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A privacy team advises and consults for tech companies and similar organizations dealing with data of employees and other individuals on due diligence audits and negotiations surrounding their funding, operations and corporate governance. Due to the delicateness of this responsibility, a lot of focus should be placed on what can be done now to hire and develop privacy teams. The privacy sector is unique from other sectors. The challenge is that the demand is accelerated in the privacy sector, but there are hardly any qualified candidates. Privacy needs people who have knowledge across different boards, which has accelerated the demands. Companies will also have to increase compensations as demands supersede supply. This doesn’t negate the fact that the privacy sector is not immune to the rest of the challenges faced by other sectors in Nigeria. One of such challenges common to all is that many people have shifted from working physically to remote working due to the pandemic, and the volatility and security of data and its proneness to cyber-attacks still remains present. In developing a privacy team, the first point is to determine your company’s scope and function. Everything always leads back to your scope and functions. Your defined scope helps you outline exactly what is needed and you will be looking out for in building your team. You must ensure you have boundaries in work roles as it could get difficult as the privacy team expands. After that, you move to building relationships and establishing trust, choosing who to collaborate with and ensure it aligns with your company’s values. Building a privacy team does not automatically translate to hiring new members. It could also mean championing employees in other parts of the business and organization who integrates privacy as a part of their businesses.
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The reality remains that the demand for privacy contractors has gone up by about 200% in recent times, and corporations cannot hire as many people and give adequate compensation. Also, privacy professionals are aware of the inflation and increase in demand, hence, they are not settling. In seeking for traits in prospective individuals to hire, attention should be placed on the following: resilience, fortitude, persistence. This indicates that the people can work regardless of the environment. Constant learning and collaboration are also requisite to being a professional. In conclusion, know your hiring process and have a system before you begin the recruitment process. Don’t make up processes because it signals uncertainty to the candidate applying. It should be a deliberate process. The restriction with physical processes have been cut out so hirers have to be swift and deliberate in moving people through the virtual process. Also, the enlightenment of hirers should be reflected in the interview process because it communicates the understanding and culture of privacy in an organization. It will always be an advantage when a company understands its unique advantage, and communicates it unashamedly. The company should offer a learning experience and conducive environment for the team, beyond employment to keep experiencing growth and development. Featured image: Holland & Knight
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