I think that to be good at something requires a mix of knowledge, talent and passion. I have extensive data protection experience as well as a formally recognised qualification. So that makes me a good data protection officer. What makes me different from lots of other data protection professionals, some of whom jumped on the GDPR bandwagon as a means to making money, is that I have continued to learn, not just about data protection but human nature.
In addition to a data protection qualification I am also:
• a qualified risk manager
• an Institute of Leadership and Management Level 5 Coach and Mentor
• a part-qualified accountant (accountancy doesn’t really interest me, but I can still understand business accounts)
• a certified Information Security Auditor
• a qualified change manager
So you can see that I am well qualified and experienced. But that’s not all. I understand that data protection can be a challenge for organisations, in that its difficult to ensure knowledge and compliance with legislation that you don’t understand how to apply to your business.
This is where talent and passion come into the equation. I work with organisations who recognise the benefits of having good data privacy practices in place. We work to prioritise their data protection work by reviewing their activities and addressing the areas of greatest risk first. I’ll always look to provide as much support and work with the team. My passion is creating the best solution for organisations, even something as simple as creating a policy will mean that I tailor it completely to the organisation, using their fonts, logos, phraseology so that it fits in with their organisation, their ethos.
And that’s fine when an organisation can pay for our consultancy service, but we also wanted to help small and micro businesses. So that’s why we set up a GDPR helpline, offer a free introductory call, provide free webinars, checklists and information. As well as series of cost effective courses covering a range of topics.
I really want to make data protection easy for all organisations to implement and understand and that’s why people want to work with me. I’m not simply a qualified data protection officer, I’ve broadened my knowledge and experience into other areas to support data privacy and its implementation as well as having talent and passion too.