request it.

2.      Train your Employees

There should be a standardised practice in place in which your employees are fully trained in. It is important that they understand the necessity for the secure disposal of documentation. Your policy should specifically address what needs to be disposed of and when it needs to be disposed.

3.      Locking Documents away

Anything that is to be kept needs to be kept in a secure filing cabinet or drawer. If the Employee has work to do the following day, documents need to be locked up and secured sufficiently. A general rule for your employees should be to never leave documents in plain sight.

4.      Email Correspondence

Accidentally emailing confidential information to recipients in error is such an easy mistake to make. It is important that your employees are fully alert and double check everything before they send. Always encourage your employees to recheck their recipients and ask themselves before they send ‘is this going to the right person/people?’ This should be included in their training and emphasised.  

Taking all these steps and shredding any data devices or documentation that is no longer required will ensure that human error is minimised as much as possible.