Tag Archives: business

Choosing your DPO: Full-Time? Service? Consult?

I’ve noticed many SMEs running  LinkedIn ads for DPOs, who are recruiting full-time employees.  And it’s disappointing to see how often other options are overlooked. 

Which DPO Option and Benefits Suit You Best?

I think it’s important to consider all the available options before making a decision.  Yes, you could employ a Full-Time DPO for your business.  Or you could contract with DPO specialists to provide DPO as a service.  Or appoint an internal ‘non-specialist’ and support them with an external data protection consultancy or consultant.

I’ve listed below some of the benefits from these options, so that the next time you need to find a DPO, you have information to help you make an informed decision about what type of DPO you actually need, and what solution might fit you best.

1. Cost 

As with any new employee, hiring a highly qualified full-time DPO involves significant costs, especially in salary and benefits.  Outsourcing the DPO role means you only pay for the DPO services and time you use. You don’t need to consider staff benefits, holiday, sickness, appraisals. Or the time, cost and expense involved if you need to let them go. Nor do you need to be concerned about FTE overheads like office space, equipment or other resources.

2. Expertise

Internal DPOs may struggle with budget constraints and limited resources. Outsourcing can provide a more cost-effective solution with access to necessary resources as needed. An outsourced DPO service can give you more or less support month by month, depending on your needs. You can choose how much time you need, and, in any case the time required can be flexible. You can ramp it up or down depending on whether you have a large project, or simply need ongoing maintenance. And if you need an interim DPO, you can appoint a consultant with no need for long term commitment.

3. Flexibility / Scalability

Top quality DPOs (whether FTE or outsourced) are experts in data protection law regulations. But perhaps the biggest advantage to using the DPO-as-a-Service or consultancy option is that those DPOs will have gained considerable and diverse experience from working in many different industry sectors.  They see many and varied solutions to common data protection issues from the numerous clients with whom they work.  And vitally, within a team of DPOs in a consultancy, they will always be learning from each other, considering solutions based on the shared knowledge of the whole team.  And that shared knowledge becomes your company’s shared knowledge.

4. Unbiased Approach

An outsourced DPO or consultant has the advantage of being independent and unconflicted. They are able to consider your issues with fresh eyes and no bias.  This means that they can conduct unbiased audits and assessments of your data protection practices. Then help you implement any remedial actions. 

5. Internal Challenges

Full-time DPOs often face challenges such as lack of support from key stakeholders and cooperation within the organisation. Although fully engaged with the client and its goals, outsourced DPOs can navigate these challenges more effectively due to their independence. 

Conclusion

The traditional route of hiring a full-time employee may be perfect for many companies. But it’s clearly not the only solution.  So when you next need to appoint a DPO, you could state that not only full-time employees, but also DPO-as-a-Service providers or consultants are welcome to apply. 

That way you can be sure that you don’t miss out by excluding the right person by default.  And of course, you can review and interview applicants as normal and make your own decision about which individual or option fits your needs best. 

Data Compliant International

If you are looking for a DPO or supportive consultant, Data Compliant International provides DPO-as-a-Service, and data protection / privacy  consultants to a wide range of business sectors.  If you’d like to know more about how we help our clients, please take a look here.  If you would like help or assistance with any of your data protection obligations, please email dc@datacompliant.co.uk or call 01787 277742.  

Lessons from Darts: Team Dynamics in Data Protection

Teams are an essential part of life – from school to adulthood, from sports to business.  A well-functioning team leads to extraordinary achievements, whether in a local darts league or a data governance team.

The Darts Team Triumph

Consider my local darts team, which recently won the team title, along with individual singles titles. This victory wasn’t just about individual knowledge and talent; it was the result of shared goals, a strategy to achieve them, collaboration, strong mentoring, and mutual support. Each of our players’ unique skills, camaraderie and collective effort all contributed to the team’s overall success. 

Transferring Team Dynamics to Data Governance

The same principles apply to data protection governance teams. Every member of the Team must understand its overall objectives ensuring that they are responsible and accountable for data management and governance. The Team will need a framework for success, including communication and collaboration, and creating and maintaining policies and procedures around data collection, privacy, compliance, integrity and security. And it must provide regular reports to senior management who are ultimately accountable. 

Roles, Goals and Data Stewardship

Individuals within the team will take on data stewardship roles.  In essence they will oversee the entire lifecycle of personal data from collection to deletion, and be accountable for compliance and security at all stages. All team members will support each other, sharing knowledge and expertise to help manage challenges and foster a culture of continuous improvement. And each will have their own individual areas of responsibility including embedding data protection throughout their own area of the business.

Education and Continuous Improvement

Like in darts, governance team members learn from each other’s techniques, and share knowledge, best practices and insights. This knowledge is then used to help build awareness throughout the organisation about data protection and data security, and to educate employees about crucial data protection principles.

Risk Management

Sports and business both carry risks, and the team must take responsibility for identifying, assessing and mitigating them – in data governance, for example through Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs).  The team must also develop and execute its response plans so that it knows how to respond if there is a data breach or security incident.

Enabling Team Leaders

Team Leaders are crucial. They are pivotal in flowing down information to their specific areas of the business – in data governance, for example, it’s helpful to have leaders from IT, HR, Marketing, Operations, Payroll and so on. It’s those Team Leaders who will then ensure that everyone in their team understands their roles and responsibilities, and who provide the resources and training so that every individual in an organisation can thrive and contribute effectively.

Conclusion

Effective teams enable the individuals in your organisation to achieve more together than they ever could alone. With a data governance team that fosters collaboration, shared problem-solving and continuous education, your organisation will benefit from strong and highly successful outcomes.

Data Compliant International

If you would like help or assistance with any of your data protection obligations, please email dc@datacompliant.co.uk or call 01787 277742.  And for more information about how to meet your Accountability and Governance obligations, please see here.