As you may know, companies increasingly use customer service software to manage support requests.
So, complying with GDPR regulations inside these platforms is a must, even if the company has only one client from European Union.
The most popular helpdesk platform that many companies use to manage support requests and daily interaction with their customers is Zendesk.
Consequently, to comply with GDPR in Zendesk, you must take various measures to protect personal data from breaching and respect customers’ right to privacy.
In this article, we will discuss how to comply with GDPR obligations in Zendesk and how to treat your customers’ data quickly. Also, these basic principles can be used for any other helpdesk platform.
1.) Obtain Explicit Consent
Companies must obtain explicit customer consent before collecting and processing their personal data to comply with GDPR rules.
In Zendesk, you can use consent management tools to get and document customer consent.
In short, the consent management tools allow you to create consent forms that customers can fill out to provide explicit consent.
Also, the forms can be customized to meet specific GDPR requirements and can be integrated into the customer support process.
Take into account that this rule also applies to email marketing since you can’t send any email without the customers’ agreement.
Also, every existing or potential customer should be informed that emails they receive from your side are being tracked.
2. Provide Transparency
The essential requirement of GDPR is transparency. That means companies must inform customers about how their personal data will be used, who it will be shared with, and how long it will be stored.
So, privacy policies and terms of service are widely used to provide this information no matter what helpdesk they use, Zendesk or another.
Furthermore, the privacy policy and terms of service should be prominently displayed on the customer support portal and easily accessible to customers at any time.
Everyone who interacts with your company should have no doubts about their personal data safety.
3. Data Minimization
GDPR requires companies to collect and process only the minimum personal data necessary to provide customer support services.
In the Zendesk instance, you can use ticket forms only to collect the required personal data from customers.
Besides, ticket forms can be customized only to include the necessary fields. Take into account that those minimums can be different according to the company size and industry.
For example, only hospitals can collect and use sensitive data about patients’ health, and they are obliged to delete it after a certain period.
4. Security
Security is another crucial requirement of GDPR. That’s why companies must implement appropriate security measures to protect personal data.
At this point, Zendesk provides several security features, such as two-factor authentication, encryption, and data backups, which can help protect personal data.
You should carefully review and configure these features to ensure they meet specific GDPR obligations.
5. Respect Customers’ Rights
Every person has the right to access, forget, and delete their data. Hence, support agents can use the tools provided to enable customers to access their data and request corrections or deletions in the Zendesk instance.
Moreover, the company should promptly respond to customer requests and provide customers with clear and concise information about how their personal data is being used.
But deleting customers’ data in Zendesk can be complicated as bulk deletion and anonymizing options need to be included.
As a result, agents spend tons of time (from 1 to 4 hours a week) processing customers’ data natively in Zendesk.
However, GDPR Compliance software can be easily downloaded and installed from the Zendesk marketplace.
GDPR Compliance app helps quickly and efficiently remove, anonymize and even retrieve personal data from Zendesk.
You can create different types of users or organizational lists and combine them to exclude or intersect needed data.
Then, you choose the required list and launch the exact process. Also, schedule any procedure and select a specific frequency of the automatic data treatment based on your needs.
By the way, you can regulate the type of data that should be retained for internal statistics.
Moreover, GDPR Compliance completely anonymizes phone and credit card numbers as opposed to Zendesk, so support tickets with that crucial and sensitive information are still can be in the instance without any risks.
All these features make the GDPR Compliance app the best tool for your company to follow European privacy rules and increase customer trust.
6. Data Breach Notification Is A Must
In the event of a data breach, every company must notify customers and the relevant supervisory authority within 72 hours.
In their turn, Zendesk provides data breach notification tools to help companies comply with this requirement.
You or a specific employee in your company should carefully review and configure these tools to ensure they meet their particular GDPR obligations.
Wrapping up
In conclusion, complying with GDPR in Zendesk requires companies to take various measures to protect personal data and respect customers’ rights.
Zendesk provides several tools and features that can help you to achieve compliance. Still, it is important to carefully review and configure these features to ensure they meet specific GDPR obligations.
By implementing the measures outlined in this article, companies can ensure that they comply with GDPR in Zendesk and protect their customers’ data and respond to customers’ requests on time.
Besides, the GDPR Compliance tool for Zendesk will help you with this complex issue.
Ella Marcotte
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