Working with third parties

Who are you working with?

Most organizations rely on at least one but more often several third-party service providers to help them run their business. These providers are incredibly valuable to helping us with things like payroll, accounting, employee benefits, program administration, IT services…. the list goes on.  

We typically find these providers either through word of mouth, through online searches or from the recommendations of others, and screen them based on their offerings and price point. 

This is a really important place to start, but does your screening also include a review of their privacy and security standards?  

Once you’ve signed with your provider, are you doing regular check-ups on their privacy and security program?  

You should be.  

Even though you are outsourcing the service, you are not outsourcing overall responsibility for the data that flows through that program/service/platform. When the service experiences a breach, it’s your data, not to mention your reputation and your business, that is at risk.  If you are doing some screening, do you know what you should be looking for? 

Here are 5 questions to ask when selecting a vendor.