How to Handle Sensitive Employee Data?

Digitalized and paperless systems are being adopted by many businesses of all sizes. While these offer several advantages, the possibility of leaking confidential data cannot be ignored. Cybercriminals continue to develop more sophisticated hacking strategies as technology advances. All employee records, including bank accounts, medical records, and personal information, are held by the HR department. Here are the best practices for handling employee’s sensitive data.

Encryption:

Data will eventually be stolen by a hacker or their malware virus. Encryption effectively secures data even after it has been accessed because a hacker will not be able to read files on your network, regardless of how far they get into it.

It is common practice for businesses to encrypt only highly sensitive data, such as identification cards; encrypting all employee files is preferable. Every now and then, personal records and information about employees need to be updated, and it’s best to have all of the files encrypted. In a data discovery assessment, encrypting a process or workflow designed to handle sensitive employee data makes management much simpler.

Policies & Procedures:

Create a formal data security policy that specifies the kind of sensitive employee information that the company will safeguard and the methods it will use to do so. Information might be gathered for authentic business purposes and teach workers to illuminate you when they suspect somebody has acquired unapproved admittance to safeguarded data.

Data Assessment:

Before doing anything else, your HR department’s current data must be evaluated. To effectively safeguard information, the first step is to know what you have. If your business has been in operation for many decades, HR data can become disorganized. Figure out every one of the records from previously and evaluate how to store them.

Authorized Authentication:

To prevent unauthorized access, confidential information should only be accessible by authorized users. It’s ideal to have passwords and multifaceted verification for delicate worker records.

Provide Training:

The HR department is the one that constantly has access to sensitive employee data. As a result, it is essential to inform them of the best ways to preserve safe records. To stop data leaks, they must do so immediately. Managers need to be kept up to date on the most recent developments in employment law and the best ways to deal with departing employees by regularly updating the training. Inform managers and employees of your company’s data security procedures.

Make it clear to all of your employees what steps your company takes to keep their private information safe. Give extra preparation to representatives who approach individual data, for example, finance or HR workers, about unapproved access, how to report security breaks, and how to appropriately obliterate and discard worker records.

Access Log:

Who has access to employee records, when, and for what reason should be recorded in a log? If employee records are stored electronically, check to see that the software can control and track who and when they are accessed. To assist in ensuring that access is properly traced, frequently audit electronic and paper logging systems.

Data Disposal:

Employers are typically required to destroy all employee records after the retention period so that they cannot be read or reconstructed. Burning and shredding are just a few examples. Ensuring that any electronic media containing employee data are destroyed or removed; and signing a contract with a dependable third-party vendor to dispose of the records following federal regulations.

Using HR Documentation Tool:

It is not easy to keep track of employee documents, especially since they cover a wide range of topics like payroll, benefits, and more. To keep information coordinated and secure, you want something beyond file organizers in a locked room or obsolete document-the-board programming.

Document management software that enables you to organize, store, and update the data in real time is necessary for effective employee data security. Throughout the employee lifecycle, sensitive employee data must be protected, including important new hire documents and information about pay, benefits, and performance.