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The Importance of Accessible GDPR Training for Employees in 2024
Antara Harve
March 4, 2024

The Importance of Accessible GDPR Training for Employees in 2024

With the boundaries getting blurred between the physical and virtual worlds, data breaches and cybersecurity have become critical for businesses. In 2023 Q1, 6.41 million data records were leaked, impacting millions of individuals and businesses across every vertical. 

Data privacy threats are becoming more sophisticated. To counter this, the European Union developed the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Non-compliant businesses can incur heavy penalties. Therefore, GDPR compliance training becomes critical. 

This blog explores what GDPR compliance is and how employee GDPR awareness programs should be more inclusive to make it widespread. 

Table of Contents:

What is GDPR Compliance Training? 

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a data security law that applies to businesses collecting, storing, and processing the personal data of EU citizens. GDPR is a set of strict regulations that safeguard citizens’ digital data and privacy. Any violation can result in legal and financial consequences. 

That being said, it becomes important to have an employee GDPR awareness training program. GDPR compliance training helps businesses understand various data privacy topics and understand its nuances to prevent penalties or legal obligations.

Also Read: Why is Compliance Training Important in 2024?

Importance of GDPR Compliance Training

Do you know that 8 out of 10 companies in the United States took proactive steps to comply with the GDPR? And this trend will not slow down in the future, for obvious reasons. There are several legal, financial, and business benefits attached to training employees for GDPR awareness. Let’s quickly see them: 

  • Enhanced Data Privacy: GDPR compliance training makes it easier for stakeholders to comprehend the technical and legal aspects of GDPR and take proactive steps to protect users’ data. 
  • Increased Trust Factor and Goodwill: Your business’s commitment to protecting digital data will not only increase the trust among your clients but also enhance your goodwill. 
  • Better Risk Management: Compliance training enables you to identify potential security pitfalls and resolve them swiftly. This way, you can lower the chances of data breaches and subsequent fines. 
  • Avoid Legal and Financial Consequences: According to a report, GDPR violations have led to over €1.67 billion worth of fines. Adhering to GDPR means you can avoid legal and financial consequences in terms of lawsuits or penalties. 

Now, we know how crucial it is to get comprehensive knowledge about the GDPR guidelines and be compliant. However, not all can access the training material. The reasons can be many. For example, people with disabilities such as low vision or color blindness can face difficulties in comprehending certain modules. 

So, what’s the solution? 

Simple. It’s vital to have an ADA-compliant training module. In the next part of this blog, we will examine what inclusivity is in GDPR compliance and why it is of great consequence. 

What is ADA-compliant GDPR Training?

ADA, or Americans with Disability Act, warrants that all the GDRP compliance training resources are built on the four design fundamentals such as: 

  • Perceivable
  • Operable
  • Understandable 
  • Robust 

Let us understand inclusive employee education with an example: You have prepared a video presentation about GDPR guidelines. For an employee with a hearing impairment, such as partial loss of hearing, comprehending the content takes work. Adding closed captions (CC) to the video will make the resource accessible for hearing impairment. 

Why is Accessibility in Data Privacy Training Crucial? 

Accessibility in compliance training has numerous advantages. Here, we have listed why ADA-compliant training for GDPR is significant for business. 

1. Promotes Inclusivity 

As we are progressing, the workplaces are becoming inclusive. In 2022, the US workforce comprised 21% of people with disabilities. Accessible training resources promote inclusivity in GDPR compliance. It ensures that differently-abled employees have equal access to training opportunities, motivating them to participate more in adhering to GDPR guidelines. 

For example, the training resource contains PPT presentations. Make sure the PPT content is compatible with assistive technology, such as screen readers, to allow people with visual impairment to understand the content. 

2. Better Learning Curve

With the easy-to-navigate and accessible design, ADA-compliant training material can engage people with disabilities more effectively, thus making the learning curve steeper. Such GDPR compliance training courses have alternative content formats like audio description or alt text.

Besides, incorporating assistive technologies provides an enhanced learning experience. Take integrating text magnifiers,  for instance. Someone who has difficulty reading normal fonts can use an in-built magnifier to comprehend the resource. 

3. ADA Compliance 

Apart from ADA compliance, there are a few more global accessibility standards businesses need to adhere to – whether it is about the workplace or training modules.

These standards have certain guidelines for designing and developing accessible digital content, such as providing transcripts, alt-image text, or closed captions. Following these compliance standards encourages more inclusion in GDPR training, giving equal access to all individuals. 

4. Creates Future-oriented Training Modules 

The world is changing fast. Training courses need to be future-proof with more advanced devices and assistive technologies making their way into the mainstream.

Accessibility to data training resources accommodates future learning needs. You don’t have to retrofit or update the learning modules to ensure compatibility with evolving technology. 

Let’s understand with an example: A higher font color contrast ratio will ensure the content is easy to read for people with color blindness, regardless of the device. Such intuitive and easy-to-navigate content can be optimized effortlessly for various future innovations. 

Also Read: The Future of Accessibility Compliance in 2024: Emerging Technologies and Opportunities

Want Help in ADA-compliant GDPR Training? 

Acknowledging the importance of accessibility and inclusion, GDPR compliance training is not only a legal responsibility but also a moral obligation. 

With ADA-compliant training, individuals with disabilities can break the barriers. They can participate in learning, understanding, and implementing GDPR guidelines independently and effortlessly. 

If you are looking for customizable, scalable, and inclusive employee education solutions, contact Hurix Digital. We are one of the leading companies specializing in creating ADA-compliant training modules. Our experts work closely with you to understand your unique requirements and offer solutions that align with your vision.

What are you waiting for? Schedule a call today.