Users’ privacy is something that a lot of people are concern about these days. And to make sure that the company who do the business protect their privacy usually they will look into the company’s data privacy policy.
What is Data Privacy Policy?
Every business requires privacy policy as a form of legal documents that will be used to disclose all method used to gather, disclose, manage and use the customers’ data. Furthermore, usually companies will also share the customers’ data with their business partners.
That is why, your company need to inform your customers’ annually using notice send by email to all customers to fulfill the legal requirements needed to protect the customers’ data privacy.
In the email you should inform the customers about the data privacy policy and practices done for the distribution and the collection of the customers’ data which managed by the company.
Who Need to Be involved When Developing the Privacy Policy?
Data privacy policy involved the employee’s behavior regarding sensitive data. Furthermore, it also impacts your investors, board of directors, stakeholders, and business parties even the customers themselves.
To make sure that all data privacy areas are covered, a team that consist of various discipline need to be involved when developing the company’s privacy policy. Here are the parties that should be involved:
- IT expert
- Data manager
- Compliance
- Company’s administrative personnel responsible to make sure that the business stay current and keep being compliant with all of the privacy regulation and guidelines.
- Legal staff with complete knowledge of the current legislated law as well as updated with the newest privacy case so they can provide input as well as performing the due diligence for the privacy drafts and the revisions before enacted.
- Business partners who use the customer’s data for research or marketing should understand about the limits of data that you can provide to them.
- Adjunct business contractor or staff who need access to sensitive data since it affects the ability to perform their jobs.
Things You Need to Cover Inside the Company’s Data Privacy Policy
There are many fiends where privacy overlaps with such as IT function, public relation, marketing, legal and compliance. That is why a lot of elements should be address by team that consist of multi-disciplinary personnel. Here are some of the things that you need to cover inside the company’s data privacy policy when you create it:
- The company’s commitments
When writing privacy policy, you should begin by creating a statement from the company directed to the customers that show their commitments in protecting the customers’ data.
You can use this point to explain about how the customers’ data is encrypted and will be kept safe, that their data won’t be sold and other things you want the customers to know.
You should also point out that the customers will always able to access the privacy policy and if there is any changes to the privacy policy your company will send notification to the customers. - Method used in collecting and using customers’ data
Your data privacy policy should be able to explain to the customers about how you plan on using those information (for example to improve your service) and you also need to tell what information that your company collect to do it (customers’ browsing history, account information, etc.).
If your company also collect and use any personal data or location data which stored inside the users’ devices locally, then you should also disclose it - Method used in sharing the customers’ data
You need to explain to the customers about your company’s plan on sharing the customers data and which company you will share the data with. Usually, you will talk about your business partner and affiliates that you think will give some value to the customers. - Options that the customers can choose about their data
Your data privacy policy must also explain that their opt-out or opt-in choices are created to maintain the privacy of their data. You can give your customers option to choose whether to receive offers from business parties or advertisers. You should also give option for the customers to decline anonymizing customers’ data that is used on analytic report. - Customers’ right for privacy
You need to inform your customers about the laws for their privacy rights. For example, you need to inform them that they have the right to make request about the information on whether the personal data has been disclosed to any third parties and the third party’s identity, and the reason for the disclose whether it is for marketing or any other purpose. They also have right to know if the company sell any personal data without consent. - Contact information
You need to provide contract information that your customers can reach to for questions, feedback and other request about privacy. It should include various methods such as telephone, email and even physical address. - Method used to track the customers’ account activity
Your company might use cookies when tracking the websites where the customers coming from as well as the websites the customers go to from your company’s website. Furthermore, you might also track the customers’ activity on your own websites.
So, you need to explain on the method used by the cookies to track the customers’ account activity and that if the customers want, they can also de-implement the cookie tracking themselves.
Remember that this part should be reviewed by the IT, marketing, compliance and legal so they can define which activity patter that the company track and how the information from the tracking is used.
Read More What Is GDPR: A Comprehensive Guide To Data Protection
Data Management Best Practices to Protect Customers’ Data
Data management is very important to make sure that the customers’ data is valudated, acquired, protected, and stored using standardized method. That is why, it is important to develop and implement the correct process so the data is kept accessible, up-to-data and reliable. Here are data management best practices that you can use to protect the customers’ data:
Create strong cataloging method
If you want to use data, it is important for you to find the data that you need right away. That is why, you need to create file system and reporting that is future friendly and users friendly.
You should use standardized and descriptive file naming method that can be easily find using file format that can be search and also discovered using data sets with long term usage.
Use metadata on data sets
You need to add metadata on the data sets so you will have descriptive information on the data itself. The metadata should also have information about the structure, permissions and content of the data and it should be discoverable to be used in the future.
Plan the data storage
You surely want to be able to access the data that you have anytime you need. That is why, you need to have data storage planning that is very essential for the data management process.
Create a storage plan that will work for the business that you do including the preservation method and backup method needed. Think about your business scale since method that might work on huge enterprise not necessarily applicable for small business need. Break down your requirements and start from there to find the best storage plan that suitable for your company.
Documentation method
Documentation method is very essential practice for all data management. So, it is important for you to create documentation in multiple level that can help to give full context on why the data actually exist as well as how it will be utilized.
Data culture implementation
You need to implement data culture by prioritizing data analytics and experimentation especially by the company’s departments and leaderships. This thing is important since strategy, leadership, time and even budgets are needed so you can conduct proper training for the employee.
Furthermore, if all of your executive agree with the data management method used then you will be able to implement them to all departments in your company and create stronger collaboration inside the company.
Commitment to privacy and security
Being committed to privacy and security of the data will actually increase your company’s data quality. Especially since security itself is very important to gain trust and build relationship with your customers.
Everyone in the management should come hand in hand to make sure that the network that you use are secure. The leaders should also make sure that the employee knows about the data privacy policy of your company.
Use high quality software
This is actually a recommendation that you use high quality software that can help you to manage the data that you need. With the software you can use both external and internal data assess which is very helpful in developing governance plan for your company.
Conclusion
The customers data privacy is very important for your business. That is why, you need to create and implement the right data privacy policy for your company. Furthermore, doing the data management best practices can also help your company to protect the customers’ data. They are both needed if you want to successfully maintain privacy and secure the data.
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