Two-thirds of executive search firms fear they could be exposed to significant fines under the General Data Protection Regulation, according to research released by Invenias, an executive search software platform.

The survey found 65% of global executive search professionals consider their biggest GDPR-related challenge to be knowing whether the actions they’ve taken to comply will be sufficient. The second biggest challenge is understanding how the regulation applies to their business at 57%, followed by the process of reviewing and cleansing data at 53%.      

Only 42% considered themselves moderately well prepared for GDPR. On a scale of one to five, with five being very prepared and one not at all, 22% of respondents rated themselves as two. Just 30% classified themselves at four or above.

Despite the uncertainty, 74% of those surveyed chose to see the positive impact that GDPR will have on the search profession: 78% see it as an opportunity to improve data quality, 63% to improve working practices, and 54% to reduce business risks.

“The message from the executive search profession seems to be that, yes, there is concern around how the legislation will be enforced but that GDPR is not all doom and gloom,” said Invenias CEO David Grundy. “The majority of search professionals want to embrace the opportunities presented by GDPR. With data privacy sitting at the very core of user experience and brand reputation, this shouldn’t be surprising. The right tools and technologies exist to help companies and individuals mitigate the veritable minefield of the GDPR and be confident that they are well prepared for its enforcement.”

The research was conducted in April 2018 by ComplyGDPR and Invenias. It included a sample of 400 people in the executive search sector, encompassing executive search firms, strategic recruiters and in-house talent teams.