The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into lawon 25th May 2018. Many businesses are working towards ensuring compliance and avoid the hefty fines associated with being non-compliant.
For this reason, we have highlighted ten useful tips from experienced GDPR compliance services veteran that should help your business to be compliant.
1. Have a plan for managing privacy risks
Every business is at risk of cyber attacks. What has your business done to manage such risks? GDPR requires a business to be prepared in case of cyber attacks.
Have a plan that will help protect customer privacy.Undertake assessments to identify potential risks and set up measures to mitigate such risks. You should also have a well tested IT disaster recovery plan for your organization.
2. Ensure your subcontractors are compliant
While GDPR regulations target business that are direct holders of the personal data, you need to ensure all subcontractors who have access to personal data are also compliant. This includes all data processors working for you as well as the salesperson.
It is also essential to include standard data protection clauses when the data you are working with come from subcontractors to show your compliance with GDPR regulations. This will ensure your business is not compromised and that you provide compliance services.
3. Maintain a record of all your data processing
The GDPR requires you to have a record of all the customers’ personal data that you hold. The records should include the source of your data the time you acquired it, and other parties you shared the data with.
The best way to comply with GDPR’s accountability principle is by recording and mapping your data This should help you identify areas that may result in compliance problems. Besides, it’s the records that you will use as proof that your business complies with the set data protection principle.
4. Follow what your Data Protection Authority has to say
Always pay attention to what your data protection authority has to say. Following their Guidance will help you offer better GDPR compliance services.
You can follow up on their advice by either logging onto their website or by being part of their mailing list.
5. Increase awareness in your organization
In order to stay compliant, you must make sure all employees in your organization understand the new regulations. Train your staff on basic principles and the best procedures to implement to abide by the right GDPR compliance services.
If you are a small business there is an Information Commissioner’s Office (100) dedicated advice line on the ICO’s website. This should take you through the regulations of GDPR and help your staff understand them better.
6. Keep your privacy policy updated
You should carry out necessary changes to your privacy policy for it to not only be specific to your business but to also make it align with GDPR regulations. A tool terms feed should help you with this. You should then run your policy through your legal compliance to ensure it’s a right fit.
Your privacy policy should contain all your business information and explain what you intend to do with customers personal information, the data retention period and customers right to complain. Also,make it easy for your customers to access and understand.
7. Your procedure should cover the individual’s rights
Article 7 of GDPR stipulates that individuals must be allowed to give consent before companies can obtain and process their personal data The individuals have rights concerning their personal data Some of these rights include; right to stay informed, right for objection, and the right to access among others.
Also, ensure that personal data is relayed in a well structured machine-readable form. The information should also be flexible such that individuals are allowed the right to modify or delete their personal data
8.Website adjustments
In most cases adjusting your website can help you to stay compliant. Two main things to adjust on your site is the opt-in forms and cookie consent. The opt-in forms are basically one of the major ways companies gather customer information so it is recommended to make them GDPR compliant.
On the part of cookies, you must notify your visitors in a simple language that your site uses cookies. You should also state the purpose of the cookies for tracking users.
9. Take GDPR assessments
The best way to know if your organization is well prepared for compliance is by taking GDPR assessments. ICO has checklist that should help your business identify areas in your business that might cause compliance issues.
Essentially, ICO has two checklists that you can use for your GDPR assessments. The first checklist is for data controllers and the second one is for data processors.
10. Monitor and audit
Transparency when using personal data is now are a requirement of the law All business should now follow this requirement by stating out how personal data is acquired and used You should also report any data breaches within 72 hours and don’t use collected data for any other purpose.
And since data privacy is not a one-time thing, always ensure you review all your safety procedures. After the audit ensures you improve on all the procedures in order to always stay compliant.
Conclusion
There are many tips to follow when it comes to compliance. The tip you choose will depend on many factors including your type of business. The tips above should, however, be helpful to set any business in the right direction towards GDPR compliance
