CANDIDATE PRIVACY NOTICE

Who are we?

We are H.I. Executive Consulting (H.I.E.C) with offices in London, Munich, New York, Hong Kong, among others. For the full list of our offices, please refer to the Contacts page on this website. We provide executive search services to clients looking to recruit senior executives for their businesses.

What does this Policy cover?

We at H.I.E.C take your personal data seriously. This policy:

  • Sets out the types of personal data that we collect about you
  • Explains how and why we collect and use your personal data
  • Explains how long we keep your personal data for
  • Explains when, why and with who we will share your personal data;
  • Sets out the legal basis we have for using your personal data;
  • Explains the effect of refusing to provide the personal data requested;
  • Explains the different rights and choices you have when it comes to your personal data; and
  • Explains how we may contact you and how you can contact us.

What personal data do we collect about you?

We collect the information necessary to be able to find available opportunities and further information needed to assess your eligibility through the different stages of recruitment. This information includes CVs, identification documents, educational records, work history, employment and references, and interview reports.

We do not collect sensitive personal data about you, personal data meaning data regarding racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, genetic or biometric data or information concerning an individual’s health, sex life, sexual orientation and criminal convictions information.

Where do we collect personal data about you from?

The following are the different sources we may collect personal data about you from:

  • Directly from you.This is information you provide while searching for a new opportunity and/or during the different recruitment stages.
  • Through publicly available sources.We use the following public sources:
    • LinkedIn
    • Xing
    • Company websites
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • News Articles
  • By Reference or word of mouth. For example, you may be recommended by a friend, a former employer, a former colleague or even a present employer. As our clients expect us to provide accurate and up to date information about all circumstances regarding a candidate, we rely on background checks and informal references. This helps us to gain market knowledge in a specific industry sector. If during this research something unexpected comes up, we will contact you and give you the opportunity to comment.

How and why we use your personal data?

We use your personal data to match your skills, experience and education with a potential employer. We will initially collect basic information on you such as contact details, job role and experience and then pass this on to the client on whose behalf we are acting. If you are chosen by the client and go through to the next stage we will then be collecting more information from you at the interview (or equivalent) stage and onwards in that manner.

How long do we keep your personal data for?

We only retain your information for as long as is necessary for us to use your information as described above or to comply with our legal obligations. However, please be advised that we may retain some of your information after you cease to use our services, for instance if this is necessary to meet our legal obligations, such as retaining the information for tax and accounting purposes.

When determining the relevant retention periods, we will take into account factors including:

  • (a) Our contractual obligations and rights in relation to the information involved;
  • (b) Legal obligation(s) under applicable law to retain data for a certain period of time;
  • (c) Statute of limitations under applicable law(s);
  • (d) (Potential) disputes;
  • (e) If you have made a request to have your information deleted; and
  • (f) Guidelines issued by relevant data protection authorities.

Otherwise, we securely erase your information after three years.

Who do we share your personal data with?

Your personal data is shared with the client who initiates a search for a senior executive in relation to the search for which you are considered, to ascertain whether you are a good fit for the available position. In addition, your personal data is shared within the H.I.E.C group of companies, some of which are located outside of the European Economic Area (EEA). For further information on these data transfers outside the EEA, see below. We might also share your personal data with data processers acting on our behalf. We use the services of the executive search database Invenias (www.invenias.com). We also use the support of an IT-Service company who may during their work have access to your data. Additionally, we use executive talent assessment platform Wisnio only when the client agrees to integrate it in the search process. Candidates and clients who accept to participate in the assessment process through Wisnio can view their full data privacy details at: www.wisnio.com/privacy-policy

What legal basis do we have for using your information?

For prospective candidates, referees and clients, our processing is necessary for our legitimate interests in that we need the information in order to be able to assess suitability for potential roles, to find potential candidates and to contact clients and referees. If you are shortlisted as a candidate, then this may involve the processing of more detailed personal data including sensitive data such as health information that you or others provide about you. In that case we always ask for your consent before undertaking such processing. For clients, we may also rely on our processing being necessary to perform a contract for you, for example in contacting you.

What happens if you do not provide us with the information we request or ask that we stop processing your information?

If you do not provide the personal data necessary, or withdraw your consent for the processing of your personal data, we may not be able to match you with available job opportunities.

Do we make automated decisions concerning you?

No, we do not carry out automated profiling.

Do we use Cookies to collect personal data on you?

To provide better service to you on our websites, we use cookies to collect your personal data when you browse. See our cookie policy for more details.

Do we transfer your data outside the EEA?

To better match your employee profile with current opportunities we may transfer your personal data to clients and partners in countries outside the EEA. Also, as mentioned, we will be sharing your personal data among the H.I.E.C group of companies.These countries’ privacy laws may be different from those in your home country. Where we transfer data to a country which has not been deemed to provide adequate data protection standards we always have security measures and approved model clauses in place to protect your personal data. To find out more about how we safeguard your information as related to transfers contact us on dataprotection@hiec.com.

What rights do you have in relation to the data we hold on you?

By law, you have a number of rights when it comes to your personal data. Further information and advice about your rights can be obtained from the data protection regulator in your country.

Rights What does this mean?
1.     The right to be informed
You have the right to be provided with clear, transparent and easily understandable information about how we use your information and your rights. This is why we’re providing you with the information in this Policy.
1.     The right to be informed You have the right to be provided with clear, transparent and easily understandable information about how we use your information and your rights. This is why we’re providing you with the information in this Policy.
2.     The right of access
You have the right to obtain access to your information (if we’re processing it), and certain other information (similar to that provided in this Privacy Policy). This is so you’re aware and can check that we’re using your information in accordance with data protection law.
2.     The right of access You have the right to obtain access to your information (if we’re processing it), and certain other information (similar to that provided in this Privacy Policy). This is so you’re aware and can check that we’re using your information in accordance with data protection law.
3.     The right to rectification
You are entitled to have your information corrected if it’s inaccurate or incomplete.
3.     The right to rectification You are entitled to have your information corrected if it’s inaccurate or incomplete.
4.     The right to erasure
This is also known as ‘the right to be forgotten’ and, in simple terms, enables you to request the deletion or removal of your information where there’s no compelling reason for us to keep using it. This is not a general right to erasure; there are exceptions.
4.     The right to erasure This is also known as ‘the right to be forgotten’ and, in simple terms, enables you to request the deletion or removal of your information where there’s no compelling reason for us to keep using it. This is not a general right to erasure; there are exceptions.
5.     The right to restrict processing
You have rights to ‘block’ or suppress further use of your information. When processing is restricted, we can still store your information, but may not use it further. We keep lists of people who have asked for further use of their information to be ‘blocked’ to make sure the restriction is respected in future.
5.     The right to restrict processing You have rights to ‘block’ or suppress further use of your information. When processing is restricted, we can still store your information, but may not use it further. We keep lists of people who have asked for further use of their information to be ‘blocked’ to make sure the restriction is respected in future.
6.     The right to data portability
You have rights to obtain and reuse your personal data for your own purposes across different services. For example, if you decide to switch to a new provider, this enables you to move, copy or transfer your information easily between our IT systems and theirs safely and securely, without affecting its usability.
6.     The right to data portability You have rights to obtain and reuse your personal data for your own purposes across different services. For example, if you decide to switch to a new provider, this enables you to move, copy or transfer your information easily between our IT systems and theirs safely and securely, without affecting its usability.
7.     The right to object to processing
You have the right to object to certain types of processing, including processing for direct marketing (i.e. if you no longer want to be contacted with potential opportunities).
7.     The right to object to processing You have the right to object to certain types of processing, including processing for direct marketing (i.e. if you no longer want to be contacted with potential opportunities).
8.     The right to lodge a complaint
You have the right to lodge a complaint about the way we handle or process your personal data with your national data protection regulator.
8.     The right to lodge a complaint You have the right to lodge a complaint about the way we handle or process your personal data with your national data protection regulator.
9.     The right to withdraw consent
If you have given your consent to anything we do with your personal data, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time (although if you do so, it does not mean that anything we have done with your personal data with your consent up to that point is unlawful). This includes your right to withdraw consent to us using your personal data for marketing purposes.
9.     The right to withdraw consent If you have given your consent to anything we do with your personal data, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time (although if you do so, it does not mean that anything we have done with your personal data with your consent up to that point is unlawful). This includes your right to withdraw consent to us using your personal data for marketing purposes.

We usually act on requests and provide information free of charge, but may charge a reasonable fee to cover our administrative costs of providing the information for:

  • Baseless or excessive/repeated requests, or
  • Further copies of the same information

Alternatively, we may be entitled to refuse to act on the request. Please consider your request responsibly before submitting it. We’ll respond as soon as we can. Generally, this will be within one month from when we receive your request but, if the request is going to take longer to deal with, we’ll come back to you and let you know.

How will we contact you?

We may contact you by phone, email or social media. If you prefer a particular contact means over another please just let us know.

How can you contact us?

If you are unhappy with how we’ve handled your information, or have further questions on the processing of your personal data, contact us here: H.I. Executive Consulting (H.I.E.C), Woolverstone House 3rd Floor, 61 Berners Street
W1T 3NJ London, UK; or H.I. Executive Consulting GmbH, Prinzregentenstrasse 72, 81675 München, Germany. Our Data Protection Officer can be reached on: dataprotection@hiec.com