Um, well, this is new. . . I like reading blogs, never written one. However, the topic I am writing about means a lot to me.  Here goes…. 

In my early years, I was exposed to a very linear set of ways to view life and existence. This is not a criticism; many of the things I learned have value and still guide me to this day.  

As a by-product of family, where I lived and my schooling, I grew up mostly within the Caribbean and Irish communities. As a side note, the adage about our similarities is not too far from my experience.   

It wasn't until the age of about 18 that I became more aware of the different cultures, ways of living, gender identities and sexual preferences that make up London. My exposure to this multitude was a product of my years spent at Uni and at the same time working part-time for a long since defunct supermarket chain. I loved those days. Each day I learned something new about one culture or another and each day taught me something new about who I am. I would like to think I thrived among the diverse cultures of London and hopefully made a positive contribution. Either way, living as part of this cultural mix showed me that, as long as you do no harm or intend no harm, no person’s view of life or way of thinking is wrong and that we should be respectful of each other. Furthermore, if you listen you may learn something that alters your perspective and makes you better as a person (that sounds like a win to me).   

When I reflect on why I gravitated to the diversity of London, I find that, as with a lot of what has shaped who I am, it's been the subtle influence of my parents, who would happily talk to anyone. They do not (for want of a better word) judge you by your skin or your belief system, they show you respect, they listen and engage in conversation; they embrace and respect people's differences.   

 "This is all well and good Linus, but I thought this was about Securys". Well, I was just getting to that.   

The reason I mention all the above is that working for Securys reminds me of those days at Uni and the long since defunct supermarket chain I referred to earlier. On joining Securys in December 2023, I was immediately struck by the diversity of the people working there (along with the pretty decent snack selection).    

I am proud to say that now I once again work in an environment with a truly diverse team of people, all of whom teach me a little something every day. I strongly believe diversity is a very important aspect of any business but even more so in the data privacy world. Different people have contrasting interpretations and understanding of what is or is not an acceptable baseline for data privacy and protection and sometimes these differences are at a cultural level. For example, years ago I worked with an HR team based outside the UK that was comfortable with the idea of publishing employee birthday announcements in the company newsletter, without at least informing the employees of their intention and giving them the opportunity to object. Counter to the alarm in my voice head when I heard this, most of the people in that region did not see this as an issue. Oh, and yes, I know consent is tricky with regards to the employer/employee relationship. 

Each country and culture will have their own challenges when it comes to data privacy which could span topics such as big business getting too much of your data for marketing (or espionage) to concerns about the handling of medical data. This diverse team, this small part of the multitude is well positioned to help our varied and global customer base navigate the requirements of existing and nascent data privacy laws and regulations because collectively we have, first-hand knowledge of those countries.   

Now, while our lived experiences and multicultural background are great news for the customer, it is also important to note that Securys has achieved this by actively looking for that diversity; nurturing a community that is supportive and allows each person to grow and learn. From the leadership through to the wider team, everyone has a voice and is given the opportunity to use it. We do that (in part) by sharing our knowledge, expertise, and experience with the rest of the team. In addition, all questions and suggestions have value and prompt conversations that help us become better. Isn’t this what the work environment should be like? This corner of the multitude cares about the job and its people and so much so that I, felt compelled to write about it. 

Right, I hope that those of you that stayed to the end enjoyed my first blog (I might produce a few more) but for now, I'm off to get a snack.