In the joint project “TrUSD – Transparent and self-determined design of data usage in companies”, Fraunhofer IESE and its project partners developed a practice-oriented and legally compliant approach for technology-supported employee data privacy. In this way, a bridge was built between the potential offered by data analytics and employees’ right to privacy.
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The increasing digitalization in the world of work opens up the possibility for companies to collect and evaluate extensive data on various work processes. On the one hand, this development forms the basis for process optimizations; on the other hand, it presents companies with new challenges in terms of employee data protection and data security.
The collection, transfer, storage, and evaluation of personal data in a company, in particular, entails the risk of inadmissible monitoring and touches on issues of employees’ informational self-determination and the associated legal regulations (e.g., the European General Data Protection Regulation). Currently, however, employees generally have neither the knowledge nor the possibility to understand the collected data, its processing, and the associated consequences for their privacy (transparency), let alone to control it (self-determination).
In the project TrUSD, a practice-oriented and legally compliant approach for technology-supported employee data protection was therefore developed: Privacy dashboards enable companies to provide their employees with both transparency about company data processing procedures and self-determination possibilities regarding data processing. In addition, companies are supported by a participatory process model developed in TrUSD. This enables them to strengthen the organization-wide trust and work culture and at the same time allows them to benefit from business-enhancing analyses with personal data released by employees in a self-determined manner.
The project builds a bridge between the potential of comprehensive data analytics in organizations and the employees’ right to privacy. The requirements of employees, employee representatives (e.g., works councils, staff councils, trade unions) and employers with regard to employee privacy are reconciled better so that a fair balance of interests is achieved.
Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE