GDPR is a critical hot topic for companies holding data about clients or potential clients. Data protection is about safeguarding sensitive information and ensuring people can trust companies and their people to use their data in a fair and responsible way.
DPA and GDPR
Introduced in May 2018 the Data Protection Act 2018 or DPA, and the General Data Protection Regulation Data or GDPR brought in a number of new obligations that organisations and their information officers must comply with. This means that if you collect and store information about individuals, for any reason other than your personal, family, or household needs, you must comply. These include protecting personal information, and providing access to official information as and when requested. These requirements have put an emphasis on organisations to create robust systems to routinely think about and justify how and why data is used by them.
Using data for calling purposes
According to the Direct Marketing Association “For telemarketing to comply with GDPR, companies must exclude all telephone numbers that are listed on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) or Corporate TPS (CTPS) unless someone specifically gives permission for their number to be stored and used. TPS is the register for private individuals and sole traders who prefer not to receive marketing calls. The CTPS is the service that limited companies, limited liability partnerships, Scottish partnerships, and government bodies or their employees can register their number on. Companies must, therefore, screen all their lists against TPS and CTPS before using their data for a telemarketing campaign”.
Since reputation and good practice are precious tenets for any professional organisation, it’s worth taking a moment every few months to revisit GDPR. The ICO is the main body that regulates data protection in the UK. They offer advice and guidance to promote good practice, regular auditing, handle complaints about possible breaches, manage and monitor compliance, or take enforcement action where needed.
You can find some helpful guidance, look as their toolkits, and download a checklist for compliance from their website.
If you’d like to find out more about outbound telemarketing, best practice, or intelligent techniques, speak to one of our team – or take a look around our site.