Data Privacy Rules Are Changing. How Can Marketers Keep Up?

As the pandemic forces companies all around the world to shift to remote work and digital systems, renewed attention has been drawn to questions around data privacy. After all, consumers might be willing to accept a delayed package, a canceled flight, or an extended service window in light of the pandemic — but compromise their personal data, and it is game over. What can marketers do to meet rising consumer expectations (not to mention regulatory requirements) regarding data privacy?

Welcome to the Era of Consumer Data Protections

This conversation isn’t new. A recent study found that 84% of customers will abandon an online purchase if the website isn’t secure. Back in 2018, the EU passed the landmark General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to increase data privacy requirements, and earlier this year, California announced there would be no pandemic-related delay in enforcing the newly-passed “California Consumer Privacy Act” (CCPA).

These regulations give consumers more awareness and control over exactly what personal information is collected, how it is sold, and how its security is ensured. Marketers have taken a variety of steps to comply with the new regulations, such as making sure web forms include opt-in checkboxes that ask for consent before adding users to a mailing list, providing easy access to privacy statements and disclosures, and creating dedicated web pages where users can submit requests to access, modify, or delete their personal information.

However, while both B2B and B2C marketers have taken extra care for some time to ensure prospects have consented to being targeted, the current climate has made it much more challenging to maintain adequate protections. The pandemic has forced countless non-digital businesses to shift to online operations overnight, and many of these companies didn’t have remote work policies and procedures in place for managing sensitive data outside the office.

When combined with the onslaught of new regulations like the CCPA, these businesses have understandably struggled to protect consumer data as reliably as they used to. But with agile, adaptable tools, marketers can capitalize on this shift to online operations to build consumer trust and demonstrate dedication to data privacy.

How Marketers Can Adapt: Analytics & Automation

Specifically, analytics and automation technologies can help companies meet new legislative requirements around customer and auditor requests much more efficiently and affordably. The CCPA specifies “rights of access” requirements, which means that customers must have a way to ask for a copy of the data categories being gathered, or for their data to be deleted. To comply with these requests quickly and reliably, businesses need digital, do-it-yourself solutions for automating mission-critical tasks like data deletion and extraction. For example, forms that auto-populate with necessary information can help ensure that complicated requirements are met. Similarly, real-time desktop guidance tools or virtual assistants can help employees execute tasks in a specific order, or prompt contact center agents to provide and confirm proper disclosure information.

In addition, analytics tools can provide insights that significantly reduce the potential for human error in complying with complex, global data protection regulations. These tools can be used to identify customer interactions with higher compliance risk and automatically queue them into a predefined auditing workflow. For interactions where customer data is being collected, for instance, these tools can determine whether the proper CCPA or GDPR disclosure has taken place, and then automatically prompt agents in real time to share the required disclosure information and maintain compliance. This reduces the need for manual call listening, freeing up quality monitors and supervisors to be more responsive to complex inquiries.

Analytics tools also make it possible to build queries that identify all interactions that mention key words such as “CCPA,” “personal information,” “remove,” or “disclose.” With these queries, marketers can better understand the volume of traffic pertaining to the CCPA, which can be useful for trending and reporting. In addition, interactions that mention data removal could be automatically funneled into a quality monitoring workflow, enabling reviewers to easily verify that the information requested for removal was indeed removed from the company’s database.

Looking Ahead

As the pandemic pushes companies to conduct more of their business online, the data privacy conversation launched by regulations such as GDPR and CCPA has taken on new urgency all around the world. To maintain compliance — as well as consumer trust — companies must invest in automation and analytics tools that safeguard customer privacy. It is only by investing in solutions that are agile, adaptable, and capable of keeping pace with evolving regulations that organizations will be able to thrive in the new era of consumer data protection.

Source: HBR 27 Aug, 2020

 

Technology: Bridging the Digital Divide Through Coding

 

Encourage students in your life to explore rewarding leadership paths of the future.

Whether you agree with the idea of reopening schools or not,  distance learning will soon be the norm. The old-fashioned educational system of long days, crowded classrooms and antiquated expensive textbooks will become a thing of the past as parents and students adjust to the changing mode of education. Everyone must embrace the fact that this will be a turbulent academic season.

As parents, we must adjust our traditional thinking and adapt to a changing narrative about education and the outlook for career prospects for our children. Honestly, many of the professions and business models that we once wanted for our children may be gone, and many will never return — especially with major brick-and-mortar operations, which are barely holding on during this retail apocalypse.

With most K-12 schools across the country facing the reality of distance learning, parents must also face the reality that the goalpost is moving toward tech-driven fields and careers. From medicine to law and engineering ,  distance learning will drive new innovation and demand within the tech sector and lead the future of entrepreneurship.

My son’s school has always been prepared for remote/distance learning as all K-12 students are issued an Apple iPad Pro on the first day of school. No notebooks, pen or paper required, as all notes from the class are shared via Canvas. If a child is absent due to illness, they can log in from their iPad and listen to the instruction via FaceTime by requesting the teacher log in from his or her desk.

Apple has been a silent frontrunner in the distance-learning space since the first iPad launched in 2010. Recently, Apple announced updates to its Everyone Can Code curriculum, which introduces students to the world of coding through interactive activities. It is designed to take students all the way from writing their first lines of Swift code to building their first apps.

Why is coding so important, especially now?

With the closure of schools in March 2020, more than nine million students did not have the high-speed home internet required for online learning. In addition, there continues to be a parent/caregiver technology knowledge divide with many of the required programs needed to transition to remote learning. The high-speed internet access divide will negatively impact students as they will trail behind their digitally connected peers and classmates, forcing them to wait for paper packets with limited instruction and support.

Subsequently, the academic gap may lead to a career prospecting gap as well. Industries that have felt the most impact from economic decline are hospitality, sports, entertainment, travel and tourism, and restaurants. Once upon a time in the K-12 landscape, career counselors steered students toward these professions as they presented stability and unlimited growth. Now, not so much. 

Coding helps kids with communication, creativity, math and imagination. Apple recently launched its new Learning from Home website, where educators and parents can access on-demand videos and virtual conferences on remote learning plus schedule free one-on-one virtual coaching sessions, all hosted by educators at Apple. “Without coding, computers would literally do nothing," says Travis Addair, a senior software engineer at Uber. "They would be completely useless.”

The next generation of entrepreneurs are facing the new possibility of self-paced online learning and will need skills to meet the needs of a post-COVID-19 world. How can we close the learning gap this school year, while giving students the skills for a successful future?

Visit your local library 

 I know it sounds antiquated and anecdotal, but many libraries have reopened and are providing free online access for patrons. Digitally divided communities can create a concentrated effort to encourage students and parents to use libraries for the academic year and learn new career skills, such as coding. We cannot afford more students to fall behind this year, so contact your local library.

Teach students new leadership paths 

I’ve had many open and honest conversations with my 15-year-old son about what the real world will look like after he graduates and factors he must consider when choosing his own leadership path for the future. Although he has always been groomed to work in our family business, I want him to explore other options, without limiting himself to outdated beliefs and career prospects. Coding is now just as important as English and math.

Even if there is a vaccine or cure tomorrow for COVID-19, the damage to many industries that we have normalized as “stable” may not be necessary or sustainable for graduates in 2020 and beyond. Consider coding as a tool to accelerate learning or as a career prospect. Either way, students will have a head start academically.

Internships! Internships! Internships!  

My success would not have been possible without the gift of several meaningful internships. My first internship was at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office when I was a senior in high school, where I worked closely with attorneys, judges and the police department to learn every aspect of criminal law before deciding on law school. I served as an intern for three years and gained valuable skills and connections, which lead major law firms to make considerable high-paying job offers while I was still an undergraduate.

To retrain the unemployed, underemployed and/or underserved market, internships can accelerate the learning and lessen the digital divide by encouraging students to learn valuable skills beyond the classroom while completing their classwork. This can be a collaborative effort to provide Wi-Fi access and leadership skills to help students with limited options. Although many companies are working remotely during the pandemic, it is a great way to attract remote interns to join the team, while gaining access to technology as well.

Recent events have highlighted several inequities that have remained hidden in our society. Although there is no homogeneous solution, education will never look the same again. If you still need assistance with high-speed internet access, the FCC has released a list of resources to help students during this pandemic. While parents are transitioning into their new roles as homeschool teachers this year, it is equally important to remember to help students explore rewarding leadership paths of the future, not the past.

Source: Entrepreneur India 26 Aug,2020

Resilience: Can it be learned?

In the organizational context, a resilient workforce can be built through various dialogues, innovative assignments, a support network, mentoring, and guidance. Let’s explore how.

It is 5 AM on the clock, Ria wakes up to get ready for work, makes some food for herself, and switches on her laptop. She meets and greets her new colleagues on chat and starts to prepare for her onboarding in a new company. She is excited to begin a new adventure. 

On the same onboarding call, is also Steve, who woke up just ten minutes before the call and is not that enthusiastic about this change. He misses his old colleagues and is also extremely anxious about his new role, as he makes a career transition. 

For some people change is an energizer, a motivator; in fact, these people may seek out change and thrive on it. For other people, it is just the opposite, and change is experienced as exhausting and demotivating, something to put up with and be endured. And even though there is no agreed definition of resilience, it fundamentally relates to one's ability to respond to change, stress, and adversity, positively.

Knowing how change affects you, your peers, and your workforce can help determine learning and development strategies that will allow you to build a much more resilient workforce for a world of work where the only constant is change.

Once discovered and understood how change affects everyone differently, the important question to ask is: Can resilience be learned?

Resilience is not a passive quality, but an active process. How we approach life, and everything it can throw at us has a massive impact on our experience. According to psychologist Susan Kobasa, there are three main elements that resilient people possess: challenge, commitment, and control.

In the book, ‘Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness’, Dr Hanson also discusses the scientifically grounded foundation for lasting wellbeing. He cites inner strengths including grit, gratitude, compassion, and courage, that can fortify resilience to help overcome life’s inevitable adversities. So yes, resilience can be learned, encouraged, imparted and harnessed. 

In an organizational context, a culture of resilience can be fostered and among the workforce the competency can be built through various ways: challenging projects, a support network, mentoring, and an empowering work culture that allows people to push past their mistakes. Let’s explore how: 

How can business leaders, HR & L&D professionals help?

Complex problems & challenging opportunities

“Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems.”

- Gever Tulley

How often do you give your employees the chance to solve different problems, or do you wait for external pressures to take them by surprise? It is true that we can’t predict change, we can’t foresee a crisis. To prepare them for this change, talent must be indulged with diverse opportunities. They should be encouraged to work out of their comfort zones. This can be encouraged by enabling people to flex within their roles; encouraging self-development and upskilling, entrusting them with key projects and responsibilities, and enabling them to build relationships with colleagues across silos. That way, when crises do occur, people are already communicating, collaborating, and out of their comfort zone. 

Some organizations also foster resilience through simulation learning and gamifications, wherein they put the employees in a business scenario or a crisis situation they could face in the future. People often find that they have grown and now are stronger as a result of a struggle.  

Learning from failure 

Failure has always been the best teacher and time and again world renowned leaders have proven that. But leaders rarely give themselves and the employees a chance to experiment and fail. HR leaders and business leaders should hence work together in building a culture where failure is welcomed as a springboard for growth and an opportunity to learn and upskill, rather than something to be shied away from. Enable the talent to make mistakes, accept their mistakes and learn from them. 

Talent should be encouraged to confront failures and understand them, and leaders must work along with them to help them deconstruct these failures and learn from them.

As the quote that never gets old says, “Fall down seven times, stand up eight.”

But it should also be a two-way dialogue, where leaders are empowered to discuss their failures and what can be learned from them. We all need to get a bit more comfortable making failure part of our everyday vocabulary, and a more transparent component of our careers as a whole.

A strong support network

Caring and positive workplace relationships provide social support which nourishes further emotional resilience and also makes teams feel more connected – which can also lead to them being more productive. Whatever the crisis or the stress trigger may be, people often need to hear other points of view in order for them to get a bit of perspective. As leaders, in fact, you can guide talent based on your own experiences and adversities you may have faced in your life. 

Through a strong support network, the employees can guide each other and help each other sail through the storm. 

How can you learn resilience yourself? 

Respond & not react 

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. 

-Charles R. Swindoll

Easier said than done, yes! But it is the bitter truth. How do you want to shape your life? When facing change, try to put your efforts where you can have the most impact, you feel empowered and confident. Change the narrative of your thoughts, replace them with positive affirmations and look for solutions. 

Part of resilience comes from the knowledge that you have a choice; that you can respond in an intentional way that reduces your stress rather than just reacting to what is happening.

Commitment & Purpose 

Being committed to a larger purpose and your goals often provides a compelling reason to get out of bed in the morning. From concepts like ‘Ikigai’ to ‘Essentialism’, there are many ways in which you can help yourself identify what motivates you, guides you, and inspires you. 

As Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles say, “There is a passion inside you, a unique talent that gives meaning to your days and drives you to share the best of yourself until the very end.”

Take care of yourself 

Most importantly, practice self-compassion. Be kind to yourself. Take care of your well-being. Some experts recommend mindful journaling, yoga, and meditation. Others may find more positive energy by playing a sport, doing something creative, or simply going for a walk. 

Don't let negative thoughts derail your efforts. Instead, consistently practice positive thinking. 

So when the next challenge or change comes, remember, that this time the ball is in your court: Do you succumb or do you surmount?

Source: People matters 24 Jul, 2020

 

Are you an authentic leader?

The rapidly changing world of work requires agility, flexibility and adaptability of leadership styles and approaches to an ever-changing landscape. The current global pandemic has further accelerated the need for these skills and authentic leadership.

“I had no idea that being your authentic self could make me as rich as I’ve become. If I had, I’d have done it a lot earlier.” – Oprah Winfrey

It’s amazing how many of us have two sides to our personality, a ‘work me’ and a ‘home me’. At work, we often try to come across a certain way, whether it’s to garner more recognition or to fit in with our managers and colleagues; we end up changing ourselves and how we act. This is especially true in leadership, where managers often feel pressure to fit their personality to match their role. The problem is that by ‘acting the role’ of a leader, those around them often feel like they’re being lied to or deceived. 

Then leaders are stunned when their employees don’t like them, don’t trust them and end up leaving. But it could be better if individuals can remain authentic in their leadership approach, they can bring their whole self to work while still being effective, productive and inspiring leaders.

What is authentic leadership?

The idea of authentic leadership has been around for a long time, even if it was known by different names until Bill George’s book ‘Authentic Leadership’ popularised the term in 2003. Since then, the term has become business jargon, often overused and not well enough understood to be meaningful. But there is something behind the jargon – ideas and concepts that have been around for centuries that can help leaders lead people by having a sense of self-awareness, identity, honesty and passion.

We all have a different idea of what authentic leadership is, based on our own knowledge and experiences:

“At its most basic level, authenticity means being genuine – not a replica, not a copy or imitation. Authentic leadership holds making the most of our strengths, recognising and trading off our weaknesses and taking full self-accountability for the impact we have on others. What authentic leadership is not about is adopting the styles or traits of other leaders.” – Steve Robinson

The key behaviours of an authentic leader

The central component of authentic leadership is genuineness, which means every authentic leader is different. However, there are several markers that these leaders tend to share.

Authentic leaders:

Demonstrate behaviours which enable you to trust in them all of the time – they’re approachable, visible, and they show up in the same way each day

Take ownership when they have made a mistake and share responsibility for any mistake

Show the necessary courage to push further up the leadership chain, to question current status quo or defend their people or processes

Continually commit to their own learning in order to understand themselves as a person and how they and others see the world

Have an ability to get their ego out of the way - they truly empower and develop others

They influence and inspire others by revealing a bit about themselves – being an authentic leader means being human and building real connections with people

Deliver great outcomes over longer periods of time

There is a perceived level of expectation around what a great leader should do and how she/he should behave. These expected norms can create myths about leadership being inspirational, exhibiting unrelenting confidence, having unwavering decision making, showing unshakeable self-belief and revealing no signs of personal weakness. In authentic leadership, whilst some of these may well help in the execution of the role, the real test is somewhat more grounded.

Deep self-awareness: The foundation of building authentic leaders

Self-awareness builds and grows – it’s a lifelong journey of learning from experiences and being able to share these along the way. Self-aware leaders resonate with others by telling stories of success and defeat, of good times and tough times and of accomplishments and setbacks. Truly knowing their values – who they are, what do they believe in, what’s the right thing to do – for the right reason and in the right way is often all that leaders have to help navigate by when the deep mist of uncertainty prevails.

In being able to ‘lift their veil’ and reveal their true selves, authentic leaders transfer humility, credibility and trust to those around them. They generate believability by being ‘human’. People follow them not through the leader’s manipulation, carrot or stick strategy, or through threats or even because of their power or position – but through compelling influence. Authentic leaders demonstrate some vulnerability and at the same time fully understand their genuine influential ‘edge’ with others.

 Authentic leaders have a ferocious tenacity on the longer-term goals. They align their personal values, develop future leaders and build sustainable successful organizations.

In a world increasingly impatient for results and demanding immediate outcomes, authentic leadership is continuously tested. The pressures of instant delivery versus longer-term desirable outcomes are a true leadership tension in itself. Authentic leaders though, know what they can and can’t settle or compromise on in the short term – because it will impact on the longer-term outcome. 

How to be an authentic leader

An in-depth study by the Harvard Business Review of effective leaders ranging in ages from 23 to 93 found that there is no “cookie cutter leader”. Every person interviewed had a different idea of what an ideal leader looks like, with each individual having a unique combination of characteristics, traits, skills and styles that led to their own success. The one common theme was that all the leaders were consciously or subconsciously taking in their real-world experiences continuously, and using those experiences to frame who they were at their core. As a result, they found the “purpose of their leadership and learned that being authentic made them more effective”.

This study is one that we all can learn from, whether we’re managing other people professionally or not. That’s because the study shows that leaders are not born leaders; they become great leaders throughout the course of their life by taking in experiences and letting it guide them and their leadership style. Often we assume that strong leadership is innate, that you either have it or you don’t, and that employees will automatically be good leaders just because they’ve been promoted into that role. However, like most things, leadership is a skill that has to be learned, refined, and honed over time. Essentially, it’s a continuous learning journey. Applying that way of thinking is something that anyone can adopt well before they reach managerial level, or even before they enter the workforce.

“Authenticity is the alignment of head, mouth, heart, and feet - thinking, saying, feeling, and doing the same thing - consistently. This builds trust, and followers love leaders they can trust.” – Lance Secretan

The new reality of work requires agility, flexibility and adaptability of leadership styles and approaches. The current global pandemic has further accelerated the need for authentic leadership. The complexity is only expected to increase around technical, economic, financial and social issues as uncertainty looms over the entire world of work.

Perhaps all of us striving to be our unique, authentic selves will create a collective array of authentic perspectives, values and principles to complex situations. The tensions and conflict here will be vividly apparent but paradoxically this may also give rise to the existence of the one last bastion of stability – authenticity.

Source: People matters 05 Aug, 2020