A Glossary of Key Terms: Compliance & Security Jargon for HR Systems
In today’s fast-evolving landscape, HR and recruiting professionals navigate more than just talent acquisition; they’re also at the forefront of managing sensitive personal data. Understanding the nuanced language of compliance and security is no longer optional—it’s foundational to protecting your organization, safeguarding candidate information, and building trust. This glossary demystifies essential compliance and security jargon, providing clarity on terms crucial for robust HR operations, especially when leveraging powerful automation platforms like Keap.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
The GDPR is a comprehensive data privacy and security law established by the European Union. It imposes obligations on organizations anywhere in the world, so long as they target or collect data related to people in the EU. For HR professionals, GDPR dictates how employee and candidate data (e.g., resumes, personal details, performance reviews) must be collected, stored, processed, and protected. This includes obtaining explicit consent, respecting data subject rights (like the right to access or erasure), and implementing stringent security measures. In an automated HR system like Keap, compliance means configuring workflows to handle consent records, manage data retention periods, and process data subject access requests efficiently and compliantly, minimizing manual errors and ensuring transparency.
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
The CCPA is a state-specific data privacy law in California that grants consumers (including employees and job applicants who are California residents) extensive rights regarding their personal information. Similar to GDPR, it mandates transparency about data collection practices, provides consumers the right to know what data is being collected, the right to delete it, and the right to opt-out of its sale. HR systems must be configured to identify California residents, manage their specific privacy requests, and ensure that data handling practices align with CCPA requirements. For automation, this involves creating processes within Keap to log consent, track data deletion requests, and clearly communicate data privacy policies to relevant individuals, ensuring your recruiting and HR pipelines remain compliant.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
HIPAA primarily governs the privacy and security of health information. While often associated with healthcare providers, it becomes relevant to HR when organizations handle Protected Health Information (PHI) related to their employees, such as medical leave requests, wellness program data, or benefits enrollment information. HR departments must ensure that such sensitive health data is handled with the utmost confidentiality and security, preventing unauthorized access or disclosure. Automating processes that touch PHI requires careful consideration; for instance, any Keap integration or workflow that transmits health-related data for benefits administration must adhere to HIPAA’s technical, administrative, and physical safeguards, often necessitating specialized, compliant integrations or strict access controls within the system.
Service Organization Control 2 (SOC 2)
SOC 2 is an auditing procedure that ensures service providers securely manage data to protect the interests and privacy of their clients. It focuses on five “Trust Service Principles”: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. For HR professionals, understanding a vendor’s SOC 2 compliance is critical when evaluating third-party HR tech solutions (e.g., payroll providers, applicant tracking systems, or CRM platforms like Keap). A vendor’s SOC 2 report provides assurance that their systems and controls meet stringent security standards, protecting the sensitive employee and candidate data entrusted to them. When automating, ensuring your integrations and data flows with SOC 2-compliant partners maintain that security posture is paramount, preventing vulnerabilities in your data ecosystem.
ISO 27001
ISO 27001 is an international standard that outlines requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS). It provides a systematic approach to managing sensitive company information so that it remains secure. For HR, adhering to ISO 27001 principles means establishing robust policies and procedures for handling all forms of HR data, from recruitment to offboarding. This includes risk assessments, access controls, data backup, and incident response plans. When implementing automation with platforms like Keap, an ISO 27001 framework ensures that data processing activities, user access, and data transfers are consistent with documented security policies, providing a structured approach to protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of HR information.
Data Privacy
Data privacy refers to the individual’s right to control the collection, storage, and use of their personal information. In an HR context, this encompasses everything from a candidate’s resume to an employee’s performance reviews and personal contact details. Ensuring data privacy means implementing measures to protect this information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure, and respecting individuals’ preferences regarding their data. For automated HR systems, this translates into designing workflows in Keap that secure data at rest and in transit, obtain explicit consent for data usage, and provide mechanisms for individuals to exercise their privacy rights (e.g., requesting data deletion or access). A strong data privacy stance builds trust and reduces legal risks for the organization.
Data Breach
A data breach occurs when sensitive, confidential, or protected data is accessed or disclosed without authorization. This can range from a cyberattack compromising an applicant tracking system to an employee accidentally sending an email with personal data to the wrong recipient. For HR, a data breach involving employee or candidate information can have severe consequences, including significant financial penalties, reputational damage, and erosion of trust. Proactive measures, such as implementing strong encryption, multi-factor authentication, and regular security audits, are crucial. Automation platforms like Keap can assist in preventing breaches by enforcing access controls and automating data sanitization, but also play a critical role in incident response, enabling rapid communication with affected parties if a breach does occur, as mandated by many regulations.
Encryption
Encryption is the process of converting information or data into a code to prevent unauthorized access. When data is encrypted, it cannot be understood by anyone who does not have the corresponding decryption key. This is a fundamental security measure for protecting sensitive HR data, whether it’s stored on a server (data at rest) or transmitted across a network (data in transit). For HR systems, encryption safeguards candidate applications, employee records, payroll information, and more. When integrating various tools with Keap or storing sensitive data within its ecosystem, ensuring that both Keap and any integrated third-party applications utilize robust encryption protocols is essential. This layer of security provides critical protection against data breaches, even if unauthorized access to systems occurs.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is a security system that requires users to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to a resource such as an application, online account, or VPN. Instead of just a password, MFA might require a password plus a code sent to a mobile device, a fingerprint, or facial recognition. For HR systems, where access to sensitive employee and candidate data is critical, MFA significantly enhances security by adding an extra layer of protection beyond a single password. Implementing MFA for all HR users and, where possible, for third-party vendors accessing HR data, drastically reduces the risk of unauthorized access. Most modern platforms, including Keap, offer MFA capabilities which should be enforced organization-wide.
Access Control
Access control refers to security techniques that regulate who or what can view or use resources in a computing environment. In HR, this means defining which employees can access specific types of data—for instance, only hiring managers can view resumes for their specific roles, and only payroll personnel can access salary information. Implementing granular access control ensures that sensitive data is only available to those with a legitimate need. Automation in HR systems like Keap can streamline access control by linking user roles to specific data permissions, automatically adjusting access based on an employee’s department, seniority, or project involvement. This helps prevent accidental data exposure and reinforces compliance with privacy regulations.
Data Minimization
Data minimization is a principle that dictates that organizations should collect and process only the personal data that is absolutely necessary for their specified purpose. This means HR should only gather the information required for a job application, employment contract, or benefits administration, avoiding the collection of superfluous personal details. The less sensitive data an organization holds, the lower the risk in the event of a data breach. For automated HR systems, data minimization guides the design of forms and data entry points within Keap, ensuring that only essential fields are collected. It also influences data retention policies, promoting the timely deletion of data no longer needed, thereby reducing the overall data footprint and associated risks.
Consent Management
Consent management refers to the process of obtaining, recording, and managing individuals’ permissions for the collection and processing of their personal data. With regulations like GDPR and CCPA, explicit and informed consent is often required before HR can use a candidate’s or employee’s data for certain purposes. This includes consent for background checks, reference checks, or marketing communications. Automated systems, particularly CRM platforms like Keap, are invaluable for consent management. They can automate the delivery of consent forms, track consent statuses, and ensure that individuals can easily withdraw consent. Proper consent management not only ensures legal compliance but also builds trust with candidates and employees by demonstrating respect for their privacy choices.
Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM)
Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) is the process of identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks associated with outsourcing to third-party vendors, suppliers, and service providers. In HR, this is crucial because many organizations rely on external vendors for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), payroll, background checks, HRIS, and other critical services. Each of these vendors handles sensitive employee and candidate data, introducing potential security and compliance risks. TPRM involves due diligence, contract review (ensuring data protection clauses), ongoing monitoring of vendor security practices, and regular audits. When integrating HR systems with Keap and other platforms, a robust TPRM strategy ensures that all connected systems and their providers meet stringent security and compliance standards, preventing a weak link in your data security chain.
Data Retention Policy
A data retention policy is a set of guidelines that dictates how long an organization must keep certain types of data. These policies are critical for HR due to legal requirements (e.g., IRS, EEOC, FLSA) for retaining employee tax records, I-9 forms, and applicant data, as well as privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) that mandate data deletion when it’s no longer necessary. A clear data retention policy helps minimize the risk of holding onto sensitive data longer than required, reducing the potential impact of a data breach and ensuring compliance. Automation in HR systems like Keap can greatly assist in enforcing these policies by setting up automated data archival, anonymization, or deletion workflows based on predefined timelines, simplifying compliance and reducing manual oversight.
Audit Trail
An audit trail, also known as an audit log, is a chronological record of events, usually electronic, that provides documentary evidence of the sequence of activities that have affected a specific operation, procedure, or event. In HR, audit trails are essential for tracking who accessed or modified employee records, applicant data, or payroll information, and when. This capability is vital for demonstrating compliance with privacy regulations, investigating security incidents, and ensuring accountability. Robust HR systems, including Keap, should provide detailed audit trails for all critical actions. When automating workflows, ensure that your setup inherently logs relevant activities, such as changes to a candidate’s status, consent updates, or data exports, providing a clear, verifiable history of data processing activities.
If you would like to read more, we recommend this article: Keap Automation Consulting: Your Blueprint for Future-Proof Talent Management
