Updated 7/6/2023
The 5 ways PeopleHR ensures HR Software security that we'll be covering:
Having robust HR security measures in place helps to protect the sensitive and personal data of your employees. And if you’re considering Access PeopleHR as your HR software provider of choice, then it is worth knowing the protocols we have in place to ensure your data is kept safe and secure.
With that in mind, this article aims to cover 5 ways we ensure HR software security here at Access PeopleHR. Whilst this article will focus specifically on our company, it’s important to note that each software provider is different. We strongly advise potential clients to carry out thorough research before deciding on the best-fit HR software provider for them.
Before we dive into our five points, we’ll firstly consider why HR security is important and how HR software can help protect your data.
Why is HR security important?
HR security is important because it helps to protect the sensitive and personal data of employees. HR software is used to store and manage a wide range of data, including information about employee benefits, salary, and performance, as well as personal details such as names, addresses, and social security numbers. This data is vulnerable to security threats, such as data breaches and unauthorised access, which can have serious consequences for both employees and the business.
Ensuring the security of HR data is crucial for compliance with data protection laws and regulations, as well as for maintaining the trust and confidence of employees and the public. It is also important for protecting the reputation of your business and for maintaining business continuity in the event of a security incident.
Overall, HR security is essential for protecting the sensitive data of employees and for ensuring the responsible and ethical use of this data.
We’ll now look at 5 ways that PeopleHR ensures software security.
1. You own your data
When you are a PeopleHR customer, you are the owner of your data. This can be explained by referring to you as the ‘data controller’ and PeopleHR as the ‘data processor’.
As the data controller, your business determines the purposes for which (and the means by which) personal data is processed. A data controller is responsible for complying with data protection laws and for ensuring that the processing of personal data is carried out in a fair and transparent manner.
As a data processer, PeopleHR processes personal data on behalf of you, the data controller. A data processor is responsible for carrying out the instructions of the data controller and for ensuring that appropriate technical and organisational measures are in place to protect the personal data.
There are several reasons why it is important for businesses to own their HR data:
- Data privacy: Businesses have a responsibility to protect the personal and sensitive data of their employees. Owning your HR data allows you to have full control over how this data is collected, stored, and used. Some companies will have a department known as ‘Security HR’, but for small businesses, this is usually the responsibility of the business owner, office manager or other senior team member.
- Data accuracy: HR data is an important source of information for making decisions about your workforce. Owning your HR data allows you to ensure that the data is accurate and up-to-date, as well as to implement processes for correcting any errors or inconsistencies.
- Data security: HR data can be sensitive and vulnerable to security threats, such as data breaches and unauthorised access. Owning your HR data allows you to implement appropriate security measures to protect this data.
- Compliance: There are numerous laws and regulations that govern the collection, storage, and use of HR data. Owning your HR data allows you to ensure that you are in compliance with these laws and regulations.
- Business continuity: In the event of a disaster or other disruption, businesses need to have access to their HR data in order to continue operations and support your employees. Owning your HR data allows you to maintain control over this critical information.
2. You’re in control of your data when you leave
We understand that there may come a time when you decide to cancel your subscription with Access PeopleHR. And a common question we get asked is, is there a cost to export our data out of PeopleHR if we leave?
The simple answer to this question is no. You have the right to request a copy of your HR data (via a data export) from us and to transfer this data to a new provider or to another storage location. We can easily carry out a data export upon request.
However, we have the right to retain copies of the data for a certain period of time for legal or business purposes. You will find that this is a common requirement across the board.
It is important to carefully review the terms of your contract with your chosen provider and to discuss your data ownership rights with them. You may also want to seek legal advice to ensure that your rights are protected.
In general, it is a good idea to have a plan in place for transferring your HR data when cancelling your subscription, including provisions for securing and protecting the data during the transfer process.
3. Transparency on who can see your data
As we’ve mentioned, your HR data contains personal and sensitive information about your business and your employees. It’s understandable that you’d want to know who can see/access your data.
So, who can see your data? Put simply, you decide who gets to see/access certain data. During the implementation process, you will set your admin(s). From there, personal data is kept private within the system. Unless a user has access rights (i.e. your admin(s)), they are not able to view the personal details of other employees in the company.
Our permission management functions enable administrators to grant access to an employee based on certain criteria, for example, their job role, department, and so on. Administrators are also able to control what data that person can see. Let’s say you have an employee who is responsible for staff training. You may wish to grant them access to employees’ training records but restrict their access to salary information. This allows you to keep relevant information secure, whilst not hindering the work of those with specific roles and responsibilities.
A small number of vetted and authorised Access personnel may access your data at your request as there may be circumstances where this is necessary for the efficient use of your HR system.
4. Vigilant compliance
Compliance plays a crucial role in protecting your HR data security. It ensures both parties handle employee data in a legal and ethical manner. There are laws and regulations that govern the collection, storage, and use of HR data. You will have heard of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
This law establishes strict requirements for protecting personal data. It gives individuals certain rights with respect to their data, such as the right to access, correct, and delete their data.
HR software providers and businesses that use HR software are responsible for ensuring compliance with these laws and regulations. This involves implementing appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect HR data. It also involves establishing processes for responding to requests from individuals related to their data.
Access PeopleHR takes a variety of measures to protect your data, including:
- Secure coding practices: We follow best practices for writing code and implementing security measures. For example, we input validation and escaping, to prevent vulnerabilities from being introduced in the first place.
- Secure servers and hosting environments: We host our software on servers that are configured with appropriate security measures. For example, firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and regular security updates.
- Access controls: We implement strict controls to ensure that only authorised users can access the system. This can include measures such as strong passwords, two-factor authentication, and role-based access controls.
- Regular testing: We regularly test our software for vulnerabilities using tools such as vulnerability scans and regular penetration testing. These are conducted by a third party to ensure compliance.
- Security training: Our employees are given security training to ensure that they are aware of how to identify and prevent security threats, as well as how to respond to security incidents.
- Incident response plans: We have plans in place for responding to security incidents. This includes measures such as incident response protocols and breach notification procedures.
Our software is also hosted in Access data centres, further adding to security.
To recap, we take a variety of measures to protect data, including implementing secure coding practices, hosting software on secure servers, implementing access controls, regularly testing for vulnerabilities, providing security training, and having incident response plans in place.
In general, it is a good idea to choose a HR software provider that has strong data protection policies in place and that is transparent about how it uses and protects your data. You should also consider implementing appropriate security measures within your own organisation to ensure HR security.
5. Complete security support
We understand that our clients rely on our software to manage and protect important employee data. We are committed to providing the highest level of support to ensure that our clients have a seamless and positive experience with our software.
We have a team of dedicated support professionals who are always on hand to assist with any questions or issues that may arise. Whether you need help with a technical issue or have a question about how to use a particular feature, we are here to help.
We also offer a variety of resources, such as online tutorials and user guides, to help our clients get the most out of our software. We are also constantly updating our software to ensure that it meets the latest security standards and stays ahead of emerging threats.
We value our clients and are committed to providing the support and resources they need to succeed. Please don't hesitate to reach out to us anytime if you have any queries about our HR software security. We are always here to help.
Learn more about HR software security
By now, you should be a bit more clued up on how Access PeopleHR ensures your HR security. The measures we take are there to maintain the trust and confidence of your employees and members of the public, whilst being there to protect the reputation of your business.
By choosing a HR software provider that takes appropriate measures to protect data and by implementing appropriate security measures within your own organisation, you can help maintain effective HR data security.
If you would like to learn more about our security measures here at PeopleHR, visit our security page. Or, if you have any further questions about HR security, get in touch with an expert today.
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