Data Protection & Privacy: A Necessity in Today’s Digital Era “Historically, privacy was almost implicit, because it was hard to find and gather information. But in the digital world, whether it’s digital cameras or satellites or just what you click on, we need to have more explicit rules – not just for governments but for private companies”. Bill Gates Privacy is not an option, but rather a necessity, and should never be the price we pay to access the internet. Almost every aspect of our lives revolves around data, and almost every service we use involves the collection and analysis of our personal data. Therefore, in this ever-evolving digital era – where data can be easily accessible or hacked – what is the importance of private data? How can individuals protect and keep their data private? And what are the consequences should they not? Data privacy has always been valuable. That is why people rent safe boxes in banks, and lock their filing cabinets. However, the more data becomes digitized, and the more information is shared on the web, the more important data privacy becomes. Personal data is very important. It helps companies develop business models, conduct effective marketing campaigns, understand their customers, and develop various products and services accordingly. Yet, companies should protect this data and use it in a very responsible way, in order to prevent third parties from misusing it in fraud or identity theft. In fact, we have witnessed several cases of personal data breaches worldwide such as Facebook, eBay, Adobe, Yahoo, and Equifax, whereby personal data (such as social security numbers, addresses, credit scores, etc.) of millions of individuals was violated. A regulation called The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was introduced in Europe in April 2016 (and became enforceable in May 2018) in order to set the standards of how businesses and organizations should handle the private information of individuals they interact with. It affirms that an individual’s personal data belongs to the individual, and imposes substantial fines on companies not abiding by the rules. These fines can go up to EUR 20 million or 4% of a company’s worldwide turnover, whichever is higher. The main objective of the GDPR is to give control back to EU citizens and residents over their personal data and protect their privacy, as well as to simplify the regulatory environment for international business by unifying the regulation within the EU. In order for companies to comply with the GDPR rules, here are some examples of what to do: Inform individuals about the company’s activities in a transparent manner, and clarify to them why the company is processing their personal data. For this reason, companies should post Privacy Notices and Privacy Policies on their websites, and modify their agreements to include GDPR clauses; Manage – through a Data Processing Agreement – the controller/processor relationship, which is a relationship with all third-party organizations, agents, contractors, or other parties working on behalf of the company; Assign a Data Protection Officer(DPO) for the company whose responsibility is to oversee the company’s data protection strategy and its implementation to ensure compliance with the GDPR; Keep a record on the use of data; Manage efficiently the rights of the individuals, and be ready to act quickly in case any individual wants to exercise their right according to GDPR. Those rights are as follows: The right of an individual to access his/her personal data, to receive a record of the data that the company holds, to have the data corrected in case of errors, to have the data deleted if certain criteria are met, to have the data transferred under certain circumstances, and to object or restrict certain uses of the personal data. Set up procedures to handle personal data breach within 72 hours, identify the steps a company needs to take in order to minimize risks, and notify the concerned individuals as well as the supervisory authorities. Review and assess the impact that every new activity/product may have on data subjects, and analyze the possible risks through a process called the Data Protection Impact Assessment(DPIA). In fact, every individual should be concerned about data privacy and not consider that data privacy is just a business concern. The more individuals know about data privacy, the better they will be able to protect themselves from a large number of risks. Individuals should not think that there is a trade-off between security and Privacy. In fact, Technology allows having both. Here are some simple tips to help individuals protect their personal data: Use a locking mailbox at home, so that fraudsters cannot steal the mail. Shred discarded documents, including receipts, as well as bank and credit card statements that contain personal information; Secure the home Wi-Fi network and other devices so that cyber criminals cannot spy on an individual’s online activity; Use strong, unique passwords for all online accounts; Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN). VPNs provide online privacy and anonymity by creating a secured, private network from any Internet connection, whether accessed from a home Wi-Fi or from a public Wi-Fi hotspot; Regularly assess the privacy settings on Social Media accounts. In conclusion, Data will become even much more valuable in the next coming years than it is today. Therefore, the more efficiently we store and protect our data, the more it is beneficial for our businesses, companies, and ourselves. By Nadine Ghosn Eid, Director of Compliance at areeba, Legal & Anti-Money Laundering Specialist To know more about the author, click here. For the full interview on executive-women.global, visit this link.
Data Protection: A Necessity in Today’s Digital Era
Transforming Human Resources: A New Era of Agility
Transforming Human Resources Bringing in a new era of flexibility, agility and adaptability If you asked me two years ago about the future of Human Resource (HR) management in organizations, my answer would be very different to what it is today. Let’s be honest, the whole world has been dramatically transformed in the last two years due to the global pandemic that was felt on all levels from countries, cities, organizations and businesses. We have all had to adapt, and as renowned author and management consultant Peter Drucker once said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” It’s still up for debate how well we could have predicted this crisis, yet the outcome has taught us to consider worst-case scenarios when thinking about the future and in doing so, it has provided us with an opportunity to take a step ahead of the game. The Evolution of HR The development of human resources over the past decades is like the transition from a black and white TV to a colored one, the process is gradual for the manufacturer but quick and exciting for the consumer. Either way, there is no turning back. In the 1970’s and 80’s, HR was known as “personnel management” and the department dealt with administrative issues that no one really liked, such as maintaining records, hiring and firing employees, managing time-keeping and other such mundane activities, none of it which was really ground-breaking. By the 1990s, words like process and productivity were starting to come to light in the context of how to optimize the performance of employees. By the 2000’s HR had evolved to talking about strategy, how to contribute to the company’s bottom line as well as topics such as employee motivation, loyalty, and commitment. During that period, so many famous books from Sun Tzu’s Art of War to Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Emperor have been used to model different types of leadership in the workplace. In the last two decades, all kinds of new words and phrases have been created from HR gurus which have pushed this field into the limelight. “Our people are our greatest assets”, “the war for talent”, human capital or human investment, diversity & inclusion, talent management, HR business partner model, amongst many others; all of them highlighting the growing role of HR as an essential contributor to the organization’s vision, mission, strategy, goals and objectives. While many of these changes have been labelled as “old wine in new bottles” symbolizing non-original ideas that are being rehashed and packaged as something new. Over the last year I believe the role of HR is becoming more synonymous with “new wine in old bottles”, meaning we are still dealing with the same topics but having to do so with fresh ideas and perspective. So, what exactly have we learned from this past year that will catapult HR into the future? Make better decisions, faster In many workplaces, decision-making is cumbersome, requiring a lengthy approval process and agreements from different stakeholders. In the last year, changes that would normally take months, even years, in the face of “this is how we do things”, were implemented in a matter of days. These same organizations have found they are able to move quickly, to change workplace practices and think outside the traditional structures that have governed them for years. Even organizations that never relied on being tech-savvy have put communication tools in place to make remote working a reality. This shows us that when quick decision-making is a necessity, change can happen without process obstacles. This momentum needs to carry on now that we are returning to a somewhat normal situation. Many organizations are coming up with remote working policies, and more flexibility in working hours and location as they have witnessed the benefits first-hand. The 9-5 working protocol has one leg out the door bringing, which is resulting is increased flexibility and a dynamic energy that will change the way we work. Rethink the Employment Contract Now that remote working has been tried and tested (and in many cases it has proven to be very successful), organizations may rethink the employment contract altogether – perhaps replacing the notion of fixed-term or full-time employees with more part-time workers and greater flexibility, thereby also reducing the organization’s fixed costs. Furthermore, now that the millennials and the oldest Generation Z’s (around 23 years old) are soon to be the majority in the workforce, they come with a set of expectations that defies the 9-5 working hours. HR practitioners will need to make themselves aware of the factors that motivate these generations, such as flexible hours, teamwork, advanced technologies, flexible benefits, and so forth. As we move into post-pandemic mode, HR will need to rethink working arrangements and the traditional employment contract, and focus on how to add value to the changing demands and workforce demographics. Shift towards More Trust-Based Leadership For many organizations, this crisis has provided a huge opportunity to build or enhance a culture of trust. Traditionally, many organizations have expected their employees to be in the office, to be present physically in meetings, and their presence in the office acting as an accountability of hours worked. Moving forward, employers have no choice but to empower their employees and to trust that work responsibilities and deadlines will be met. This changes the whole employee-employer dynamic. This autonomy communicates to employees that their leaders trust them. HR needs to ensure that the quality of the employer-employee relationship will be enhanced so that the employer becomes a more trusted partner to the employee, who in turn will increase loyalty and trust towards the employer. Provide the best possible Employee Experience Organizations have made a lot of effort in the last year to ensure employee wellness and well-being. We have all heard the stories of some employees suffering through this period due to isolation from friends, families, and colleagues, typically accompanied by mental health challenges. Organizations cannot ignore this.
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