A global aerospace and industrial technology company with operations spanning multiple continents had grown accustomed to handling employee privacy requests manually. When a data subject access request arrived, the privacy team would reach out to HR, wait for responses, compile spreadsheets, and hope nothing fell through the cracks.
That approach had worked well enough when volumes were low. But as privacy regulations expanded and internal awareness grew, the process that once handled a handful of requests per quarter was struggling under steady volume. Deadlines were tight. Documentation was inconsistent. The privacy team spent more time chasing data than reviewing it.
The organization had already invested in OneTrust but had not yet activated its Privacy Rights Automation capabilities. They came to FLLR needing a system that could pull employee data directly from their core HR platforms, WorkDay and WorkForce, without manual intervention at every step.
The Challenge
The privacy team was caught between regulatory requirements and operational reality. They had the tools, but not the implementation to make them work.
Fragmented Data Collection
- Employee data lived across two primary HR systems, WorkDay and WorkForce, with no single point of access for privacy requests
- Each DSR required manual outreach to HR administrators who had to pull data from multiple screens and export it into spreadsheets
- There was no standardized format for the data being collected, which made review and redaction inconsistent
No Visibility Into Request Progress
- The privacy team could not easily track which requests had been fulfilled, which were pending, and which were at risk of missing deadlines
- Subtasks were managed through email threads and shared documents rather than a centralized system
- When auditors or leadership asked about DSR performance, the team had to reconstruct timelines manually
Operational Bottlenecks
- HR teams were pulled away from core responsibilities to respond to privacy requests, creating friction between departments
- The same data fields were being requested repeatedly, but there was no mechanism to automate or standardize the retrieval
- Response times varied widely depending on who received the request and how quickly they could access the relevant systems
The Bottom Line
- The organization could not demonstrate consistent, timely fulfillment of employee DSARs
- The manual process did not scale, and every new request added pressure to an already stretched team
Our Approach
We started by mapping the full lifecycle of an employee DSR at this organization. The goal was not simply to build a workflow in OneTrust, but to understand where data lived, who needed to touch it, and what could be automated without sacrificing accuracy.
Early in discovery, it became clear that the real opportunity was integration. The organization had robust HR systems with well-documented APIs. The problem was that no one had connected those systems to the privacy program. Requests were being fulfilled manually not because the data was hard to access, but because the privacy and HR technology stacks had never been linked.
We worked with both the privacy team and IT stakeholders to define what success would look like. The system needed to automatically query WorkDay and WorkForce when a DSR was submitted, retrieve the relevant employee data fields, and present that data within OneTrust for review. If no data was found, the system needed to document that outcome just as clearly.
A few principles guided the design. First, automation should not mean opacity. Every step had to be logged and auditable. Second, the workflow had to accommodate different request types and subject categories without manual reconfiguration. Third, the system needed to fail gracefully, capturing errors and notifying the right people rather than silently breaking.
Implementation
WorkDay Integration
We built a custom integration workflow triggered automatically when a DSR subtask is created in OneTrust Privacy Rights Automation. The workflow queries the WorkDay API using the employee ID from the request, retrieves worker information including home address, date of birth, and service dates, and consolidates the results into a structured summary.
The integration uses conditional logic to determine whether the request type and subject type require WorkDay data. If the criteria are met, it executes a series of API calls, handles the responses, and posts the results directly to the OneTrust request record. If no data is found, the subtask is marked complete with a clear notation.
WorkForce Integration
A parallel integration was built for the WorkForce system following the same trigger and conditional logic pattern. The design ensures that both HR systems are queried consistently and that results are captured in the same format regardless of the source.
DSAR Workflow Configuration
We configured a multi-stage workflow within OneTrust Privacy Rights Automation with clearly defined stages: In Progress, Review, and Complete. Each stage includes subtasks assigned to specific teams or individuals, with automated notifications when tasks are ready for action.
The workflow supports both automated subtasks, handled by the WorkDay and WorkForce integrations, and manual subtasks for systems that require human review. As subtasks are completed, the request automatically advances to the next stage without requiring manual intervention.
Response Templates and User Documentation
To ensure the privacy team could operate the system independently, we developed a library of response templates for communicating with requesters. These templates pull dynamic variables from OneTrust, reducing the need for manual editing while maintaining personalization.
We also delivered a comprehensive DSR process guide with step-by-step instructions, enabling new team members to handle requests confidently from day one.
Results
Data Retrieval
- Before: Manual outreach to HR for every request
- After: Automated API queries to WorkDay and WorkForce
Request Tracking
- Before: Email threads and spreadsheets
- After: Centralized workflow with stage visibility in OneTrust
Subtask Management
- Before: Ad hoc assignments with no clear ownership
- After: Automated subtask creation with assigned owners and deadlines
Audit Documentation
- Before: Reconstructed timelines after the fact
- After: Real-time logging of every workflow step and API response
Response Consistency
- Before: Variable formats depending on who handled the request
- After: Standardized response templates with dynamic fields
The privacy team now spends less time gathering data and more time reviewing it. When a DSAR arrives, the relevant employee information is waiting in OneTrust before anyone has to pick up the phone or send an email.
The Bigger Picture
We see this across organizations with mature HR technology but underdeveloped privacy operations. The data is there. The APIs exist. The gap is in connecting privacy programs to the systems that hold the data they need.
By building direct integrations between OneTrust and the organization's core HR platforms, we eliminated the manual handoffs that had been slowing down DSR fulfillment. The privacy team gained visibility, the HR team got their time back, and the organization can now demonstrate consistent, documented compliance with employee data requests.
If your privacy team is still chasing HR administrators for data that already lives in structured systems, the path forward is not more process. It is better architecture. If this sounds familiar, our team is ready to help.
