It is a chance to gain trust.
As a business owner, whenever you obtain personal information from clients, employees and your service providers, there exists implied trust in your business that such personal information will be used for proper purposes and that your business has sensible measures in place to protect the personal information they provide to you.
In the compliance industry, gearing up in terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) is categorised as a component of good governance for a business or organisation. For example, whether you appoint a managing agent to collect levies from homeowners in a residential estate, obtain parent details for payment of school fees, collect contact details of patrons entering your restaurant, arrange delivery of flowers to a client’s home address, you are entrusted with these individuals’ personal information. Good governance and complying with POPIA requires that you are able to confirm to anyone who enquires, that your business or organisation supports a culture of data security and data protection.
Without a doubt, complying with POPIA will require some adaptation in all businesses and organisations, no matter their size or sphere of business. Often the compliance measures introduced involve common-sense steps that are relatively easy to implement. It should therefore not be viewed as an unworkable, burdensome task, but rather as a practical way to ensure that records and details obtained are properly safeguarded. The protection of personal information is not aimed at restricting business; rather, it is a tool you can use to show your clients that you are a responsible and trustworthy business or organisation.
Contact our professionals on 041 363 6044 or info@kaplans.co.za for more information or assistance.
