Clean desk policies bring multiple benefits to your office: they keep your workspace professional, organized, and secure. Find out why more businesses are adopting these policies and learn how your company can gain from them. You can explore this further by watching our video or reading the full blog post on the benefits of a clean desk policy.
What Is a Clean Desk Policy?
A clean desk policy requires all employees to end their day with a clear desk. Items to safely store include all documents, removable media like USB sticks, and sticky notes or any other notes.
Furthermore, one of the most valuable aspects of a clean desk policy is its security benefits. By keeping sensitive information organized and off desks, you’re able to reduce and prevent risks such as employee theft or negligence.
Top 4 Benefits of a Clean Desk Policy
Implementing a clean desk policy allows businesses to enjoy multiple benefits, including:
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Security- Productivity
- Compliance
- Appearances
Increase Security
According to recent studies, as much as 66% of data breaches come from the inside. By always keeping sensitive papers and computer files securely stored with a clean desk policy, you’re able to cut back on the chances of employee negligence or theft.
Boosting Your Productivity
Clean-desk policies have a valuable impact on cost and worker efficiency by reducing the time employees spend tracking down documents. A 2012 study by IDC found that on average workers spend 4.5 hours searching for files per week, which over time can add up to serious financial problems. An organized and clutter-free workspace can boost productivity. Employees can find what they need more quickly and are less likely to be distracted by clutter. This can lead to improved focus and efficiency.
Simplify Regulatory Compliance
Keeping important information organized and secure helps you to stay on top of your document management and destruction. By decluttering the workplace, this in turn helps to simplify managing record retention policies along with ensuring compliance with privacy protection regulations like HIPAA, the GDPR, and ISO 27001.
Keep Things Clean
It may not be critical to operations, but the appearance and general cleanliness can also have an indirect impact. By decluttering the office, it helps to present a sense of professionalism and make a better impression on visitors, clients, and auditors. Moreover, a clean and organized workspace can positively affect employee morale and well-being. It can create a more pleasant and less stressful work environment, leading to increased job satisfaction.
Implementing Clean Desk Policies
Evaluate Storage
Simplify clean desk policies and improve security by storing only what’s necessary to keep on hand. Ensure that employees have access to secure storage options such as lockable drawers, cabinets, or file cabinets for confidential documents and personal items. For confidential information or files used for record-keeping, consider storing them in an external location.
Encourage Electronics
Electronic documents need only a password for protection and can simplify a clean policy by simply reducing the total number of hard copies taking up space and needing to be organized in the first place. In addition, your company can reduce paper and printing costs while becoming more sustainable.
Dispose Information Securely
Once a document is old enough to be thrown away instead of re-filed to keep desks clean, it’s also important to be sure you discard information safely. Using a shredding service not only completely destroys your paper documents, but it also meets federal regulations regarding data privacy. To prevent employees or dumpster divers from sifting through trash for documents it’s a good idea to implement a document destruction policy as well.
Discover the Benefits of a Clean Desk Policy Today!
Join Apple, Amazon, and other companies we’ve helped to store, shred, and scan documents for their clean desk policies. Keeping your office tidy is important, but make sure you responsibly dispose of your files. Get free quotes on secure mobile or off-site shredding services near you and keep your customer and client data safe. Call us at (800) 747-3365, fill out our form, contact us directly using our live chat to get started.
