The deadline for GDPR compliance is looming and although we all understand and appreciate the need to protect personal data the true cost to businesses can be huge from both a time and financial perspective.…..
As Talent Acquisition professionals we have a critical role to play given the exposure to personal employee data. There is much to consider from processes, to applicant tracking systems and beyond but the starting point needs to be to work with legal experts, data protection officers internally or professionals externally to remain compliant.
There has been some very interesting research that I thought I would share…
- A study by Irwin Mitchell found that only three in 10 businesses have begun their GDPR preparations, while 35% were completely unaware of the new rules and the fines associated with them. Ignorance towards GDPR could have devastating repercussions. Although companies are currently fined if a huge data breach occurs, the NCC Group estimates that fines issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in 2016 would have been £69m rather than £880,500, if GDPR had been applied.
- Over a third of the businesses surveyed say fines imposed under the GDPR could result in redundancies, and over half of British businesses are yet to comprehend the full financial implications of non-compliance. Yet, even with a sizable heads-up that the legislation is coming, only six percent of UK businesses, 25 per cent of Benelux and 30 per cent of French businesses consider it a priority for their organisation. (Research commissioned by Sophos)
- 70 per cent of companies will invest in new IT or support services, and 51 per cent have allocated budget for staff training in preparation for the new law. (Survey by Vanson Bourne)
- The Ministry of Justice produced research of its own that concludes the cost to UK business could be as high as £320 million a year, and £2.1 billion over fourteen years. This is countered by the belief that greater emphasis on compliance regulations will save between £42m and £124m in fines.
The reality is it will be costly to become and remain compliant!
