Introduction

We live in unprecedented times. The rapid pace and spread of digital technologies has fundamentally and globally transformed the way we connect, the way we learn, the way we do business, and, incredibly personal to our mission, the way we engage and hire talent. A byproduct of this expansive interconnectivity is the tremendous explosion of data now produced on a continuous basis. To put data levels into perspective, and according to a recent Cisco forecast report, it would take more than 5 million years for an individual to watch the amount of video (as one example) that crosses global IP networks each month in the year 2020.* 5 million years! Attempting to comprehend this amount of data is unfathomable, and, yet, poses real challenges to organizations operating around the globe, requiring them to think differently about how to process, transfer, store, and protect this enormous amount of data.

Elsewhere, this level of data presents serious challenges in the form of privacy concerns, specific to the dissemination and accessibility of personal data. A consequence, for better or worse, of living in this digital age is the sheer volume of personal data necessary for online transactions, whether applying for a job, engaging in social networking, or purchasing professional services, among other interactions. Data privacy concerns have prompted a number of government and regulatory agencies around the globe to take action via creation of new legislation aimed at the security and protection of personal data. Consequently, this legislation imposes new obligations on those businesses who process and collect personal data – and this includes the data you collect from applicants as part of your recruiting process.

Specifically, the General Data Protection Regulation is one such piece of legislation that could have a major impact on the recruiting data collected by our customers during their recruiting process.