The European Union (EU) passed the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018. The United States is soon to follow suit by passing its own federal privacy laws. For example, the 2018 California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is a recent tax privacy law that will take effect in January 2020. In the wake of the upcoming privacy requirements, American businesses have started to get on board with preemptive updates to privacy practices. Also, the structuring and building of solid privacy teams has become increasingly important. These specialized teams are responsible for overseeing the complete compliance of a company’s privacy agreement.

Building Your Operational Privacy Team

A good privacy team depends on the selection of qualified people. There’s no quick fix or “privacy tech” that can override a quality privacy operations team. There is no substituting for a carefully trained team who knows the privacy laws and what it takes to run an operational compliance program. Every operations team will be unique. In fact, you’ll find it difficult to find one tool that will centralize your business’s tech solutions (Dark Reading).

Privacy Team Players

Businesses of all sizes will be required to comply with new privacy laws. Choosing the right people for your team is key. You may be in a position where it’s necessary to hire on some new people for your privacy plan. Furthermore, choosing the right people for your team will lead you to the most efficient tech solutions. With a staff of under 50, it’s perfectly reasonable to outsource. If you have a staff of over 50 people, it’s a good idea to think about hiring for or revamping the following positions and departments.

• Chief Operations Officer (COO)
• Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
• Human Resources (HR)

Helpful Centralization Tools

Choose tools that will effectively systemize, organize and delegate. When putting together your privacy team, keep a few things in mind. A poorly implemented tool can end up being more costly than it’s worth. Once these tools are in place, you can look into more advanced options if the need arises. Above all, before looking for a tech solution make sure your processes are clearly defined. Once your firm has well-defined processes you will be able to choose technology that makes sense for you (Gatekeeper).

• Communication: Slack and Hangouts
• Project Management: Asana, Wrike & Monday.com
• Collaboration: G Suite For Business

Training & Awareness Programs

Employees should be required to participate in formal training sessions. There is a rapidly changing face of privacy in 2019. Therefore, it is imperative to keep up on regular employee training and awareness programs. These training sessions can be face-to-face or computer-based but are an important part of maintaining a high standard of privacy practice. An awareness program involves your staff in awareness activities in between training courses. Awareness is key to the success of any privacy program.

Transparency in 2019

Consumers are demanding more transparency. Overall, the up and coming privacy laws will hold businesses more accountable for their customer’s privacy. The need for compliance with these new regulations has businesses worldwide putting together new and improved privacy practices. For example, Facebook has released new data policies in preparation for the new laws. People will have more rights to the whos, whats, whens, wheres and whys of their personal information sharing. Taking a proactive role and securing a privacy team now will only benefit your growing business in years to come (Above the Law).