Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Updated April 12, 2024

1.    Introduction

Welcome to the Society for Human Resource Management Nigeria (“SHRM Nigeria”). SHRM Nigeria is the leading membership association for the human resource profession in Nigeria.  

We are committed to protecting your privacy, and this Privacy Policy (“Policy”) will help you understand how we collect and process Personal Information from those who use of any our websites (e.g., www.shrmnigeria.org), mobile apps or related online and offline services we offer (collectively, the “Services”). This Policy also describes what we will and will not do with the information we collect, and your choices about the collection and use of your information. If you have a business relationship with us, or the Services you receive from us are subject to a separate agreement (e.g., with your employer), the contractual terms of that relationship will control in the event of any conflict.

Please read this Policy and our posted Terms of Use (together with this Policy, the “Terms”) before you use our Services. By using the Services, you represent and warrant that you are of legal age to form a binding contract with us, and agree to be bound and abide by our Terms. If you do not agree to all of our Terms, or if you violate them in any way, you may not access or use the Services. PLEASE SEE SECTIONS 10-14 OF OUR TERMS REGARDING YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS IN ANY DISPUTE INVOLVING OUR SERVICES, INCLUDING A WAIVER TO A CLASS ACTION.

Except as otherwise expressly stated, SHRM is the designated data controller for Personal Information. SHRM is based in the United States, with an office 1800 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314. The SHRM Foundation, Strategic Human Resource Management India Pvt. Ltd. (“SHRM India”), SHRM MEA FZ (Dubai) and SHRM Corporation all subsidiaries of SHRM, and are all subject to this Privacy Policy as well. Where your data is collected and/or used by one of SHRM’s subsidiaries, all references to SHRM herein shall mean that subsidiary.

2.    What is Personal Information?

This Policy applies to Personal Information collected or used by SHRM Nigeria in connection with its Services. “Personal Information” generally means any information that enables us to identify you, directly or indirectly, by reference to an identifier such as your name, identification number, location data, online identifier or one or more factors specific to you. Personal Information can include “Sensitive Personal Information” (particularly sensitive types of Personal Information) and “Pseudonymised Personal Information” (information that does not identify you directly but can be linked to other information that doe). Personal Information does not include anonymous information or information that has had the identity of an individual permanently removed. Note that privacy laws apply different definitions to “Personal Information” in various jurisdictions and contexts, and we may therefore need to apply a particular definition in specific circumstances.

3.    How We Collect Personal Information

As described further below, we may receive Personal information through many aspects of our online and offline Services, and we may collect such information about you by various means, including:

• Directly from you, both online (e.g., our websites, email) and offline (e.g., phone);
• From your employer, such as through SHRM/SHRM Nigeria Employer Programs;
• From other third-party sources and social media platforms that you may use to engage with us;
• From event coordinators, sponsors or other third parties we work with; and
• By combining information from different sources, including online and offline data.

4.    What Information Do We Collect?

SHRM Nigeria may collect the following types of Personal Information:

a.    Information Provided to SHRM

You (or in the case of SHRM Employer Programs, your employer) may provide Personal Information to us which may include your name, home and/or work email address, postal address, phone number and/or fax number, your employer and job title, demographic information about you including birth year, certification designation, etc., and if you are making a purchase, your payment information (e.g., credit card).

SHRM/SHRM Nigeria can receive such information in various ways through our Services, including:

• Membership: You share Personal Information with us when you join or renew SHRM membership or a SHRM Chapter through the Services. SHRM members can use log-in credentials to access certain restricted content and features offered by the Services.
• Other Registration: When registering for specific other services, such as subscribing to an e-mail newsletter.
• Online Purchases: When making a purchase in the SHRM Nigeria Store or subscribing to a SHRM publication.
•  Exchange Visitor Program Applications: When participating in SHRM’s Exchange Visitor Program, Host Organizations (the entity hosting an exchange visitor) and Exchange Visitor Trainees/Interns (the foreign individual) must provide SHRM/SHRM Nigeria with Personal Information as necessary to process the applications and operate the program. The precise types of information collected and used by SHRM for this program may change over time, based on applicable laws and regulations.  In addition to the terms of this Privacy Policy, Personal Information associated with SHRM’s Exchange Visitor Program is subject to the Exchange Visitor Program Privacy Policy and any governing terms agreed-upon with the Host Organization.
• Employment Applications: SHRM Nigeria collected relevant Personal Information from job applicants, including a Resume or CV, and any other information required to verify qualifications and assess suitability for an available position.
• SHRM Research: When you participate in SHRM research activities, we may ask for your Personal Information, such as name, e-mail address, employer, and any other information required to verify your qualifications for the research and/or to conduct the research. In addition to the terms of this Privacy Policy, participation in SHRM Research Panels, is subject to the terms of the SHRM Research Panel Privacy Policy.
• SHRM Employer Programs:  When you participate in certain SHRM programs purchased by your employer, including the THRIVE360 program, used for assessment, training and other workplace growth opportunities, we may collect your Personal Information from you or your employer in order for you to participate in the program. 
• SHRM Foundation Donations and Scholarships: When you make a donation to the SHRM Foundation or apply or a SHRM Foundation Scholarship or other award, we may collect your Personal Information, such as contact information, educational institution (if applicable) and payment information (to process a donation or award).  In addition to the terms of this Privacy Policy, Personal Information provided in connection with a donation is subject to the SHRM Foundation Donor Privacy Statement.
• Surveys: SHRM/SHRM Nigeria may receive information about you in response to forms we posted on our Services or sent to you, including for feedback and research purposes.
• Events: SHRM may receive information about you when you participate in any events we host, organize or sponsor, both online (e.g., webinar) or offline (e.g., conferences).
• Interactions: We receive information through communications between you and us, such as via email, web form, mail, phone, or other channels.

b.    Information About Others

If you provide us with information regarding another individual (such as a colleague or co-worker), you represent that you have their consent to give us their information and to permit us to use the information in accordance with this Policy.

c.    Information SHRM Nigeria Receives Through Automated Means

When you use online SHRM Nigeria Services, we receive certain technical information about your use of the Services, and that may be associated with your Personal Information in some instances. This “Online User Activity” is described further in the next section.

5.    Online User Activity and Cookies

a.    Site Use Information

SHRM Nigeria collects technical information when an individual visits any online SHRM Nigeria Services, including IP address, browser type and version, time zone settings, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform type (e.g., Chrome or Edge on a Windows platform).

We may also collect information about the visit, including pages and content viewed or searched for, page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information, and methods used to browse to or away from the page. SHRM Nigeria may also receive location information where you choose to provide the Services with access to information about your location.

This technical information can be necessary to provide the Services, and it also helps us determine which portions of Services are most popular and which part of the website people have visited. We can also use such information to deliver customized content and advertising to users of the Services whose behavior indicates that they are interested in a particular subject area, and measure the effectiveness of advertisements and web searches. We can collect this information irrespective of whether someone has a registered account with SHRM, although some associations may only occur for registered accounts (e.g., members).

b.    What Are “Cookies” and How Does SHRM Nigeria Use Them?

In order to collect certain Online User Activity, our Services use “cookies”, pixels, SDKs and other commonly-used web technologies. A cookie is a small text file containing a unique identification number that is transferred from a website to your computer. This unique number identifies your web browser whenever you visit the Services.

Cookies let us remember your browser so we can provide personalized member services such as My SHRM and SHRM search agents. Cookies also allow us to identify SHRM members who are returning to the Services.

Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default, but if you prefer, you can configure your browser to notify you before accepting a cookie, or refuse to accept cookies altogether. While SHRM Nigeria does not require you to use cookies, certain Services may not function properly if your browser refuses cookies.

We may provide certain Personal Information to third parties we engage with for targeted advertising, user analytics, and to provide a more personalized experience and special offers to You. Specifically, identifying information and Online User Activity may be shared through targeting cookies or other means. Please visit Your Privacy Choices page for more information about such sharing and to opt-out of such activities. You can opt back in to targeting cookies there as well. Our Services also endeavor to process Global Privacy Control (“GPC”) signals from web browsers by automatically opting-out website visitors from third party targeting cookies on the visited website, although GPC technology is not fully developed and it is not yet supported by all browsers. 

6.    How We Use Personal Information We Collect

a.    General Use of Information

We use Personal Information to operate, evaluate, and improve our Services, including for the following purposes:

• Performance of our obligations arising from your membership, Exchange Visitor sponsorship, and any other agreement entered into between you and us, or in the case of SHRM Employer Programs, between your employer and us;
• To update, renew and manage memberships, certifications and credentials as required;
• To provide you with information, products and services you request from us; 
• To arrange and deliver conferences, events and programming relevant to your job and subjects of interest;
•  To respond to your questions and provide related membership or customer services;
• To tailor the content that we display to you in our Services and communications, including member benefits, special offers, advertising and other opportunities and information that we believe may be of interest to you;
•  For our business purposes, such as data analysis, audits, developing new products and features, enhancing our website, improving our products and services, identifying usage trends, and determining the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns;
• To notify you about changes to your membership or related services or to ask you to provide feedback; 
• To enable you to partake in a prize draw, competition or complete a survey;
• To administer and protect our business and websites (including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, system maintenance, support, reporting and hosting of data);
• For those who apply for employment with SHRM, to process your employment application, including background checks and education and employment verification, as applicable;
• To comply with all applicable laws, legal processes and industry standards, our policies and our contractual rights; and
• For any other purpose specified at the point of collection or as described in your express authorization.

We may use and disclose non-personal, non-individual statistics or demographic information in aggregate form without restriction.

b.    Enhanced Privacy

On some occasions SHRM Nigeria collects Personal Information through its Services with the intent or understanding that it will endeavor to maintain a greater degree of privacy for such information than is otherwise set forth in this Privacy Policy. In those relatively rare situations, SHRM Nigeria will expressly disclose at the time of collection what enhanced degree of privacy will be afforded to the Personal Information, and SHRM Nigeria will reasonably apply the enhanced degree of privacy to such information. For example, if SHRM Nigeria conducts a sensitive survey where its intended use of any Personal Information from that survey will be more limited than this general Privacy Policy provides, SHRM Nigeria will specifically disclose the stricter privacy terms which will apply to that survey information when it is collected from the survey respondent.

7.    HOW YOU MAY SHARE INFORMATION WITH THIRD PARTIES

The SHRM Nigeria Services may also include forums, bulletin boards, discussion lists, and/or moderated chats available to SHRM members. Any information disclosed in these areas becomes public information with no expectation of confidentiality, and you should exercise appropriate caution when deciding to disclose your Personal Information or post any other information in these area. Although users may at times post messages that will appear anonymously on the message boards, SHRM does retain records identifying each individual who posted content in these areas.

8.    HOW WE MAY SHARE INFORMATION WITH THIRD PARTIES

SHRM Nigeria will not disclose your Personal Information to third parties without your consent except as described below:

a.    Third Party Disclosures

When you provide Personal Information through the Services for a particular service, product or promotion, such as when registering for a SHRM-organized event, SHRM may sell or share certain limited information (e.g., title, contact information) derived from such registrations with third parties (e.g., event sponsors), who may contact you directly regarding their products and services;

When you join or renew membership with SHRM or a SHRM Chapter, your contact information may be shared with other SHRM and SHRM Chapter members, such as through directory listings—your SHRM Chapter may maintain an independent privacy policy with respect to their handling of Personal Information;

We may disclose information about you: (i) if we are required to do so by law or legal process; (ii) when we believe disclosure is necessary to prevent harm or financial loss; (iii) in connection with an investigation of suspected or actual fraudulent or illegal activity; or (iv) under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of our staff, other SHRM members, or the public; and

We reserve the right to transfer the information that we maintain in the event of a contemplated or actual sale or transfer of all or a relevant portion of our business or assets. If such an event occurs, we will make reasonable efforts to direct the recipient to use your Personal Information in a manner that is consistent with this Policy.

b.    Service Providers

We may share your information as permitted by law, including, for example, with legal affiliates and service providers that we believe need the information to perform a technology, business, or other professional function for us (examples include IT services, maintenance and hosting of our Services, event facilitators, marketing partners, payment processors, and other service providers). We provide such vendors with information so that they can perform their required functions on our behalf, in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable law.

c.    SHRM Research

If you participate in SHRM research activities or apply to participate in the SHRM Research Panel, SHRM may disclose such Personal Information as necessary to process your application (if applicable), to allow you to participate in the research or the SHRM Research Panel, or as otherwise instructed by you. In some cases, SHRM may publish demographic information gathered in the course of the research, but only in an aggregated and anonymized form for the purpose of reporting on the demographics of the participant group as a whole or where relevant to the research results.

d.    Employer-Sponsored Programs

If you participate in SHRM programs purchased by your employer, certain Personal Information relating to those programs may be disclosed to your employer and thereafter subject to your employer’s own privacy policy.  

In some instances SHRM Members or other individuals may receive products or services paid for by a government employer, in which case a record of any such transaction may be available for public access pursuant to applicable law (such as the Florida Public Records Act), and SHRM will share such information pursuant to those laws.

e.    Veteran Programs

In some instances SHRM Members or other individuals who are veterans may receive products or services paid for by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in which case a record of any such transaction may be made available to the VA pursuant to VA regulation, and SHRM will share such information pursuant to such regulations.

f.      SHRM Exchange Visitor Program

If you are a participant in SHRM’s Exchange Visitor Program, you must provide Personal Information about yourself and any dependent family members on the sponsorship application.  SHRM is required by law to provide your Personal Information to the U.S. Department of State and Department of Homeland Security (SHRM does not disclose Personal Information related to the Exchange Visitor Program except as necessary to process the application, operate the program, and provide the sponsorship to you and your Host Organization).

g.    SHRM Foundation

If you make a donation to the SHRM Foundation or apply for a SHRM Foundation award, we may publicly recognize you as a donor (unless you choose to remain anonymous) or award winner.  

h.    SHRM Job Applicants

Information provided in an application for employment with SHRM may be disclosed as reasonably necessary to verify past education and employment qualifications, perform background checks and as otherwise required by law or SHRM policy.  

i.      Sensitive Personal Information 

SHRM Nigeria does not disclose sensitive Personal Information such as passcodes, social security numbers, credit card numbers, felony conviction information, or health information except as necessary to complete transactions requested by you, to process employment applications, or to comply with legal obligations, all under availability confidentiality and security protections.

j.      Disclosures For SHRM Certification and Recertification

If you register for certification or recertification services, or for any other SHRM credential or certificate (e.g., SHRM California Law HR Specialty Credential), then in addition to the general uses of information described above, SHRM (and/or its relevant vendors) may use and disclose Personal Information, certification exam performance information, and/or assessment information for specific purposes relevant to the SHRM credential or certificate, including:

• Listing all individuals who have achieved a SHRM certification in the public SHRM Online Certified Directory (subject to your privacy preferences);
•  Sending notifications/reminders on the status of certification or other credential or certificate, information on professional development and recertification opportunities, and other news and communications of interest to the certified community or those holding any other SHRM credential or certificate;
• The scheduling and administration of exams;
• The preparation, review, updating, validation, accreditation and/or administration of the exams and exam preparation materials; and
• Publishing information regarding a candidate/certificant/credential-holder/certificate-holder against whom disciplinary action has been taken and the reason for that action.

However, SHRM will as a general matter not share a candidate’s/certificant’s/credential-holder/certificate-holder’s Personal Information, certification exam performance information, or assessment information related to any other SHRM credential or certificate as follows:

• SHRM will not share the names of candidates who do not pass the exam with the general public;
• SHRM will not share information about an examinee’s performance on individual exam items with any third party person or entity; and
•  SHRM will not disclose Personal Information related to requests for reasonable accommodation under the ADA, or under similar Non-US requirements, other than as reasonably necessary to review and/or provide that accommodation.

SHRM may disclose information as reasonably necessary for: the administration of exams and exam programs (e.g., to communicate ADA accommodations to exam testing centers); to comply with laws, regulations, court orders or other legal process; and in connection with the preparation, review, updating, validation, accreditation and/or administration of the exam or exam preparation materials.

k.    SHRM Subsidiaries

We may exchange Personal Information with our subsidiaries, SHRM India, SHRM MEA FZ (Dubai), SHRM Foundation and SHRM Corporation subject to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

9.    Your Privacy Rights and Choices

a.    General Rights

We offer you certain choices about what information we collect from you, how we use and disclose the information, and how we communicate with you.

• Accessing and Correcting your Personal Information. If you are a SHRM member or otherwise have an account with us, you can generally access or correct your information by logging in to your account. If you are unable to do so you, can make a request by contacting SHRM as directed below. Note that for SHRM Employer Programs, please contact your employer.
• Opting-Out of Marketing Emails: From time to time, we may contact you via email or through other channels for the purpose of providing announcements, promotional information and/or other general communication. In order to improve our Services, we may be notified when you open an email from us or click on a link therein. You may choose not to receive marketing emails from us by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the marketing emails you receive from us. Even if you opt out of receiving such communications, we may continue sending you non-marketing email communications, such as administrative or transaction alerts, or information about changes to our terms of service.
• Cookies: As noted above, our Services allows users to opt-out of certain third party cookies. In addition, web browsers may offer users the ability to disable receiving certain types of cookies; however, if cookies are disabled, some features or functionality of our Services may not function correctly.
• Targeted Advertising: As noted above, we may work with advertising partners who collect information about your online activities and provide you with choices regarding the use of your browsing behavior for purposes of targeted advertising. Popular advertising services you may opt out of include Google, the Network Advertising Initiative and Digital Advertising Alliance.

10. Online Advertising

You may see SHRM/SHRM Nigeria promoted by other organizations, on various websites, web pages, social media and other platforms. Please note that we do not always have complete information about where our organization may be displayed or promoted, and if you believe that we are featured in venues that are inappropriate or offensive, please contact us as directed below.

11. Links to Other Websites and Third Party Content

Our Services may contain links to other websites or apps, including social media integrations. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of such other websites or apps, and we encourage you to be aware when you leave our Services and to read the privacy statements of any other website or app that collects Personal Information.

12. Security and Retention of Personal Information

We maintain reasonable security safeguards designed to protect information about our website visitors in our possession and control, and to protect such information from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. However, we cannot ensure the security of any information that you transmit to us, or guarantee that this information will not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed. We will make any legally required disclosures in the event of any compromise of Personal Information. To the extent the law allows us to provide such notification via email or conspicuous posting on the Services, you agree to accept notice in that form.

You are ultimately responsible for the security of your SHRM login credentials. You may not share your SHRM login credentials with colleagues or friends so they can access content or features that are restricted to SHRM members only. You should log out of your browser at the end of each computer session to ensure that others cannot access your Personal Information and correspondence, especially if you share a computer with someone else or are using a computer in a public place like a library or Internet cafe.

We apply a general rule of keeping Personal Information only for as long as required to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected including (i) to provide you with our Services, such as to maintain account profiles while active and after termination for the purposes described above, and (ii) as reasonably as necessary for legal, tax and accounting requirements, or if required to do so by a legal process, legal authority, or other governmental entity having authority to make the request, for so long as required.

13. Information Related to Minors

Our website and other online Services are not intended for minors under 13, and we do not knowingly collect Personal Information online from minors under 13. We will endeavor to promptly delete any information identified as having been provided by such persons as required by applicable law.

14. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We will update this Privacy Policy from time to time, and the update will be effective on the date posted, so please check back periodically. By affirmatively accepting the new policy or continuing to use our Services, you agree to the updated Privacy Policy.

If at any point we decide to use Personal Information in a manner that is materially different from the terms provided to you at the time of collection, we will endeavor to notify you of such changes.

15. Contacting SHRM

If you have any questions, concerns or comments about this Privacy Policy, our privacy practices, or if you have any requests in regard to your Personal Information, please contact us by email to hello@shrmnigeria.org. Alternatively, you can use the additional contact points provided below:

a.    SHRM

You can contact us via e-mail to: hello@shrmnigeria.org; or by phone at 800-283-7476 or 703-548-3440.

16. Privacy Policy Updates

Privacy Policy Effective May 2002. Updated, April 12, 2024.