A Privacy Management Programme (PMP) is a framework intended to help an organisation establish a robust and risk-based approach to data protection management, which is embraced and embedded throughout its activities. Privacy Management Programmes are based on a number of elements at the core of accountability, such as: leadership and oversight, risk assessment, policies and processes, transparency, training and staff awareness, and monitoring, evaluation and improvement.
- minimise the risks of incidents in relation to data security
- handle privacy breaches effectively with established procedures and protocol to minimise the damage arising from those breaches
- manage collected personal data effectively
- ensure compliance with the law
- demonstrate the company’s commitment to good corporate governance and building trust with customers and relevant stakeholders, and
- enhance corporate reputation, competitive advantage and potential business opportunities
With the ever-rising expectation of customers and stakeholders regarding the responsible use of personal data by companies, taking a ‘box ticking’ attitude to compliance is not sufficient. The protection of personal data privacy should no longer be seen and merely managed as a compliance issue. After all, doing the least to comply with the legal requirements is not the cure, nor is it the global trend anymore. Instead, companies should also observe good data ethics and should consider the subject from a broader perspective, bringing the concept of customer centricity into the business equation. The commitment of directors and management is paramount in building and maintaining a PMP so as to ensure that privacy is built in by design in initiatives, programmes or services, and data protection is practised throughout the company. Such a proactive approach would lead to a win-win outcome for companies, their customers as well as other stakeholders.
Let us guide you through to a more flexible approach of dealing with data protection, so you can get on with your prime directive.
