2 January 2018
SalonIQ introduction to GDPR in hair and beauty salons
By now you will have probably heard the term GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) banded about, some of you will have probably ignored it and others will be panicking.
Keep Calm – GDPR is a good thing. Yes, for Salons it may feel like just more bureaucracy and red tape, but if you start preparing now then it will have little impact on your salon operations and in fact should make you more efficient as you review your processes.
This Blog on GDPR is intended as your first ‘gentle’ introduction. GDPR comes into effect in May 2018. It is a major update on the Data Protection Act and it is something none of us can ignore. As a software company, we will do what is required to ensure we are fully GDPR compliant and enhance our software to make it easier for you the salon owner to also be compliant. GDPR covers all aspects of collecting, processing and accessing data. So it will cover your Website, privacy policies, paper records, and computer records. It covers your clients and your employees, your systems and processes, every salon will need to take action of some sort. Unfortunately, it is a minefield and many aspects are still left to interpretation.
As a software company, we will do what we can to make implementing GDPR in your salon as simple as possible. We have already begun the salon GDPR journey and you will notice changes in the software, which are intended to help make your salon GDPR compliant. For example, when a client registers for online booking, they now have to “opt-in” to receive newsletters and marketing material from the salon.
Would you like to know how SalonIQ helps salons just like yours stay protected? Book your free demo now and learn why we are trusted and used by the UK’s best salons!
Historically this would have been an automatic opt-in, which is not acceptable under GDPR
Getting Started with data protection in Your Salon
Salon owners are going to need to take steps to make sure they are compliant and some good resources for salon owners include: https://ico.org.uk/media/1624219/preparing-for-the-gdpr-12-steps.pdf and https://www.nhf.info/news/the-introduction-of-general-data-protection-regulations/ and FAQ’s at https://www.eugdpr.org/gdpr-faqs.html To get started we recommend you download the ICO 12-step plan above, read through it and then start working through each step. It is worth starting an internal document to track and record your approach to GDPR. E.g. Step 1: Awareness, what steps you have taken to inform your team of the upcoming changes and the possible areas of impact.
Salon software and GDPR
From a salon software company’s point of view, there are specific areas that we need to assist salons in, primarily around the areas such as:
We will be looking at each of these in more detail and address them in future GDPR-specific articles. Probably the most complex and controversial is around consent, as most salons have numerous communications with their clients with text and email reminders, and email and text marketing. Our next blog will cover this in more detail.
SalonIQ and GDPR
In addition to the steps the salon owner has to do and as a business SalonIQ also has additional responsibilities as a “data processor” and “data controller” in terms of how we store, access and use data, so as well as help you the salon owner through your GDPR related issues we are undertaking our own GDPR audit and systems review. But as indicated at the beginning, accept GDPR as a good thing and you can use it to improve your business.
Booked your free SalonIQ demo yet? – come and see what all the fuss is about!
Call a member of our team today on 01892 280 123
