Privacy Policy

Consultancy.org is strongly committed to protecting privacy and providing a safe online experience for all of our users and customers. Our Privacy Policy provides insight in the terms and conditions with regard to the collection and use of personal information. This discloses what information Consultancy.org gathers, how we use it, how to correct or change it, the rights afforded to users under certain data protections laws, and what steps Consultancy.org takes to safeguard personal information.

This Privacy Policy applies to individuals, entities and/or automated systems who access websites part of Consultancy.org (see our Footer), or our other online services or applications (collectively “website”), or otherwise engage with Consultancy.org or provide us with personal information.

What information do we collect?

Our website can be accessed without giving us any personal information. The information we collect through cookies can be found in our Cookie Policy.

We collect usage data automatically when users use the platform. Usage data may include information such as a device’s Internet Protocol address (e.g. IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of our website that have been visited, the time and date of the visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.

When users access our platform by or through a mobile device, we may collect certain information automatically, including, but not limited to, the type of mobile device they use, the mobile device unique ID, the IP address of the mobile device, the mobile operating system, the type of mobile internet browser, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.

Alongside website diagnostic data, we may receive personal information through a number of means, including:

Contact Forms
Our contact forms, such as Contact and Join the Platform, will indicate what information is required and what information (if any) is optional. The information we request and store is: Name, Email, Company Name, and Request Information.

We will collect the information that we think is reasonably necessary to the inquiry or that is otherwise related to the communication. We will collect and retain such information in accordance with the purposes users provided it, and with our legitimate business interests.

Newsletter
Users of Consultancy.org may opt to receive email updates and newsletters through our Newsletter Form. We collect your email address, the information is collected and stored by a third party (Mailchimp).

E-Mails
Partners and other users of Consultancy.org’s platform and services provide us with their email. Generally, this information includes name, email and other information specific to the purpose of the contact. We use and collect this information to provide our partners and other users with the most efficient, enhanced, and personalized service.

We will collect and retain such information in accordance with the purposes users provided it, and with our legitimate business interests.

Job Ads
If you apply to a job advertisement (Job Ad), you are redirected to the website/email of the prospective employer. If you apply to a job advertisement that is facilitated by Consultancy.org (‘Op zoek naar een baan’), your email address, name, telephone number, LinkedIn and CV are collected and stored.

Customers and Partners
We may collect and process the following categories of personal information concerning our customers, vendors, suppliers, and similar business contacts: name, contact details, job title, bank account details, and business correspondence and communications. We process this information to facilitate routine and common business practices, such as those related to sales orders and management, membership services, promotion and quotation submitting, warranty management, credit collection, compliance with legal requirements, tax and accounting purposes, and defense or promotion of our interests and claims.

Top Consulting Firms surveys
Our Top Consulting Firms surveys request and collect a range of data so that we can help populate our Top Consulting Firms rankings. See the section ‘Top Consulting Firms survey data’ for details.

Who provides us with data and other information?

Most often, we collect data and information directly from the individual who engages with Consultancy.org, such as users of the platform, customers or partners, participants in Top Consulting Firms surveys, or users who submit inquiries to Consultancy.org.

In certain circumstances, we receive personal information on individuals from third-party sources, such as from social media and other online websites, educational institutions that partner with Consultancy.org or student associations.

What do we do with data?

Generally, Consultancy.org uses the information users provide to fulfill requests and improve our products. We use personal information so that we may display or send custom, personalized content to our website visitors and send newsletters, mail, emails, features, surveys, or other updates to our users.

A user may, at any time, opt out of receiving such information. We also use collected information to evaluate and administer our products and services, and respond to any problems that may arise (such as delivery issues or difficulties in navigating our sites or accessing certain features), as well as to gauge user trends to determine what products and services are most popular with users.

How do we share personal information?

Any personal information that is provided to Consultancy.org is made available to its technical agents, service providers, and partners who make our websites and our products and services available to users. We use affiliated and unaffiliated service providers all over the world (including web servers, cloud storage systems, email services, content support teams, advertising partners, and others) to help us deliver our service and run our business.

These companies are authorized to use personal information only as necessary to provide the required services to us and we do not sell or rent the personal information of users to another business or a third party.

Notwithstanding, we may disclose information to third parties in the following circumstances:

Required Disclosures: We may be required to disclose personal information with courts, tribunals, and opposing or other related parties to such proceedings and their professional advisors, in response to a court order, subpoena, civil discovery request, other legal process, or as otherwise required by law.

Legal Compliance: We may disclose personal information with any third party when we believe disclosure is necessary to comply with the law or to protect the rights, interests, property, or safety of Consultancy.org. We reserve the right to investigate any fraudulent or other activities involving Consultancy.org’s property or interests and to disclose any information reasonably necessary for any of these purposes, including to law enforcement or regulatory authorities.

Financial Transaction: We may disclose your personal information in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of Consultancy.org’s business or assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which your personal information held by Consultancy.org is among the assets transferred.

Consultancy.org does not, at any time, share personal information with a third party with whom we know or have reason to believe uses the personal information to undertake independent direct marketing.

How do we use cookies and tracking technologies?

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on our website and store information. Tracking technologies used are beacons, tags, and scripts to collect and track information and to improve and analyze services. The technologies we use may include:

Web Beacons. Certain sections of our website and our emails may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit Consultancy.org, for example, to count users who have visited those pages or opened an email and for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of a certain section and verifying system and server integrity).

Cookies or Browser Cookies. The web browser of users offers so-called “cookies” which, if their use is allowed, store small amounts of data on the computer when a website is visited. When users visit our websites, we may collect information from them automatically through cookies or similar technology.

Cookies can be “Persistent” or “Session” cookies. Persistent cookies remain on the personal computer or mobile device of users when they go offline, while Session cookies are deleted as soon as the user closes the web browser.

Cookies assist tracking of features and preferences, and enables Consultancy.org to customize content according to individual preferences.

There are a number of different types of cookies, however, our website uses:

Functionality: Consultancy.org may use these cookies so that we recognize users on our website and remember their previously selected preferences. These could include what location they are in. A mix of first-party and third-party cookies are used.

Advertising: Consultancy.org uses these cookies to collect information about the visit of users to our website, the content they viewed, the links they followed and information about their browser, device, and IP address. Consultancy.org sometimes shares some limited aspects of this data with third parties for advertising purposes. We may also share online data collected through cookies with our advertising partners.

Users have the ability to accept or decline cookies by modifying their browser. Our websites are viewable even if the cookie function is disabled in browser, however, in a few cases, some of our website features may not function as a result.

How do we use other online tools and services?

Consultancy.org works with third parties, such as Google Ad Manager and third party banner brokers, to provide users with personalized, interest-based advertising. Consultancy.org also works with Google Analytics, to track traffic to the platform generally and to measure the performance of content and advertising.

For more information about how Google uses data from sites that use their services, see “How Google uses data when you use our partners’ sites or apps,” available at https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

To learn about opt-out services for Google Analytics, see https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Users are also able to opt out of other third-party advertiser and ad network placement of cookies or targeted advertising generally by visiting the following links: Network Advertising Initiative; Digital Advertising Alliance; European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (for users in the EU); or The Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada (for users in Canada).

What is our data retention policy?

Consultancy.org retains the personal information of users and other members engaging with Consultancy.org for the time period reasonably necessary to satisfy the purpose for which it was collected or as long as necessary to comply with legal obligations, or for the establishment, exercise or defense of a legal claim, or to resolve disputes.

For our customers, vendors, suppliers, and other business contacts, we retain personal information for the duration needed to complete or facilitate our contract, agreement or engagement, and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter in accordance with our legitimate business needs and functions.

Where is personal information transferred and stored?

Information, including personal data, is processed at Consultancy.org’s operating offices and in any other places where the parties involved in the processing are located. It means that this information of users may be transferred to – and maintained on – computers located outside of their state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ than those from their jurisdiction.

Users consent to this Privacy Policy followed by their submission of such information represents Your agreement to that transfer.

How do we protect personal information?

Consultancy.org has implemented commercially reasonable steps to protect the personal information it collects from loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. Please note that despite our reasonable efforts, no security measure is ever perfect or impenetrable, so we cannot guarantee the full security of personal information.

In other words, the information provided by users and any other individual or organization that engages with Consultancy.org is at their own risk. We disclaim any liability, and all parties agree to not hold Consultancy.org responsible, for the loss, misuse, or compromise of their personal information.

We require all third parties to respect the security of personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use the personal data of our users for their own purposes and only permit them to process the personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

Consultancy.org has put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify users and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.

Your Responsibilities and Representations

With regard to any personal information that users provide Consultancy.org, regardless of whether that personal information relates to them directly or a third party, users hereby represent and warrant to Consultancy.org that (i) such personal information is accurate and complete, (ii) users have the lawful basis to provide Consultancy.org with such personal information, and (iii) users have provided this privacy notice to, and received consent from, any third party whose personal information they have provided to us.

Survey respondents acknowledge and agree that any and all survey results may be provided, to the extent set forth in this Privacy Policy, to their employer, included in public research, and described in private or public forums, and respondents (or their agents or representatives) will not, under any circumstances, seek to hold Consultancy.org liable for any harm, loss or damages arising from the same.

Your Rights and Privileges

Depending on the jurisdiction in which users reside, users may have the following rights with respect to the personal information Consultancy.org hold about them. If users wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us.

Updating Personal Information. We offer several ways for users to update their contact information within our database.

Updating Newsletter Information: Users may unsubscribe to any of our online email updates and newsletters by following the unsubscribe instructions in the body of any message.

Parental Rights: Our website and our services are not directed to children under the age of 13. By using this website, or otherwise engaging with Consultancy.org, users represent and warrant to Consultancy.org that they are over the age of thirteen (13). If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under thirteen (13) without parental consent or a lawful basis, we will delete that information immediately upon notice. If users believe we may have erroneously collected information from or about a child under thirteen (13), please contact us.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): If personal information of users is subject to, or otherwise afforded protection under, the European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), users may have additional rights or privileges. For example, to the extent permitted by the GDPR or EU Member State law, users may access the personal information we hold about them; request that inaccurate, outdated, or no longer necessary information be corrected, erased, or restricted; and request that we provide their personal information in a format that allows them to transfer it to another service provider. Users also may withdraw their consent at any time where we are relying on their consent for the processing of their personal information.

Users that wish to exercise these rights, can do so at any time by contacting us. However, note that these rights are not absolute, and, for example, withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted prior to the withdrawal, nor will it affect processing of personal information conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.

Consultancy.org processes personal information in accordance with the legal bases set forth in the GDPR. For example, our processing of personal information (as described herein) is justified based on the following GDPR statutory provisions: (1) processing is based on the consent; (2) processing is necessary for Consultancy.org’s legitimate interests as set out herein; (3) processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which users are a party; and (4) Consultancy.org is required to comply with a legal or statutory obligation in the EU or a Member State.

Users have the right to complain to a data protection authority about our collection and use of their personal information. For more information, please contact the relevant local data protection authority. We respond to all requests we receive from individuals wishing to exercise their data protection rights in accordance with applicable data protection laws. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we reserve the right to keep any information in our archives that we deem necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements.

What are data protection rights in the EU?

In line with data protection rights in the EU, every user is entitled to the following

The right to access: Users have the right to request Consultancy.org for copies of their personal data. We may charge a fee for this service.

The right to rectification: Users have the right to request that Consultancy.org correct any information they believe is inaccurate. Users also have the right to request to complete information they believe is incomplete.

The right to erasure: Users have the right to request that Consultancy.org erases their personal data, under certain conditions.

The right to restrict processing: Users have the right to request that Consultancy.org restricts the processing of their personal data, under certain conditions.

The right to object to processing: Users have the right to object to Consultancy.org’s processing of their personal data, under certain conditions.

The right to data portability: Users have the right to request that Consultancy.org transfers the data that they have collected to another organization, or directly to the user, under certain conditions.

Consultancy.org has one month to respond to requests. Users that wish to exercise these rights, can do so at any time by contacting us.

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites that are not operated by us. If users click on a third party link, they will be directed to that third party’s site. We strongly advise users to review the Privacy Policy of every site they visit. Consultancy.org has no control over and assumes no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party sites or services.

Top Consulting Firms survey data

For our Top Consulting Firms survey, we request and collect information so that we can help populate our Top Consulting Firms rankings.

The Top Consulting Firms surveys are designed to collect and analyze information about consulting firms in order to assist customers in making decisions about potential consulting partners, to help consultants understand the marketplace, and to help job seekers and potential industry recruits with leading employers. The surveys also help Consultancy.org inform ourselves and our audience on industry and workplace trends and developments.

We collect and retain any personal information that users provide in response to a survey question in accordance with this Privacy Policy, and do not share or use the information for any other purpose. In order to keep our surveys accurate and relevant, we may change our survey questions from time to time.

For clients (i.e. users that hire and/or work with a consulting firm), we collect general contact information (business e-mail, which is encrypted and saved on a server), professional and employment-related data (country of business residence, the sector a business is active in) and information about the (personal) experience with the consulting firm being rated.

When rating consulting firms, clients are asked to provide the following information: the firm being rated, an overall score for the firm being rated, and a score by areas of expertise.

For consultants (i.e. users that work at a consulting firm), we collect general contact information (business e-mail, which is encrypted and saved on a server), professional and employment-related data (country of business residence, name of employer) and information about the (personal) experience with the consulting firm and peer being rated.

When rating their own employer, consultants are asked to provide the following information: the firm being rated, an overall score for the firm being rated, and ratings across client work, project impact, compensation & benefits, HR policies and company culture, and work-life balance.

Consultants are also asked to provide professional data about their areas of expertise and industry focus, and a peer rating for the area of expertise and the industry focus.

While some survey questions are optional, other questions are mandatory. Validating of the business email address is mandatory to validate the vote.

The Top Consulting Firms surveys do not collect demographic details, such as data related to gender and race. Geographic data is collected, and is used to help populate insights for the local and regional Top Consulting Firms rankings, as well as the Top Consulting Firms in the World edition.

What do we do with collected survey data?

The data collected and stored is used to support the population of the Top Consulting Firms rankings. Survey data is an important part of the rankings process, alongside other dimensions such as capabilities assessment and online performance.

Alongside the rankings, Consultancy.org may use insights from aggregated data for content (such as blog posts, career articles, and other content), consulting firm ranking profiles (a summary of results for consultancies), employer profiles (a summary of employees’ views about workplaces), research reports (data from surveys can be used for the purpose of research).

For the rankings on the website and any other purpose outlined above, Consultancy.org uses aggregated data aggregated and de-identified data. Aggregated data and de-identified includes data derived from personal ratings, but which is rendered anonymous and does not identify, or cannot be linked to, any individual.

The information (including personal information) that Consultancy.org collects, uses, and retains through the rankings surveys is stored in Europe. For users located outside of the Europe, be aware that information submitted will be transferred to Europe, and that Europe may not provide the same level of protections as the laws in their respective country. Users that provide us with information hereby consent to the transfer of their information to Europe.

Survey results and information within the surveys are retained for a period of up to three years, the length of time needed for rankings that re-use survey data for the subsequent one or two editions. We delete survey data and corresponding personal information once this time period has expired.

Changes to Our Privacy Policy

We will occasionally update this Privacy Policy as necessary to protect our users and to comply with a changing environment. We recommend that users check the Privacy Policy when they visit our site to be sure they are aware of and understand our current Privacy Policy. Changes to our Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

For any questions about our Privacy Policy, contact us by email: info@consultancy.org.