Delegates flock to event marking GDPR – one year on

More than 80 delegates gathered for Harrison Clark Rickerbys’ ‘GDPR – One Year On’ event last week to share their own experiences and learn from six expert speakers, including Tracy Evans from recruitment firm Pertemps, Eric Alter of insurance broker and risk management business adviser Marsh and James Ashe of PR firm Alias.

They were joined at Hilton Puckrup Hall, near Tewkesbury, by speakers from HCR – Rachael King outlined the practical impact of GDPR, which has changed the national and international approach to data protection. Steven Murray tackled the thorny subject of data breaches and how some very simple measures could offer vital protection and Charles Drayson addressed the effects on a global business, outlining the work needed by client NetDocuments to ensure they, as a cloud-based business, stayed within the new regulations.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force on May 25 2018, and requires a new approach to data protection so that personal information held on individuals across the EU has more restricted use and is easier to remove from databases.

Led by Robert Capper, head of sectors for HCR, the event brought together companies as diverse as a specialist equestrian clothing firm and a multi-national advanced manufacturer, to hear the speakers talk about their own experiences of GDPR and offer advice on the way forward.

Robert said afterwards: “The feedback from delegates was universally positive – it gave them practical advice for the next stage of their data protection work and our external speakers were able to share their experience of GDPR in practice, which is always invaluable.”

One delegate said afterwards that it was an “excellent event, with very relevant topics and pragmatic presenters, while another agreed, saying it was “very interesting and as always, plenty for us to consider.”

Tracy Evans talked about the long process of uncovering data stored in different ways across the business, making it compliant and embedding a different approach in a business which holds millions of personal records at any one time.

James Ashe gave advice on handling the fallout from a data breach, advising companies to acknowledge the problem, act quickly and tell the truth, aiming to limit the damage to their reputation and the trust placed in them by customers and suppliers.

Eric Alter addressed the need for crisis management planning, stressing that cybercrime is now very big business, both for those carrying it out and their victims, with highly sophisticated strategies being used to hold companies to ransom.

With interactive voting, the event included a panel Q and A, round table discussions and one to one sessions afterwards with individuals.