If you want to know what is really going on in a workplace, ask the admin staff!
It is the nature of admin work – we wouldn’t be able to do our work without access to all sorts of information, authorised or off-the-record, super-confidential or (soon to be) widely available. Considering the access admin staff have to information, you want to trust that they will adhere to principles of privacy and confidentiality. In other words, getting back to my first statement, you can ask the admin staff about what is going on, but their standard response should be along the lines of “if I told you, I’d have to kill you”.
In my own experience, I’ve been entrusted with monitoring and managing emails for executives, reconciling credit card statements, processing credit card payments, or assisting with recruitment processes. These tasks involved handling information which had to be treated confidentially and handled carefully, in accordance with legislative requirements and guidelines, codes in place at that workplace.
If the work I do for you involves sensitive or highly confidential information, you can be assured that the information will be safe and secure. The Privacy Act 1988 applies only to businesses with a turnover of over $3 million, but its principles provide a framework which can be applied by a business of any size to ensure information is safe. Applying those principles to my business means:
- Using information only for its intended purpose
- Keeping information secure while in my possession
- Not sharing information with other parties, unless requested to do so
- Answering questions about what personal information I have and how I handle it
- Being up-to-date with legal obligations regarding compliance with privacy guidelines.
If you require specific measures regarding the safe-keeping of information (e.g. password protecting documents or shredding information once it is used), I am willing and able to accommodate such requests.
Another piece of legislation to know about, if the work involves email marketing or mailing lists, is the Spam Act 2003. The requirements of this Act include that permission (inferred or express) is given prior to sending out marketing emails. The emails must clearly identify the sender’s identity, contain the sender’s contact and provide the option to unsubscribe.
Your privacy and that of your clients, will always be respected, and information provided will be protected.
If you have any queries about privacy and confidentiality please contact me to discuss.