Data Protection
Dealing with highly sensitive data is part of our daily business. We know all too well how important you find the confidentiality of the data that's been gathered and evaluated. That's why we're very fastidious about data protection and confidentiality.
As market researchers, we're first of all subject to the strict guidelines laid down by the Federal Data Protection Law (BDSG) and additional appropriate data protection laws, and we're regularly checked by the regulatory authorities responsible for data protection to ensure we're adhering to these rules.
As a member of the Federal Association of German Market and Social Researchers (BVM), we're furthermore obliged to respect the official guidelines on dealing with data in market and social research as published jointly by the BVM and the Association of German Market and Social Research Institutes (ADM).
Certified by the TÜV (Technical Monitoring Association)
Vocatus is one of the few companies where the TÜV queried absolutely nothing within the context of the regular and legally prescribed monitoring
stipulated by the Federal Data Protection Law. A quote from the test certificate issued by the government of Central Franconia on 31.3.2006 reads as
follows: "In the company that was tested, considerable importance is attached to data protection. The measures deployed are well thought-through
and in line with how the business generally runs, and are part of a concept that guarantees [the] ... security of the personal data that has to be
processed. Further measures within the context of data storage in accordance with §9 of the Federal Data Protection Law are ... not required.
"
Anonymised Evaluations
Personal data is only used within the framework of the study that is to be conducted, is not passed on to third parties, and once the study is complete
it is promptly deleted by Vocatus.
Information gathered about respondents within the framework of projects is only passed on in anonymised form, so that it's impossible to identify individuals. It goes without saying that our results reports never contain the names of individuals.
Especially when it comes to staff surveys, it is hugely important that the evaluation should happen in a totally anonymous manner. For this reason we don't reveal any results if the corresponding question has been answered by fewer than six staff members.
It's also the case with mystery and call monitoring studies that test the service quality of individual areas of the company such as call centre, customer care, or complaint management that we don't pass on any personal data such as staff names to the client or third parties.
When it comes to multi-client studies, each participating company receives detailed evaluations concerning their own company, while the competitors' figures are presented in anonymised form.
All our staff, as well as external service providers, have committed themselves in writing to adhere to the above-mentioned laws and guidelines.
Strict Password Protection
All our in-house systems and files are protected against unauthorised access by a strict personalised password system. The basic principle here is that
each member of staff only has access to precisely the data they actually need for their immediate work.
This basic principle applies to all our projects. It is of course especially important if we're conducting data mining projects where, for example, we receive the complete customer and order database from our client for evaluation purposes. At the end of the legally required periods relating to data storage, all of it is promptly deleted or destroyed by experts.
In accordance with our employment contracts, the issuing of a personal password to another member of staff constitutes grounds for immediate dismissal, because we take a very serious view about the security of your data.