Dealing with subject access and deletion requests can sometimes overwhelm an organisation's capacity, especially if they regularly get these requests from service users, customers, employees, government departments, and the courts. Nowadays, organisations keep huge amounts of sensitive information about individuals for a range of purposes, and people are more aware of their rights when it comes to data access.
People, therefore, expect a satisfactory response to their access requests, meaning organisations will have to involve more staff and resources to meet these needs. This leads to the increasing need for automating and streamlining the access and deletion request system.
The Importance Of Having A Good Document Management System To Manage Subject Access And Detection Request
A subject access and deletion request system is a software program or set of procedures that help manage and process individual access requests. These systems allow users to log the requests and easily track their progress up to conclusion. Organisations can use the system to easily search and filter all the requests to check if there are duplicates, and allocate the tasks to staff members.
Potential Consequences Of Not Having A Good System In Place
Dealing with a data subject access request without a good system can be time-consuming, arduous and costly. All subject accesses requests have a 30 day responding time, which can only be extended for two more months if the request is complex or when the controller has several requests. The failure to comply with a request can lead to a data subject filing a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). These complaints can have serious financial consequences, which are up to 4% of the organisation's annual turnover.
What Makes A Good System For Managing Subject Access And Deletion Request?
There are a variety of specialist data subject access request software applications on the market, although most businesses get by as best they can using a combination of CRM and spreadsheets. This can make it challenging for organisations to choose the best and most appropriate system. Below are some must-haves for a GDPR document management system.
- The software must provide a DSAR portal to allow users to request access to their personal information or request deletion easily.
- The system should provide a centralised view of all data subject access requests.
- The system must provide the required workflows to process all requests in the organisation.
- The system should have reporting tools and logs to show that the DSARs were processed within the GDPR specified time.
Working With A Secure Document Storage Partner
Whether or not you already have systems in place to manage subject access requests, it can save time and money to work alongside a secure storage specialist to help manage your documentation on your behalf – such as CAS. This avoids the necessity of investing in and implementing expensive software – which creates a training burden and extra admin, as well as capital outlay. It also ensures subject access requests can be met and recorded promptly without having to store lots of paper records onsite. To find out more about our GDPR-compliant data storage and handling services, please call us today.
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