Client data

How to minimise mix-ups to protect your client data

There is a documentary that recently came out on Netflix called The Great Hack. It shows the rise of data as a global commodity, with companies tracking the unknowing public’s every move and collecting an eerie amount of data on each individual. Their likes, dislikes, political stance, sexuality, favourite ice cream, where they shop, their heart rate, health conditions, birthplace. The list goes on. They even have information as specific as knowing you’ve moved away from home but have family back in your hometown.

Whether you dive into such depths on your own customers, you’re likely to have at least some data on them. Even just basic details like names and addresses. But in the age of GDPR, protecting this information is key. So how can you prevent any accidents happening with any client data you hold?

Protecting client data

We can’t avoid it today. Data is everything. Everything is digital, often for the better, as it helps with efficiency and productivity tremendously in business. However, this increase in technology in the workplace brings a bigger duty to protect customer data from leaking, loss, or theft as a matter of privacy and sometimes safety of the individual. 

While technology often aids data leaks and data losses, it can also help you prevent them.

Minimise human error

As an estate or letting agent, you’ll always be working with many clients and professionals at one time. Your business will probably have access to these people’s sensitive data or personal information. GDPR laws are clear about the precautions you must put in place to minimise the risk of losing the data you hold on people and using it in ways they don’t consent to. You can read more about GDPR here. However, sometimes data breaches result from human error, rather than hacks or scams like we might expect. The cause of this is often disorganisation.

Staying organised

People, unlike computers, are prone to errors if we don’t put processes in place to minimise the risk. When organising your clients’ data, you need a secure place to store the information and a way to keep your leads, deals, and past clients in order to minimise the chance of mix-ups and accidental data sharing. 

If you’re multitasking and talking to several people throughout the day, it’s easy to become disorganised, dropping one thing to pick up another. But this can lead to confusion. For example, someone gives you a phone number, you write it down on a post-it and leave it for later, then someone else gives you another phone number for a local council worker, which you also write down. Later on, someone asks you to pass on the number for the council worker to discuss a property but you accidentally give out the first number, which belonged to the client. This is a huge breach caused by disorganisation.

Instead, aim to minimise the chances of small mixups like these. One of the best ways to do so is by investing in reliable technology that brings automation to your organisation process. With a Customer Relationship Management system, you can keep track of all your clients, conversations, referrals, and projects securely without having to spend time staying organised. The software does it for you. This makes it hard to misplace or mismanage customer data as everything you need is clear and easily accessible on-screen. 

Let us introduce you to our CRM – Agent Hub. For more information about how Agent Hub can revolutionise your property business, or to request a trial, visit our website or call us on 0203 637 6811.