The deadline for compliance with GDPR, the new European General Data Protection Regulation, is 25 May 2018… It’s time to start planning and working towards compliance for your organisation. To borrow a saying commonly used by conservationists about tree planting… The best time to start working on GDPR compliance was a year ago. The second best time is now!
With eye-watering fines of €20M or 4% of Global turnover, waiting for those that fail to comply, burying your head in the sand is not an option.
With no time to lose it is key that we focus quickly on what needs to be done. There are two key initial steps:
i. Communicate
The most important first step is to ensure that all the key stakeholders in your organisation are aware of the fast-looming deadline and are committed to making the necessary adjustments to systems, processes and working practices to comply. Data touches many areas of most businesses, so as well as the Senior Management Team being aware and committed, it is likely that most other areas of your organisation will have to become involved too. These might include: IT, Finance, HR, Sales & Marketing, Compliance, Legal, CRM, Customer Services etc. etc. Ensure that everyone is aware and on board and that the organisation as a whole is prepared to dedicate an appropriate level of time and resources to this critical issue.
ii. Commission a GDPR Audit
This is where we come in, we will quickly undertake a full audit, including a GDPR Health Check report identifying and explaining critical areas and detailing the necessary tasks for achieving compliance. In addition to this we undertake a five-stage blueprint for achieving P&L and Balance Sheet strength through data, including a full data mapping visualisation process and a full report showing your organisation’s data landscape and the areas that can be improved and how to improve them. We place particular focus on data flow, data quality and IT integration.
Our Audit Process
In order to successfully undertake a full GDPR compliance audit we will typically arrange to have three people on site at your premises for two days. They will require full access to your systems and servers and to all your key stakeholders, which you would need to identify for us in advance. We usually need about an hour with each stakeholder, and possibly two or three hours with your IT or Data representative. We generally submit our full report approximately two weeks following our visit.
When you break down the months remaining before 25 May 2018, and look at how they might be used, there is actually very little working time remaining… See our blog on the subject.
Book now for your GDPR audit. We are booking up fast!
Visit our page on Data for more information about our data services.
Complete the form below or simply give Tim a call on the number at the bottom of this page to arrange a FREE consultation. We can talk more and walk you through our comprehensive GDPR audit process.
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