Higher privacy statement regarding CliftonStrengths


About us

Higher is a comprehensive HR consultancy firm for the private sector. We offer services in e.g. the field of assessments, talent and team development, coaching and training. Higher is ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certified.

Higher and Gallup have entered into a partnership to implement CliftonStrengths in the Netherlands. CliftonStrengths is a renowned tool that helps people to identify, develop and appreciate their strengths. This approach assumes that strengthening your strengths is far more beneficial than remedying your weaknesses. Organizations taking a strengths-based approach have proven to be significantly more successful.

CliftonStrengths

You are about to fill out the CliftonStrengths questionnaire. This tool offers insight into your strengths profile, with the talent themes in your unique order. CliftonStrengths also offers tried-and-tested strengths-based strategies for further development.
After you have completed the questionnaire, you will receive your personal reports, development strategies and materials for inspiration.

Personal data

To perform CliftonStrengths, we record the following personal data:

Personal data Purpose Ground for data processing*
Name, address and email Making contact and creating account Legitimate interest
Completed questionnaire Generation of the CliftonStrengths report Legitimate interest

*By legitimate interest we mean that these personal data are needed to process the CliftonStrengths questionnaire and generate reports.

Who has access to your data?

  • Higher: your data can only be accessed by the Higher coaches, trainers and supporting staff who are directly involved in the performance of the assignment. They do not have access to the individual answers to the questions, but they can access the final result: your talent themes, in your unique order.
  • Gallup: as the supplier of the questionnaire and processor of the data, Gallup can access all of your data. We have concluded a Data Processing Agreement with Gallup containing, among others, agreements about security and storage policy. Higher remains responsible at all times for the processing of your data in CliftonStrengths. Gallup is an international research and consultancy firm that has its headquarters in the USA.

And depending on the kind of assignment Higher is performing for a client:

  • Client of Higher: if the client has requested that the CliftonStrengths results be used at a team or organization level (e.g. team development, group analysis and team coaching), we will share your results with people from your organization for whom they are relevant (for example HR, your supervisor, your team). If you have any objections you can stop this sharing of information with others at all times. Your own individual results will remain available to you. To stop the sharing process contact us at gallupinfo@higher.nl. If you filled out CliftonStrengths exclusively for individual purposes (e.g. coaching or an assessment), your results will not be shared with the client.
  • Participants in training courses: Higher is Gallup’s partner in the organization of Gallup training courses for working with CliftonStrengths in the Netherlands. If the results of CliftonStrengths are used in these training courses, we will request your permission to share the results with the other participants in the course before the course begins. Using the results is an essential part of the training courses.

Security

Security, to us, has two sides: technology and behavior.

Technology: the CliftonStrengths questionnaire is filled out in Gallup’s portal. Access to this
portal is strictly secured according to the latest technological standards and based on the principles of privacy by design. Gallup is ISO 27001 certified. Naturally, Higher has concluded a Data Processor Agreement with Gallup.

Behavior: Higher and Gallup devote much attention to employee awareness with regard to personal data protection in practice. All staff are trained every year in the dos and don’ts of this subject.

Storage period

CliftonStrengths is meant to serve as a personal development tool. Based on our vision that you continue learning and developing and that your talent themes can boost this, your data will remain available until you actively ask us to remove them. This you can request at any time.

Storage location

Your data are stored on Gallup’s servers in Germany. The GDPR is applicable here.

Right of inspection, adjustment or removal

As a participant, you are in control of your own data at all times. This means that at any time, you can ask Higher to allow you to inspect your personal data, or to remove them entirely. You can also ask us to correct factual errors. Higher will then instruct Gallup to process your request.

Voluntary participation

In this document, we have explained how Higher handles your personal data when you participate in CliftonStrengths. We wish to emphasize that your participation in CliftonStrengths is entirely voluntary.

Any questions?

In case of any questions or doubts, please contact the Gallup project coordinators at Higher by calling (+31)88 00 868 90 or by sending a message to gallupinfo@higher.nl. We expect that they will be able to answer most questions directly. If they cannot answer your question, they will refer you to our Data Protection Officer, Mark Thorborg LLM. You can reach him through our general telephone number, (+31)88 00 868 90 or at privacy@higher.nl. You also always have the right to submit a complaint to the Dutch Data Protection Authority.