The NAID policy and training workshops are a big deal, and here’s why
October 16, 2012
As this NAIDnotes blog entry gets posted, I will be conducting the first ever NAID-Canada Data Destruction Policy and Training Development Workshop for end users in Regina, Saskatchewan.
The audience consists of about 35 information management professionals representing the largest health care providers in the area. Now, I know someone out there is probably thinking, “Only 35 people? That’s not such a big deal.”
But it is a big deal. Just take a minute to think of what you would give to spend half of a day with the information management decision makers at the top 35 health care organizations in your city. And, what if your presentation also had the full backing of the regional information protection authority for your province or state? In Canada, that authority is the Information and Privacy Commissioner and in the U.S. it is the attorney general. And, what if the leader of that regulatory authority opened your session by describing the importance of proper destruction policies and training? And, what if the attendees were so attracted by the offering they each paid $99 to go through the training?
In one morning, NAID will have helped all the top health care organizations in Regina develop their destruction policies and training programs in one fell swoop. It will drastically affect the way the city’s entire health care sector disposes of their paper and IT assets from here forward, including how they evaluate the services they hire to assist them.
Now that’s a big deal.
Do you know what is an even bigger deal? After years of experimentation, largely conducted by NAID-Canada, NAID has found the recipe to conduct similar events in cities across North America. Keep in mind, Regina, Saskatchewan is a relatively small market. But, with the right local support, the attractive NAID tools (e.g., the Compliance Toolkit, training program, NAID Certification), and the rising stakes of non-compliance, I would be very surprised if you did not see NAID hosting half a dozen workshops in the next year and twice that many the following year.
Now, here’s the thing I really want you to take away from this blog post. There is nothing stopping NAID members from doing the same thing on their own. They have access to everything I do. They have the CTK, they have the training program and video, and they can be NAID Certified. Rest assured, I will be pushing for NAID to conduct as many of these types of events as possible, maybe even partnering with groups of NAID members in specific regions. However, nothing would make me happier than seeing members host similar workshops for their communities.
One way or another, more data destruction policy and training development workshops are in the works. And, no matter how they happen, it will mean good things for NAID members. To see more detail on what NAID is doing in Regina and Toronto, click here.