Savills Singapore Pte Ltd announced that it has completed its Do-Not-Call (DNC) compliance readiness in response to the new DNC rules to be introduced in Jan 2014. Covering people, process and systems, Savills is the first real estate company in Singapore to undergo a rigorous PDPA compliance effort combined with an innovative DNC solution for use on smart mobile phones
Savills Singapore Pte Ltd announced that it has completed its Do-Not-Call (DNC) compliance readiness in response to the new DNC rules to be introduced in Jan 2014. Covering people, process and systems, Savills is the first real estate company in Singapore to undergo a rigorous PDPA compliance effort combined with an innovative DNC solution for use on smart mobile phones.
Chris Marriott, CEO Savills South East Asia said “As an international real estate business with close to 1,000 agents in Singapore, we support personal data protection which is already firmly in place in the US, Europe and Hong Kong. We have therefore made this a priority to be compliant by 2014, utilising ground-breaking technology to meet the challenges our agents will face”.
Cold-calling and direct sales are clearly part of every agent’s daily duties and Savills aim is to support its brokers’ marketing activities with minimal disruptions whilst maintaining client and prospect’s privacy.
For the past six months, Savills has worked to implement an innovative cloud-based DNC filtering system, SpiderGate that aims to meet government guidelines with regards to calling prospects and utilising SMSs.
Kevin Shepherdson, Chief Executive Officer of Straits Interactive, said, “For any PDPA initiative to work, it has to be built around a compliance framework consisting of people, process and systems. The SpiderGate DNC solution is aimed at addressing the “systems” part of the equation which many companies involved in telemarketing activities will eventually need to put in place in order to stay compliant."
The solution, jointly developed with Straits Interactive and Hoiio, enables Savills and its associates to automatically check contacts against the National DNC Registry as well as the company’s own DNC list before making a call or sending an SMS. The cutting edge technology enables this to be done directly from any smart phone or office landline.
George Tan, Head of Savills Associates stated that, “Empowering our front line sales agents with this smart tool will give them a competitive edge in the marketplace. We believe this integrated approach is a first for the Singapore real estate industry and will be essential for any sales business with a high degree of customer interaction.”
Tan adds, ‘We see our compliance efforts enforcing Savills as a trusted advisor for our clients.”
Savills have put together a comprehensive compliance framework within its associate business. This includes an independent PDPA audit done by Straits Interactive and Samuel Seow Law Corporation to identify gaps and risks in the way the company and its agents handle personal data, modifying some of its work processes to meet the new guidelines. Its active agents have already undergone a comprehensive training on the obligations of the PDPA and security notices have been placed within the company to remind them to comply with the PDPA and DNC provisions.
Savills is currently rolling out the system internally to ensure smooth operation by Jan 2014.