Protect your data when researching candidates

Data Privacy Day, held every January 28, brings attention to keeping your information safe online. The digital world is constantly changing, which means a staffing or recruiting company, which contains the personal information of thousands of people, needs to stay current with appropriate safeguards to protect them – and you.

In the online world, data is constantly free flowing. Personal and private data is shared between points around the world constantly, but it’s important to strive for a strong wall of privacy in the staffing industry. Think of yourself and your company as a steward of data. According to Stay Safe Online, learning how to protect yourself as a private citizen and your candidates as a professional is crucial.

Here are three quick tips for keeping your candidate data safe:

1) Use a secure server. Your data is only as safe as the server that you are using. All too often, staffing and recruiting companies that self-host their servers fail this basic rule – keep your server(s) in a physically secure and safe environment. As a staffing and recruiting professional, it’s important to make a note of how your organization deals with data security. If you think some practices are lacking or have a concern don’t feel afraid to voice your questions or opinions to the right people. Your input could help make your organization and the information it keeps on both clients and potential job candidates secure. The easiest way to ensure the physical security of your servers is to have your staffing and recruiting software provider host it for you. They have access to and employ security systems equal to the task that are typically far beyond the reach of most small businesses. For example, Bond’s secure servers host many customers and carry ISO 27001 certification for data security.

2) Automate security upgrades. Have each computer and mobile device that is hooked up to the company server set to upgrade automatically. With the increase in the number of mobile devices being connected to the agency’s server, it’s important to make sure that software programs are updated regularly. Often employees will feel inconvenienced by software updates, but it is an important step for data security. As a staffing professional using recruiting software, various mobile devices and different programs, it’s important to make sure the devices you use are updated. Just think, if you use your smartphone for both personal and professional business, you could open yourself up to a security breach if you don’t allow the system to update.

3) Opt out of third-party tracking cookies. Congress is still in the middle of discussing whether companies can sell the rights to cookies you create when you traverse the internet. However, you don’t have to wait for them to make a decision to increase your security and reduce cookies. Set your browser to reject all third-party cookies so that only websites that you visit will be able to collect data on you, according to Reputation News.

In the internet world, staffing professionals have to be aware of where and how they are being tracked by “digital eyes.” An accidental security breach can have significant repercussions for a company and an individual. Imagine for a moment if your systems candidate and employee data was stolen – what would it cost you and your business? Use your best judgment when researching potential candidates or clients and looking around the internet platform. As a staffing professional, you know when something doesn’t look right. After all, you’re trained to identify if something is fishy with a candidate! What do you do to help keep your data safe and secure?

0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *