Outsourcing HR tasks such as payroll implies handing highly valuable company and personnel information over to an external partner. How can you guarantee they handle those data professionally, with integrity and confidentiality, and in compliance with the strict EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)? The answer: ISAE 3000 attestation.
It’s often said that data is one of the most important assets an organisation has. Rightfully so, and not just customer data. Your own personnel and HR data also hold significant strategic value. They give extremely detailed insights into your talent base, HR priorities and much more. In other words, if you start outsourcing HR tasks, you expose your organisation to potentially harmful information breaches. After all, you don’t have any real guarantees of your partner’s compliance with regulations such as GDPR. Well, what if you did?
To address companies’ concerns regarding privacy, data protection and information security, global HR and payroll service provider SD Worx wanted concrete proof of its long-standing security and privacy management system’s effectiveness. That’s why the company asked Deloitte, a renowned external auditor, to conduct an assurance audit of its security and privacy controls. The result: SD Worx obtained an ISAE 3000 attestation (type 1) for its payroll services at the end of May 2021.
ISAE 3000 is an international standard on assurance engagements that provides auditors with guidelines to assess the design (type 1) and operation (type 2) of an organisation’s data processing controls. It is considered the go-to standard to demonstrate compliance with GDPR.
Good to know: ISAE 3000 is the standard for assurance over non-financial data, while ISAE 3402 does the same for financial data. SD Worx now holds both certifications.
So, what does this mean exactly for companies that make use of SD Worx payroll services? In short, it proves their employees’ personal data are handled with integrity and confidentiality, and in line with GDPR – a reassurance every outsourcing HR professional should look for.
There are many benefits to contracting a payroll provider that protects your data with great care:
#1 Regulatory compliance – By engaging a payroll provider with an ISAE 3000 attestation for GDPR, you are able to provide evidence yourself that you have chosen a reliable processor.
#2 Contingency plans – In case of an incident, you can trust your partner will take timely and appropriate steps to mitigate risks and to inform you of the incident.
#3 Trust and assurance – An attested payroll provider is confident of the effectiveness of its security and privacy controls, implying a high regard for trust.
#4 Continuous improvement – HR and payroll providers will want to keep hold of their attestation. They will therefore ensure their security and privacy controls remain effective as from day 1.
#5 Internal support – You’ll more easily convince HR outsourcing sceptics in your organisation if you can counter their data security argument with solid proof of best-practice behaviour.
#6 Independent stamp of approval – ISAE 3000 auditors have extensive expertise in information security and data protection, so their fact-based approval confirms a service provider’s compliance claims.
An ISAE 3000 attestation means that your outsourced data are private and secure while they’re being processed by your payroll partner. The peace of mind that comes with this type of ethical business conduct can hardly be overestimated in today’s data era. Even more, when looking for a payroll outsourcing partner, assurance regarding GDPR should be one of the first things to ask for.
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GDPR has been a burning subject in the past three years now. It was enforceable in 2018 across European countries and things have evolved since then. In fact, since its implementation date until January 2020, some 160,921 personal data breaches with EEA have been reported (DLA Piper: GDPR Data breach Survey 2020). In this article, we’ll go about how to complete the data register followed by a data handling case by science giant Dupont.