The Benefits of a Data Protection Officer

Once you have a Data Protection Officer (DPO) in place, what are the benefits you can expect to see? A good DPO can support and enhance your business in many ways, not least by providing a high quality service saving you time, money and anxiety. Overall there are a number of benefits that go further than the data to day work of GDPR compliance.

Getting the Basics Right

Firstly your DPO should review and ensure your compliance with legal requirements. These include:

• Registering you with the Information Commissioner (if you need to be)
• Ensuring you have a Record of Processing Activity
• Helping you ensure your privacy statement is accurate and up to date

A DPO will help keep on top of all of these for you.

A Partner for Your Business

Your DPO should become part of your team, and provide support to colleagues and staff. A good DPO will build relationships with them and become a trusted partner when it comes to data protection queries.

Then there is the relationship management with people exercising their data rights. Your DPO should be helping people who have concerns and queries about how their data are used. Ideally they will help people feel confident their data are well cared for, and that you have a trustworthy business.

Thirdly your DPO can help review contracts to ensure the data sharing arrangements and relationships with parties like suppliers and sub-contractors are properly set out and protect you from data breaches.

A Problem Solver

Whether looking forward or backward your DPO should be a problem solver. Whether it’s the identification and management of information risk or tackling data breaches if they occur a DPO should be preventing or resolving difficult situations.

Your DPO should be mindful that the GSPR is about enabling the lawful and compliant uses of data so should be finding ways to help you achieve your goals and find the right of using the personal information you hold for that purpose.

Enhanced Reputation

DPOs need to have access to an organisation’s senior management to do their job, so should be providing assurance to them on effective data protection and GDPR compliance.

That, alongside being the first port of call for the Information Commissioner and the relationships detailed above means your DPO can enhance and protect your reputation among all your business’s stakeholders.

Find Out About our Data Protection Offer

WuDo Solutions offers DPO services that will provide all of the benefits outline above, and at prices to suit all budgets. Our years of DPO experience in the public, private and charity sectors means we are a good match for businesses both large and small.

Find out more here.