There has been a blitz of data privacy laws being put into effect over the past few years – from the GDPR and CCPA to demographic-specific ones like COPPA. Businesses have no choice but to keep up or face the consequences of non-compliance. Whether a company is setting up a baseline privacy program or needs to update an existing one, it’s easy to feel inundated by the sheer number of laws that need to be addressed. It’s a phenomenon so common that it even has a nickname: “privacy fatigue”.

The Impact of Privacy Fatigue on Business Operations

The burden of constantly remaining relevant and compliant can manifest in many ways:

• Less diligent compliance: As detailed privacy compliance procedures become more detailed and complex, it’s tempting to cut corners. This leads to compliance gaps and easily preventable mistakes.
• Operational efficiency: The constantly evolving nature of privacy laws can mean that employees spend a disproportionate amount of their time on compliance-related tasks, rather than on their actual jobs.
• Organizational morale: Employee morale can suffer due to the constant pressure of staying on top of the compliance game.
• Financial implications: Implementing compliance-related training programs and new technologies and hiring compliance officers can cut into the budget for other company functions.

How Organizations Can Combat Privacy Fatigue

A company can take several steps to alleviate the symptoms of the privacy doldrums. Putting a future-proof compliance strategy in place can shape a healthy approach to compliance and streamline processes to reduce privacy fatigue. Today, we’re looking at a few actionable strategies for this.

Remove Distractions by Defining Organizational Risk

It can be easy to get carried away when a new privacy law is announced somewhere in the world. However, not all of them may be relevant to your company.

Evaluate each new privacy law to determine if it applies to your business. For instance, an American-based B2B company that manufactures and sells industrial parts only to other American companies is unlikely to be affected by an EU law like the GDPR. But American laws like the CPRA, TDPSA, and more likely apply. Know whose data your company handles, and how. When a new privacy law hits the headlines, it’ll be easier to determine if you need to update your compliance system or not.

Reduce Duplication of Effort

Comparing privacy laws is often like comparing oranges and tangerines—they are ever so slightly different.

Don’t start over each time a new privacy law passes. Streamline your processes by grouping similar laws together while designing your program and applying the most stringent tenets. This will reduce the amount of effort needed to build, maintain, and update your program and avoid the duplication of work. It also provides an additional layer of protection for any contacts living in a region with no privacy laws.

Have A Collaborative Approach

Clear lines of communication between various teams directly involved in the design and implementation of privacy programs can help prevent compliance gaps and breaches. This will also help create a proactive atmosphere that integrates compliance into daily operations. While involving individuals and teams like the information security officer and IT is critical, it’s also a great idea to involve teams that handle or use customer data to ensure overall compliance. It also helps privacy teams understand how data is being used to pinpoint specific areas of concern.

Consider Bite-Sized Compliance Training

Frequently attending training sessions that require employees to digest large amounts of information can be overwhelming. Consider regular compliance training for employees delivered in smaller, more manageable segments. Doing so will also help them stay updated as regulations change.

Build a Trust Center

A trust center collates all your privacy policies, security certifications, data handling practices, and more in one accessible space. It will help your employees find the compliance information they need quickly, foster a sense of ownership in compliance efforts, and mitigate privacy fatigue.

Leverage Technology to Automate Tasks

Consider investing in automated compliance management systems to streamline tasks, reduce manual errors, and easily integrate new regulations into your existing privacy program. Automated reports and data analytics can provide insights into compliance performance and help privacy teams identify gaps and potential risks and implement swift corrective actions. Our team can help you with all things privacy, from providing privacy software solutions to implementing highly complex compliance projects from start to finish. Contact us using the form below to learn more.