The Importance of HR Data Security

It falls under the purview of HR departments to safeguard the accessibility and accuracy of the sensitive data they retain about employees. HR must maintain confidentiality of management or company information that is not accessible to nonmanagement or external parties. Many firms are switching to paperless, digital systems. Although these have numerous advantages, one danger that cannot be overlooked is the potential for sensitive data to fall into the wrong hands. As technology advances, fraudsters also continue to create more sophisticated hacking techniques.

What is sensitive data?

We need to know what sensitive data is if we want to be security-savvy. In a nutshell, it refers to any information that may be used to identify a human as well as financial information like bank and credit card information. All employee information, including medical records, address details, background checks, national identification number, and other personal data is kept in the HR department.

All these pieces of information are important, and if your company doesn’t have a sound cybersecurity strategy, not only is your employees’ privacy jeopardized, but the impacts are determinantal and far-reaching.

Financial Impact

Data breaches can result in tremendous liabilities and prohibitive expenditures. The cost in time and money to recover and restore data, and deal with possible legal repercussions is staggering. Additionally, recovering from a data breach can take a company, on average, 279 days, which affects operations and business continuity. Data security is primarily a concern for the IT department, but HR professionals may assist in making sure that efficient policies are in place. To ensure that data security safeguards are ingrained in the organization’s procedures, representatives from several business functions—such as IT, HR, security, and finance—should collaborate.

Additionally, cooperation and compliance must begin in the C-suite. HR is increasingly asked to assist with determining and enforcing employee data permissions, educating employees on cybersecurity policies and procedures, and assisting with the response to employee-related cyber events. A confluence of circumstances, including: a more active regulatory environment, the widespread use of technology and gadgets in employees’ work, and realization of the significance of a strong organizational cybersecurity culture, has led to HR’s greater involvement.

Reputation and Employer Brand

In addition to the monetary expenditures, there are costs related to an organization’s reputational harm from within and externally. Employers are using branding to help them attract and keep top people as the world gets more digital. Branding can include a company’s reputation as well as its principles and culture. Employers must be aware of the possible hazards involved with branding, especially those relating to data security. Employers must therefore safeguard their databases and make sure that their efforts to build their brands don’t compromise the security of their workforce.

To safeguard a company’s reputation and uphold confidence, it is essential to be open and honest about its data security procedures. Data breaches erode customer confidence in your business. Customers expect you to protect their personal information when they provide it to you. Depending on the sector, the damage can be irreparable. It will take years to completely fix the messes, even in the best-case scenario.

Compliance Adherence

HR must set up document management systems (DMS) and procedures to secure and safeguard sensitive employee data and notify employees of any breaches in compliance with legal responsibilities such as data-breach notification regulations and privacy laws. Due to stricter laws, employers now have much more obligations and liabilities regarding the collection, use, and protection of personal data. HR needs proper data protection policies and processes in place, and employees must be aware of their responsibilities and rights to their data as specified by law. It is crucial that businesses inform and train their staff about these data regulations.

Tightening Security

The impact of technology on human resource management cannot be denied. But there are a lot of initiatives that HR can promote to regularly keep management and staff informed and to ensure HR is proactively managing security. Onboarding and exiting procedures can help to monitor equipment and data. If an employee leaves an organization, HR must be ready to handle the situation and minimize risk of data violations. HR procedures, equipment checklists, BYOD policies, remote access, and training employees about data security can be driven by HR.

Education is fundamental to reinforcing security policies and preventing data breaches that come through human error such as clicking on bad links or unknowingly exposing access to data. Employees should receive training on how to spot scammers and should be made aware of the characteristics of a genuine business email, such as a regular signature line, and the email address. Everyone in an organization should feel confident speaking out and alerting IT/HR when a breach or attempted breach happens without fear of punishment.

Secure HR Systems

As the company’s practices of gathering employee and consumer information rapidly evolve, HR needs to have infrastructure in place for protecting sensitive data. KRIS HR Document Management System is a solution designed for HR adapt to increasing obligations to ensure the security of employee data. For effective management of data and technology risk, particularly in a remote working environment, InfoSec/IT and HR must work closely together. HR is in a good position to assist in identifying which corporate and employee data is most important, as well as who inside the organization requires access to it and how access should be controlled – and a document management can help manage it for you.