So, you're a COO at a tech scale-up? Niiice. We know you must be flat-out scaling your business. But while you've been pushing the boundaries, has data protection fallen down your to-do list? 

Data protection is essential to building trust and confidence with your customers and stakeholders. Plus, it can actually help you optimise your operations and create a smoother overall experience. Who doesn't want that? Our team has got together and jotted down some top tips for embedding data protection into your tech scale-up. Get these right and you’ll keep your customers happy and keep the pace up.

In this guide for COOs keen to strengthen their data protection best practices, you'll learn how to ;

Creating a culture of data protection 

Successfully embedding data protection into your culture is all about spreading awareness throughout your team.  

So, before you plough ahead with your fast-moving ideas, pause and consider what protection processes need to be taken into account, and how you can best communicate the importance of them throughout your company to make sure it sticks.  

Embedding data protection means educating the team at all levels – from C-suite to the wider company, in a relatable and human way. Let's be real, no one wants to sit through a boring training session on data protection, so tell a different story! Instead, focus on the exciting opportunities that come with data protection.  

Drawing parallels with your company’s mission is a great way to start. If your scale-up is rooted in a core ethical vision, showcase how data protection reflects this by respecting human rights, privacy, and personal information.  

If your scale-up is all about growth, demonstrate how data protection can help you build and monetise your product, market to the right people, and find new opportunities. Finding the angle that truly resonates with your culture and running with it is a great way to ensure that other members of the team will do so as well.  

What’s next?

• Consider what protection processes need to be taken into account
• Showcase how data protection reflects your company’s mission

Adopting the right data protection mindset 

Approaching data protection with the right mindset can save a lot of unnecessary headaches and hassle.  

The truth is, data protection isn’t an isolated entity, but something that will run throughout your business. Bad protection processes can lead to other consequences – such as wasting resources and missing valuable opportunities – so the right mindset is a #1 priority. After all, data protection is about human rights, so you need to take it seriously. It’s also public, so you can't hide from it. 

At Trust Keith, we’re determined to help businesses realise that data protection can be simple, fun, and interesting. No COO should approach data protection as a daunting, impossibly complicated task – because it doesn’t have to be! With simple steps in place and the correct guidance and frameworks to follow, data protection can be easily followed – giving you the peace of mind that you’re doing the right thing. 

Instead of seeing data protection as this huge wall to climb over, embrace it, own it, and see it as the valuable opportunity it is to build trust and confidence with your customers and stakeholders.  

What’s next?

• Make adopting the right mindset to data protection the #1 priority

Taking the plunge 

With the right mindset in place, it’s time to get to grips with the basics. If you’re beginning to explore data protection, we fully recommend that you learn the lawful basis for processing data, understand the principles of the GDPR, and get familiar with data protection rights. 

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has a great SME hub specifically designed with these objectives in mind. Including a big pool of resources, this hub is a fantastic place to start getting stuck in with a full suite of articles, including: 

The ICO also dives into what each of your data protection rights are, what they mean, and how they can be upheld. Any COO looking to improve their data protection processes should get familiar with these rights – available in their full free guide. 

What’s next?

• Take the time to learn the lawful basis for processing data, understand the principles of the GDPR, and get familiar with data protection rights. 
  

Navigating common data protection challenges 

Even once you’re all set with a well-communicated data protection policy, some common challenges can arise for a whole bunch of reasons. Two of the most frequent challenges that we run into include:  

• Team members feeling hesitant about reporting data breaches 
• A lack of visibility on data protection success 

Team members feeling hesitant about reporting data breaches 

It’s only natural that some team members may feel hesitant about reporting data breaches fearing harsh consequences and disciplinary action, that’s why we always advise separating these two concepts as soon as possible.  

Your team needs to recognise that reporting a data breach is a symptom of wider data awareness, and businesses introducing data protection efforts can expect a rise in reported breaches. This is a great sign that your data protection efforts are working, as members understand what to look out for and follow reporting correct frameworks. 

A lack of visibility on data protection success 

When data protection is correctly implemented, the result should be seamless, so how can you know if it’s working?  

To make sure that your data protection efforts are working, it’s important to set some core objectives to track progress. These objectives are going to be different for every business and should be monitored against an initial audit to effectively monitor growth.  

What’s next?

• Take the time to help team members understand the importance of reporting on a data breach
• Set core objectives to track progress

The roundup

As a COO, it’s time to put actions to words, and take your key learnings away to embed a strong data protection strategy. In a nutshell, these are:

• Consider what protection processes need to be taken into account.
• Showcase how data protection reflects your company’s core ethics and mission.
• Ensure that your data protection processes have leadership buy-in.
• Make adopting the right mindset to data protection the #1 priority.
• Take the time to learn the lawful basis for processing data, understand the principles of the GDPR, and get familiar with data protection rights. 
• Help team members understand the importance of reporting on a data breach, and get rid of the negative connotations.
• Set core data protection objectives to track progress.

Get started today  

So, there you have it! Embedding data protection into your culture is essential to building trust with your customers and stakeholders, as well as for demonstrating correct due diligence and protecting the privacy of your customers. But, it doesn't have to be boring or complicated. With our tips, you can make embedding a culture of data protection a fun, engaging, and ultimately beneficial process for all. 

To learn more about how our all-in-one solution makes data protection a breeze, why not get in touch today? We’re here to answer any questions that you might have.