A 10-Step Checklist for Privacy Program Leaders

For Proactive Businesses Who want to Avoid Fines & Negative Headlines

Executive Summary

We now live in a world where data protection is not just a legal necessity, but a crucial component to protecting and maintaining your business. If you are leading a privacy initiative in your business, this checklist walks you through the key elements to consider as you get started.

STEP ONE: Assess Your Current State

Every successful privacy program must start with a stable foundation. Outline all of the ways in which privacy is being managed today. At a baseline, you should have a privacy policy, and work your way out from there. Can you identify where data and sensitive information live? If you received a Data Subject Request today, would you have knowledge of the sensitive data within your organization? Better yet, could you respond within the required timeline? Finally, if your program is already up and running, how easy is it for Data Subjects to submit a DSR request? Use this critical information to determine opportunities for improvement for your organization.

STEP TWO: Identify Your Partners & Contributors

As the person responsible for not only ensuring data privacy and upholding the rights of data subjects, you must also identify who else in the business will support you in your work. Create an internal privacy team with representation from IT, legal, engineering, and other business functions who have access to systems that hold customer PII, for instance, marketing or customer success. Depending on the size of your business, you may want to consider adding a team of external advisors with expertise in creating privacy programs. Once assembled, align on your goals, assign dates and who will be responsible.