Client Success Story: Sree Narayana Mission (Singapore)

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In this client success feature, we speak with S Devendran, the Chief Executive Officer of Sree Narayana Mission (Singapore). Sree Narayana Mission is an IPC charity that operates a nursing home, senior care centres, and runs outreach and assistance programmes.

The charity has been in consultation with Straits Interactive on its data protection journey and their CEO shares why it was important for them to do so.

Why did you and your team decide to go on a data protection journey for Sree Narayana Mission?

Sree Narayana Mission (Singapore) is an institution of public character (IPC) with charity status and we operate in the community care sector, where we run nursing homes and senior care centres, as well as in the social service sector, where we run a psychiatric welfare home for destitutes and a slew of community programmes for the less privileged.

In recent years, community organisations such as us have been encouraged to digitalise our operations, to be more productive, more effective and more efficient. These last two years, the pandemic has only underscored and emphasised the importance of going digital, and going digital brings a lot of benefits, but also brings risks.

The importance of data protection has been highlighted recently in the media with the reports of an increase in online scams, and we at SNM wanted to acquire a robust framework that would protect the data of all our clients, donors and members. This would extend not only to our systems, but also to our staff – by training them to be digitally astute and capable of fulfilling the needs of our donors and beneficiaries.

For more information on how to get your organisation started on its data protection journey, please schedule a 20-minute strategy call or contact sales@straitsinteractive.com to get your queries answered.

What had been your data protection strategy before this journey?

When I joined SNM in June 2016, my senior management team, my department heads, myself, together with the executive committee, we put an emphasis on ensuring that data was managed in a safe way and we conducted workshops and attended webinars organised by the Commissioner of Charities and other agencies on this issue.

The strategy was to follow our internal data protection policy for front-facing departments. When Covid-19 was upon us, staff started working remotely. Only then, with the rise in data breaches around the world, did we realise that everyone should be equipped with knowledge and skills to be able to handle data correctly.

We felt that staff ranging from healthcare attendants all the way up to CEO were vulnerable. Thus, equipping staff with the necessary knowledge was what we needed to do. In 2020, we formed a Digitalisation Sub-Committee that has provided expertise in assisting operations and guidance in terms of technology and digitalisation plans.

Have you faced any challenges on this journey and how have you overcome them?

There is a new way of looking at how we manage data and getting our people to see the importance and getting them to change the way they look at how we manage data was really the biggest challenge. Everyone has subscribed to the idea that managing data safely is an imperative, a non-negotiable imperative.

SNM is committed to enhancing its governance standards and tightening controls on data management is a step in the right direction. Our board is supportive of this and encourages meaningful innovations that would allow us to drive the organisation forward.

We have recognised that data protection would be a permanent, continual process that is integral both now and in the future. Straits Interactive’s DPOinBOX tool was found to be useful in this regard. Its comprehensive analysis of day-to-day processes in organisations allowed us to gain a cohesive overview and its ability to flag out potential weaknesses is a benefit that cannot be overstated.

To see what the DPOinBOX platform can do for your organisation, sign up for a free trial or contact us for a no-obligation, free walkthrough session.

What made you decide to work with Straits Interactive for your needs?

We did our background checks and found good feedback, good experiences from other customers of Straits Interactive, so they were the most suitable for our organisation’s requirements. In addition, Straits provided us with guidance in drawing up viable policies that we could implement. Their courses were eligible for government funding, which was a positive indication about their quality. Our main objective was to ensure that our staff were well-trained and equipped with capabilities that would enable them to not only develop positive practices but to also put in place policies and processes, in their respective departments.

It’s been a positive experience. Straits Interactive has been very forthcoming in sharing information and was able to deliver professional services to guide us. Their trainers were effective in sharing case studies and we gained familiarity with preventive measures and the importance of having a strong framework in place. We selected staff from different departments and sent them for a three-day hands-on training course on data protection. Straits understood our objectives and put together a team to facilitate the training. They also conducted an awareness session for all staff across our organisation.

How do you plan to maintain your best practices and keep up with the evolving data privacy landscape? And what advice would you have for others looking to prioritise data protection?

As SNM deals with the personal data of our clients and residents, we initially relied on system operators and their support, as we neither had the expertise nor the knowledge to handle changes in the data privacy landscape. The pressure to safeguard data only grew as we leveraged on more apps and digital platforms, whereby the data resides in cyberspace.

Our staff had to be equipped with the necessary technological know-how and be able to identify any possible areas of concern before we even embark on initiatives.

The guidance of our Digitalisation Sub-Committee, which comprises experts from various tech sectors, provided SNM with a view of the best practices that we should adopt in order to keep up with trends. One major lesson that we have learned during the COVID-19 pandemic is that not everything you see on the Internet is reliable, and that anyone can become a victim if not equipped with the knowledge to identify potential threats.

Personal data protection is a very important aspect for every organisation. Today, we are dealing with data security threats globally and we must be prepared to safeguard our data, especially for those of us operating in the charity sector. Implementing data protection is key for every organisation and should be a priority.