What Should a GDPR Training Include?
GDPR training for the employees should not only make them understand what GDPR is all about but also tell them how to behave under a GDPR regime to ensure the security of data and privacy. They should have useful information that they can use whenever they are faced with certain situations in their regular workday.
Securing Personal Information
The employees should know that they will have to start inculcating secure habits in order to keep safe the data they deal with on a daily basis. They need to learn about simple workplace habits like creating safe passwords, locking computers when unattended, destroying confidential information when dumping it, being wary of opening emails from an unknown email address, and more. The staff should understand that small steps like these go a long way.
Storing Relevant Data
The GDPR training will also put light on how the employees should deal with the personal data of the data subjects. They should only collect information that is relevant to the purpose of the business and delete all the information that is no longer needed. They should also be clear about the changed rules of consent. If the organisation is monitoring the activities of the employees, then they should be made aware of that fact, so that they can appreciate the significance of the situation and act responsibly.
Sharing Personal Data
Employees should be aware of the various pitfalls that they may have to face. They may be approached to divulge the data they deal with and could be even tricked into giving out that data. They should be ready in the face of such situations. There is a need for the employees to carry out proper checks to give out any personal information. They should also be aware of how much information they are allowed to share on telephones or in person, and when they need to write permission from the data subjects to give out any additional personal information.
Dealing With Data Subjects
Employees must know that data subjects have a right under GDPR to ask about the status of their data. They can ask to modify, delete their data, or even withdraw their consent at any point in time. Employees should know that organisations have to respond to requests from data subjects in a stipulated frame of time, they can charge fees for information in some instances, and more. It is possible that the employee does not have the required clearance to give the information a data subject is asking for. In that case, employees should be aware of whom they can refer the case too.
GDPR training will broadly cover these points and more. The idea is to prepare the employee for the new regulatory environment and to make sure that there are no hiccups along the way. However, designing a handbook, creating videos, or hiring an external training agency is not enough to make sure that your employees are well aware of all the GDPR Regulations relevant to them. It is vital to ensure that the employees are absorbing the information meted out to them.
How Can Organisations Engage Their Employees?
GDPR training has become an important boardroom discussion. However, the GDPR training will only be effective if the employees understand the significance of the recent changes and are priced right for the GDPR training.
✓ Trickle Down Training
Data and its security are on the priority list of top-level management today. That is the kind of importance they hold. Like any other significant organisation-wide change, the intent of GDPR compliance has to come from the top brass. If the CEO or the CTO does not understand GDPR, or if they do not endorse GDPR training, then there is a good chance that the rest of the organisation will not take it seriously either.
✓ Outline the Rules Clearly
The organisation should clearly outline the data handling habits of employees and the processes that have been put in place to protect that data. Every employee should read the policy, and they should duly sign it. It will not only impress upon the employees the importance that the organisation is placing on data protection but also serve as a reference document for the employees to refer to.
✓ Inculcate a Habit
Laying down the rules to ensure GDPR compliance is one thing, but the training will be a success only when the importance of privacy is ingrained in the employees and into everyday processes. So, data protection should be included in the mission and vision statements of the company, in the job descriptions of these employees, as well as their performance reviews. Such grass root changes signal the employees about the seriousness the organisation attaches to GDPR, in particular, and data privacy and protection, in general.
✓ Limited Access
By making every kind of data available to all employees, organisations do not only run the risk of leaking the data, but also undermine the significance of the data itself. When organisations make the access of employees limited to a certain degree, it is automatically implied that they cannot access specific data because it is above their pay grade. This kind of culture throughout the organisation will not only add to the focus on data privacy but will also impress upon them the importance of GDPR training.
✓ Make GDPR Training Interesting
Everything said and done, GDPR training is an additional effort on the employees. People are not particularly excited about studying new policy and regulation. So, the onus falls on the organisation to make the GDPR training sessions more palatable. They can do it by making them more relevant to the job roles of the employees, by adding animations, or by teaching it via activities. This will ensure that employees do not only fulfil a formality but absorb what they are being taught.
GDPR training is an absolute must for organisations. Unless the organisations create engaging and useful GDPR training programs, it cannot ensure that all its employees are behaving in the ‘right’ manner in the new regulatory environment. While it is easy to overlook GDPR training, the fines that result from it will not be easy to bear. Without proper GDPR training, organisations are always at the risk of bleeding out some personal data of the data subjects. The amount of GDPR fines and the sheer focus on this new regulation should be enough for organisations to understand that lawmakers are taking GDPR very seriously and its violators will have to pay through their nose. Please make sure that your organisation is not one of them. Give your staff the training they need to protect you from GDPR non-compliance.