This policy is intended to explain how we deal with personal information supplied to us by users of our public and user web sites, viz. www.sr-associates.com, www.quintaxuser.co.uk, and www.quintaxonline.co.uk.

As business psychologists working in the general area of assessing and developing people, we deal in personal data on an ongoing basis. Without giving specific and appropriate guarantees of confidentiality of treatment of personal data collected through our assignments our work would fall into disrepute. Consequently, we are committed to high standards of ethical practice in the acquisition, storage and use of personal data.

Types of Data Collected Electronically

• We collect data electronically from users of our corporate web site in the form of completed order forms for test and other materials, registration forms for the use of our main products, booking forms for public training places, and via general queries regarding information about our services. These data typically include personal data such as name, email and business address details.
• Our corporate website also contains a link to enable visitors to sign-up to our email marketing and Newsletter list. If visitors wish to, they can leave their email address together with details of their name, job title, and company. These data are not stored on our website. They are stored securely on the website of our email marketing provider viz. Constant Contact Inc. Details of our privacy arrangements in relation to this are shown below under ‘Email Newsletters and Marketing’.
  

• A group of our web site users - all pre-registered and qualified as users of the Quintax questionnaire - have access to a site for administering and scoring the Quintax questionnaire on-line. This involves them in entering personal data on the server regarding the individuals they wish to invite to complete the questionnaire so that invitations can be automatically sent out to them. Quintax users are only able to access their personal accounts (i.e. data regarding the people they have invited to complete Quintax) on the Quintax server. Access is governed by confidential usernames and passwords, and for this reason, there is no public access to these data.
  
• A further group of our web site users - invited respondents to the Quintax questionnaire - have access to a site for its completion. This requires them to check and confirm their personal data, and then to complete the questionnaire itself. Their raw responses are stored in numerical form on the server. Access to the site is governed by confidential, individual and unique access codes provided to respondents for the purpose of completing the questionnaire. As a result no respondent can gain access to the personal data of any other respondent.
  
• At SR&A we have access to a 'supersite' view of all the data on the Quintax server. This enables us to set up accounts, generate usernames and passwords, and generally troubleshoot the on-line assessment process. Access is governed by password and is not therefore available to Quintax respondents, other Quintax users, or to members of the public.
  
  

Use of Data

• Data obtained from our corporate site are used to facilitate the provision of information and services to our actual and potential customers, and to provide information required for delivery of materials and as necessary for invoicing.
  
• In order to validate training claims, and to provide information to our past delegates when they request it, we maintain a database of training records and certification which details all of the names and company details of people we have trained in psychometric testing and assessment centre use. We also maintain similar databases recording qualified users of our various products.
  
• We do not and will not sell, share, rent or otherwise transfer personal data to third parties unless
  • exceptional circumstances prevail where a data subject expressly asks us to share their data for a clear and justifiable reason, or
  • when a legitimately convened court of law requires that the data be shared, or
  • in the event that our business is acquired or otherwise transferred; here we will only allow the transfer of personal data when we are sure that the acquiring organisation has an equivalent privacy policy to our own. Failing this, the data will be destroyed as a condition of the acquisition.
    
• We expect Quintax users to conform with high ethical standards in the use of personal data regarding the people they have assessed. This includes but is not limited to ensuring that respondents complete the questionnaire only under conditions of informed consent, that respondents are provided with feedback on their results in an interpretable form, and that they protect the confidentiality of their usernames and passwords to prevent unauthorised access. All Quintax users are required to abide by our Terms of Supply for the sale of both paper/pencil and on-line services involving the questionnaire. Use of the questionnaire (in paper/pencil as well as on-line form) may be withdrawn in the event of a demonstrated failure to meet the professional and ethical standards we require of users.
  
• We make use of the database of on-line data contained on the Quintax server for research purposes. This is so that we can add to existing studies of the reliability and validity of the measure, supplement norm tables, check on the fairness of the questionnaire with regard to issues such as age and gender, and build new scales and reports to enhance the value of the measure for users.
  
• We generate assessments and reports using the Quintax Bureau Service. These may be fed back to clients in person or by telephone discussion, and we also send reports to clients by post and/or by email.
  
• None of our web sites uses 'cookies' - these are pieces of information stored by the user's web browser on your hard drive, which help to identify the user when he or she visits a particular web page so as to simplify processes such as logging in to private areas or to estimate interest levels in different parts of a web site, etc.
  
• Aggregate statistics of web site usage (not involving personal data) are maintained by our ISP and occasionally consulted by us to determine the visibility of our web pages.
  
• We maintain a 360 degree appraisal system involving the collection of 360 data by the circulation and return of Word based questionnaires via email and, in some cases, by post. Data obtained from these are stored securely on our system for a period of six months following report construction. Subsequently, any personal identifiers are removed so as to render the data anonymous and they are then stored for research use. All related personalised data and reports are then deleted or shredded if in paper form. No public or on-line access is available at any time.

Email Newsletters and Marketing

• We maintain a mailing list for the purpose of email newsletters and marketing, and this list is stored securely on the website of our email marketing provider, Constant Contact Inc.

• The sources of data for the list include
  • Visitors to our corporate site who click on our ‘Join our Mailing List’ button and thus ‘opt in’ to receiving our communications.
  • People who have otherwise expressly shared their address for the purpose of receiving information about us, amongst other things.
  • People who have purchased from us or have registered with us as users of our products or services, or who otherwise have an existing relationship with us.
• Constant Contact maintain a security system to protect against the loss, misuse and alteration of data used by their systems.

• As with our other data, we do not and will not sell, share, rent or otherwise transfer personal data to third parties unless
  • exceptional circumstances prevail where a data subject expressly asks us to share their data for a clear and justifiable reason, or
  • when a legitimately convened court of law requires that the data be shared, or
  • in the event that our business is acquired or otherwise transferred; here we will only allow the transfer of personal data when we are sure that the acquiring organisation has an equivalent privacy policy to our own. Failing this, the data will be destroyed as a condition of the acquisition.
• In every case of an email sent via the Constant Contact system on behalf of SR&A an easy automated procedure is incorporated at the end of the email to enable a person to unsubscribe completely from the mailing list. This mechanism also protects them against the possibility of their email address being accidentally re-added to the list at a later date.
  

Other

Questions and queries regarding this policy should be directed to Stuart Robertson via email at stuart@sr-associates.com or via post at the address shown below. If at any time you wish to make a complaint in respect of SR&A's handling of personal information, you may do so by contacting Stuart Robertson in writing at the address below. We will investigate and advise you of the outcome of the complaint promptly.

If you have a specific complaint about our use of email marketing you may also report this directly to Constant Contact by email at abuse@constantcontact.com for review by them.

Stuart Robertson & Associates Ltd
Empress Buildings
380 Chester Road
Manchester
M16 9EA

This policy was last updated on 23/03/2007