3 things Singaporean companies must realize about employees' privacy

32% of employees believe their company isn't transparent.

The Edelman Privacy Risk Index revealed a lack of preparedness in managing the potential financial and reputational damage relating to the loss or misuse of personal information by organisations.

Here's more from Edelman:

Businesses, particularly at a senior level, are not reacting quickly enough to data and security risk.

Lack of Emphasis: 70 percent of respondents in Singapore think their organization does not consider privacy and the protection of personal information to be a corporate priority, compared to 57 percent of respondents globally.

Lack of Resources: Meanwhile, 43 percent of respondents surveyed in Singapore say their organization does not have the expertise, training or technology, and 35 percent say the adequate resources, to protect personal information. This is significantly lower than the global scores of 62 and 55 percent respectively.

Lack of Transparency: One in three respondents (32 percent) believes their company is not transparent about what it does with employee and customer information.

The results are in stark contrast to the growing consumer and regulatory pressure on companies to handle personal data responsibly and securely. Businesses in Singapore are set to face similar scrutiny when the personal Data Protection Bill becomes an official act in January 2013. Companies in other parts of Asia as well as the European Union and Latin America will also see increased regulatory scrutiny due to new legislation that is coming into effect.

“The Edelman Privacy Risk Index findings shine a light on the worrying void between business’ privacy practices and consumer expectations about how their personal data is handled. From a communications and stakeholder engagement point of view, what is most concerning is the lack of clarity, transparency and emphasis around these practices which could lead to the loss of consumer trust,” said James Cook, Director, Technology for Southeast Asia, Edelman.

According to research undertaken by Edelman earlier this year, 85 percent of consumers around the world feel companies need to take data security and privacy more seriously, while 70 percent said they are more concerned about these issues than they were five years ago.

"With the growing level of consumer, media and regulatory attention currently focused on privacy, businesses simply cannot afford to risk the reputational and financial damage that may result from a lack of attention to this business critical need. Rather, we see an opportunity for businesses to grow confidence and trust in their brands through thoughtful privacy and data management,” offered Ben Boyd, global chair, corporate practice, Edelman.

Globally, the research also highlighted a lack of awareness of the potential risks related to data security and privacy incidents. Over half (53 percent) of respondents think a data breach would not adversely impact their reputation or financial position, despite nearly three quarters (71 percent) of consumers saying they would leave a company after a data breach.

Additionally, 57 percent of organizations believe that employees do not understand the importance of privacy and two thirds do not make an effort to educate employees about privacy and security issues