What a GDPR Consultant Looks for in Your Privacy Practices

Understanding what a specialist seeks when reviewing privacy practices is essential for any organisation aiming to meet data protection standards, build customer trust, and avoid hefty penalties. The role of a data protection consultant aligns with an intricate legal framework, most notably the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into effect in May 2018. For companies in Europe or dealing with European data subjects, compliance is not optional—it’s a rigorous, ongoing obligation.

A consultant doesn’t simply tick off a checklist. Their approach requires evaluating how a business applies principles of transparency, accountability, lawfulness, and fairness in its handling of personal data. They combine legal understanding with practical applications, often acting as translators between abstract regulation and real-world operations. Below is a detailed exploration of the focal areas assessed during their review.

The Lawful Grounds for Processing

The starting point for any audit or consultation is understanding why an organisation processes personal data. GDPR mandates that every processing activity must have a lawful basis, such as consent, contract, legal obligation, legitimate interests, vital interests, or public task. Consultants want to see clear documentation that links each processing operation with one of these bases. This often involves reviewing privacy notices, data maps, and internal guidance.

Challenges frequently arise when businesses rely on consent without meeting the standard for it to be considered freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous. Consultants will seek to determine if consent is gathered correctly—through positive opt-in rather than pre-ticked boxes—and whether users can easily withdraw that consent. Equally, if the justification is legitimate interest, the consultant will examine if a balancing test has been performed to weigh the rights of the individual against the interests of the data controller.

Data Minimisation and Purpose Limitation

A fundamental principle of the GDPR is that data collection should be limited to what is necessary to achieve the stated purpose. Consultants examine whether organisations collect and retain only the data that is essential for their services or operations. They will explore if people within the business understand the purpose for which each set of personal data is gathered—and whether that purpose is justified and documented.

This leads to inquiries around future proofing. Can the data collected today be used for an additional purpose six months later? Typically not, unless that subsequent use is compatible with the original purpose or a new lawful basis is established. Consultants often find well-meaning organisations expanding data processing over time in ways that no longer align with the initial agreements, creating the risk of unlawful processing.

Transparency and Privacy Notices

Transparency lies at the core of GDPR. The regulation mandates that data subjects must be informed about how their information is used, shared and stored. Consultants scrutinise privacy notices to ensure they are clear, concise, accessible and written in plain language. Long, legalistic statements buried in obscure sections of websites do not meet the standard.

A consultant reviews whether organisations have separate notices for different data subjects—customers, employees, suppliers—since different classifications may require different disclosures. Special attention is given to how third-party data sharing is represented, whether identity and contact details of the data controller and data protection officer (if required) are displayed, and if the data subject’s rights are explicitly stated.

Data Subject Rights and Internal Procedures

Data subjects have enhanced rights under the GDPR, including the right of access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, objection, and data portability. A consultant will evaluate how efficiently an organisation accommodates these rights in practice, not only what is written in policy.

For instance, if a customer requests deletion of their data, can the organisation identify where all instances of that data are stored, and is there a process to ensure removal within the one-month time limit? Consultants often examine workflows, role assignments and communication timelines for handling such requests. Data protection professionals also look to see whether staff have received adequate training to recognise and respond to such data subject interactions.

Third-Party Risks and Data Sharing

Modern organisations often entrust data to third-party vendors, from cloud service platforms to marketing agencies. This outsourcing introduces compliance risks that a consultant looks to assess carefully. They begin by identifying all external parties that process data on behalf of the organisation and determine if appropriate contractual terms—commonly known as Data Processing Agreements (DPAs)—are in place.

DPAs must specify performance expectations, responsibilities, instructions for processing, confidentiality obligations, breach notification timelines, and sometimes the return or destruction of data at the end of the relationship. Consultants also review due diligence procedures on third parties. Have vendors been vetted appropriately? Is there regular oversight of their operations? If data is transferred outside the European Economic Area, has the organisation ensured sufficient safeguards like Standard Contractual Clauses or adequacy decisions?

Security Measures and Risk Management

Article 32 of the GDPR outlines a requirement for data controllers and processors to implement appropriate technical and organisational security measures. A consultant’s job is to assess whether what’s in place genuinely aligns with the risks presented by the nature of data processed.

Security assessments traditionally begin with evaluating access controls and authentication methods, particularly for sensitive information. Are user roles limited according to necessity? Are multi-factor authentication, encryption and audit trails in place and functioning? Consultants frequently assess whether operating systems are regularly patched, if backups are secure and tested, and whether incident response protocols are mature enough to contain and recover from a data breach.

More broadly, consultants may evaluate fundamental cyber hygiene within the organisation. Are employees regularly trained on phishing, password hygiene, and responsible remote working? Does the business have a defined, tested framework for evaluating new tools or procedures in terms of their impact on privacy?

Privacy by Design and Risk Assessments

The GDPR obliges organisations to embed data protection principles into the design of processes and systems—a concept known as ‘privacy by design’. Consultants will want to gauge whether this ethos permeates the organisation or remains abstract. In practical terms, they’ll ask if privacy considerations are brought into development cycles or decision-making meetings, rather than tagged on at the last minute.

In high-risk processing activities—such as deploying biometrics, engaging in behavioural profiling, or large-scale surveillance—organisations are required by law to perform Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs). Consultants will examine if these assessments have actually been done, how thoroughly, and whether mitigations proposed in the assessments have been actioned. Failure to carry out DPIAs not only risks non-compliance but exposes the business to operational and reputational damage.

Breach Management and Readiness

Despite robust precautions, data breaches can and do occur. What matters is how an organisation detects, responds to, and learns from such incidents. GDPR includes strict requirements here—most notably the need to report certain types of breaches to supervisory authorities within 72 hours of discovery.

Consultants will review incident registers, root cause analyses, and breach communication templates. They’ll ask if there’s a central reporting mechanism, how breaches are triaged internally, and whether the organisation maintains a culture where problems are reported quickly and transparently. Equally important is whether breach response drills or simulations have been conducted to prepare teams for a live incident.

Record Keeping and Accountability

Lastly, GDPR demands evidence of everything—decisions made, assessments completed, incidents tracked, and policies followed. Consultants examine Records of Processing Activities (RoPAs), which serve as a critical source of truth. They should be up to date, accessible, and consistent across departments.

In larger organisations, data protection obligations are more complex and typically handled by dedicated data protection officers (DPOs). Consultants assess not only whether a DPO is appointed (as required in many circumstances) but whether that individual has access to leadership, independence from conflicts of interest, and sufficient resources.

In organisations without DPOs, consultants seek to understand how responsibility for compliance is distributed, and whether there is genuine ownership at senior levels. GDPR isn’t only a legal framework; it’s also a behavioural one. Consultants want to see demonstrable commitment from leadership and a clear strategy for embedding compliance across every level of the organisation.

A Culture of Compliance

What professionals in this space ultimately seek is not merely surface-level adherence to legal obligations but a culture of compliance. Such a culture is marked by transparent communication, proactive training, and continuous improvement. During their work, consultants often spot warning signs: outdated policies, siloed information, or signs of a ‘set-it-and-forget-it’ attitude toward compliance.

In contrast, the highest-performing businesses treat privacy as part of their customer value proposition. For them, data protection is not just a legal requirement—it is a matter of trust and competitive advantage. These organisations view their GDPR consultant not as a chiding inspector, but as a strategic partner helping them evolve.

In today’s digital economy, privacy expectations are only increasing. With data considered the currency of modern business, the cost of neglecting proper governance is rising—be it financial sanctions, reputational fallout, or operational delays. Collaborating with an experienced data protection consultant offers organisations the expert lens they need to navigate this ever-changing terrain with confidence and integrity.