Striving to bring responsible innovations to the markets they serve, the PLDT Group Privacy Office recently organized a forum to strengthen the commitment of the company’s leaders and employees in upholding the highest standards of data privacy.
“This initiative is anchored on our commitment to deliver superior customer experience – something significantly influenced by how well we are able to protect data entrusted to us by our millions of customers,” said Alfredo S. Panlilio, PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications, Inc. President and CEO.
Held in time to mark the Global Data Privacy Day, Commissioner John Henry Du Naga of the National Privacy Commission, Nicole Stephensen, Founder of Ground Up Consulting, and the telco’s in-house experts and leaders underscored how technology and privacy can go hand-in-hand when it comes to customer-centricity.
“To have good customer experience does not mean foregoing technology or vice versa. We are changing that mindset and putting privacy as an integral part of our design,” said Alex G. Seminiano, PLDT Chief Information Officer.
For PLDT Chief Data Privacy Officer Leah Besa-Jimenez, taking the lead in this campaign means seeking to implement the best practices. “It’s setting the tone for our people to respect and protect privacy in the way we design our products and services, even in the way we work together.”
Amid the mobility restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the company was able to quickly adapt to a hybrid work setup, giving employees the tools to ensure that data is protected.
“Our data privacy foundations have to be sound for us to work in an agile way. Since data is an essential component in our work, we are putting data privacy at the core of human resource,” said Gina P. Ordoñez, Chief People Officer at PLDT and Smart.
Alongside data privacy, the telco has also been a staunch advocate of cyber security, teaching Filipinos how to identify online threats and mitigate cybersecurity risks.
“Privacy and security always go together. We also need to build a cyber security mindset. We all know that an organization with a Culture of Cyber Security results in the highest level of data protection and data privacy,” said Angel T. Redoble, PLDT Chief Information Security Officer.
The forum is part of a broader PLDT program to elevate customer experience and equip its employees as data privacy champions for customers.