GDPR

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the coordinator for the Clondalkin Drug & Alcohol Task Force. We’re the coordinating body for implementing national drug strategy in our area.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with GDPR?

We needed to learn about GDPR, its impact on us in the charity and community sector, and how to become GDPR compliant.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They came to our office and did a full day of training with us and everybody who runs our various services. It was an informational workshop where they provided information about GDPR and helped us develop a plan to improve our understanding and become compliant. They provided written documentation and were able to answer all our questions and queries.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two people from their team.

How did you come to work with GDPR?

We found them through an internet search and a couple of contacts. They seemed to fit our purpose best. 

How much have you invested in them?

We spent €2,500 Euro ($2,800 USD) on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from May–July 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

They left us with a data protection policy and an online privacy statement that supports all of our projects. We carry a good deal of sensitive information, and our funders were pressuring us to become GDPR compliant. We weren’t fully aware of what that meant or entailed, but, thanks to this partnership, we’re a lot more confident.

How did GDPR perform from a project management standpoint?

Their traditional training package would have made us pay per-person and send our people off-site to train in different locations. Given that we’re in the charity sector, they were very accommodating and agreed to come to us and not charge per-person. We communicated through phone and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were happy that they were so accommodating and didn’t make us send people to them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not regarding what they did for us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of a sports nonprofit in Ireland.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with GDPR.ie?

My predecessor in this role had not done a lot of work in terms of making our organization compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation legislation that was coming into effect. We contracted with GDPR to provide some expertise as we restructured our policies and procedures.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their audit of our existing policies took about a day. They identified the key areas that needed to be addressed. After that, we negotiated the terms of them reworking the language to become more compliant with GDPR legislation. They set a timeline of about 12 weeks, during which they produced the necessary documents with updated language that allowed us to retain and collect the data that we need. GDPR offered training for our staff as part of their initial quote, but we haven’t taken them up on that yet.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people during the initial contact and assessments. Once we agreed on a plan of action, we worked with one person, who produced the updated documents.

How did you come to work with GDPR.ie?

We originally found them through word of mouth, but they also responded to our request for bids. They offered the best value for the money.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about €18,000 ($20,700 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from June–August 2018. We have received our updated documents and expect our board members to approve them shortly.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The policies are well produced, and feedback has been largely positive. A lot of work clearly went into these documents. From our perspective, the policies came together quite well. In terms of implementing them, we’re starting that now, and our staff seems to have a better understanding of GDPR thanks to these policies.

How did GDPR.ie perform from a project management standpoint?

We had no issues working together. They answered any questions we had right away. Usually, that was through email, but for more detailed matters, we would meet in person. They laid out a timeline and stuck to it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were very honest. Once the legislation came through for GDPR, a lot of companies popped up and offered the same services. There was a lot of scaremongering going around—companies telling you that if you weren’t compliant, your business would be targeted for sanctions. We were quite far behind, but GDPR was honest and said we wouldn’t reach the deadline for compliance, but if we put in the necessary work, we’d get there the right way.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, the communication was consistent and the project was on time. We experienced no negatives.

Any advice for potential customers?

It’s worthwhile to have all of your affairs in order prior to working with them. We slowed down at times because we weren’t prepared.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a professional association for optometrists.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with GDPR?

We contacted them because the EU enacted new data protection regulations earlier in 2018, and we wanted to ensure that we, and our members, were equipped to meet them.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In our initial meeting, we scoped out the project and came up with two solutions to implement. First, we wanted to produce a series of collateral about the new EU regulations that our members could use. Second, we planned a series of workshops for members to attend and learn how to implement the received collateral.

The collateral that GDPR produced was adaptable. They took the time to conduct thorough research and came up with information that was applicable in most cases. The team also talked to some of our members to learn about the requirements that they had.

What is the team composition?

The full team was larger, but we mainly worked with three people.

How did you come to work with GDPR?

I came across them while doing a bit of research online. We knew the new regulations were coming, so I approached them in advance of that.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about €25,000– €26,000 ($29,000–$30,000).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from August 2017–April 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The collateral went out to all of our members and was very helpful. Our workshops weren’t mandatory, so not everyone attended, but those who did got a lot out of it. Distributing the materials meant that they could become compliant with the new rules quickly and easily, which was our goal as their representative body. The seminars were excellent. The collateral had a few minor issues, but nothing that hindered understanding.

How did GDPR perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very busy because everyone in the country was scrambling to comply with the new regulations and needed time-sensitive guidance, but we were always able to get in touch with them when necessary. We initially met in person to scope out the project and implement the new policies internally, then switched to email and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re a very small organization, so this was a big investment for us. We actually provided all of the materials and workshops to our members for free, which was costly, but the quality that GDPR delivered made it worthwhile.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not really. I wish they were less expensive, but they were very professional and delivered everything they promised according to the schedule we laid out.