In the last couple of weeks I have read things that make me question letting employees shred. This is beyond my standard assertion that they will take the easy road and try to hide them in the dumpster. I wonder if you can trust employees to use equipment that can cause serious damage.

The first incident was someone complaining about paper in her eye after using her office shredder. If she chooses to go to the doctor or file a disability claim it could quickly go from minor to very expensive.

The second incident came out yesterday from The Haas School of Business at University of California at Berkeley. Employees using a shredder started a fire. This activated the fire system and caused an unknown amount of damage. It resulted in the closing of a building.

These stories have to give every business cause for concern. The shredding always falls to the lowest paid, least trained employee. This is exactly the person who is likely to hurt themselves or the office. They are also the person who has little invested in the business and is happy to sell your customer’s personal information.

If you do choose to shred in-house make sure to train all employees using the shredder and provide supervision over the process.