May 25th 2018 has arrived. Everyone and their dog has been bombarded with emails and letters informing us about the changes and detailing what will happen if we do not comply to the new GDPR rules, as well as the stream of ‘Privacy Policy’ emails.

A view from Me Learning’s Chief People Officer, Pip Murr

Many organisations are undergoing a frenzy of activity to get up to speed and put processes in place ensuring that they adhere to the regulations, but… “Stay calm and don’t panic everyone!”

The improvements over the old Data Protection Act mark a huge and progressive step in encouraging companies to really scrutinise their processes and continue with (or introduce) good practices. Not only in the way an organisation looks after people’s personal data but also how it needs to protect itself from the way companies are taking care of the personal data held on their employees.

It’s an opportunity to de-clutter and eliminate bad habits, and time to investigate how each and all of us collect, store and train our teams on the do’s and don’ts of fair and proper data use. The aim for us all is training our employees to the point that best practice becomes second nature.

At Me Learning, we are in the fortunate position to have had a dedicated team who, for the last year, have worked diligently with industry experts and legal partners to research and create a robust suite of GDPR bite size e-learning to help us get organised.

Here are my key take aways and can do’s having undertaken our GDPR – Core (for Staff) training:

  • Work closely with your designated Data Protection Officer (DPO) to draw up a GDPR action plan
  • Check that any third party suppliers you are using are GDPR compliant
  • Ensure procedures are in place that address all the rights that individuals have from how to delete data to providing data electronically upon request
  • Train your team on GDPR, Information Security & Cyber Security and raise awareness of your Employee Privacy Notice
  • Employers must notify data breaches to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) within 72 hours
  • Make sure your team know what to do in the event of a data breach

It’s important everyone is clear about the changes to the data protection landscape, and our GDPR e-learning is certainly one way to ensure everyone is on the same page. You can find out more here.

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