“I need to report something, but…” What stops employees from raising concerns? By Sarah Vidgen, Chief People Officer

If something’s going wrong in your organisation, you need to know about it. Hearing about potential fraud, dangerous working practices, or employee misconduct is vital to protect your company and support your staff.

What’s more, new whistleblowing regulations, penalties, and legislation covering areas like workplace health and safety are increasing the pressure to improve corporate governance mechanisms. Organisations have a responsibility to provide the means for employees to report illegal, unsafe, unethical or fraudulent activity

Inadequate reporting channels

Typically, organisations might have a whistleblowing telephone line, at most. But this type of system doesn’t offer the option to remain anonymous. It doesn’t guarantee confidentiality to those employees who choose to identify themselves. It doesn’t allow whoever’s investigating the complaint to share updates with anonymous whistleblowers, so they know they’re being taken seriously.

And if employees aren’t comfortable sharing what they’ve observed, that’s not good for anyone.

Address culture and systems together

If your employees are being held back from reporting by any of the following concerns, it’s time to revisit your whistleblowing procedures – from both a cultural and a systems standpoint.

“I need to report something, but I don’t know who to tell.”

Everyone in your organisation should know what your whistleblowing procedures are, and how to make a confidential report. Implementing and publicising a purpose-built digital whistleblowing application makes it easy for people to report issues anonymously or confidentially.

As an organisation, your willingness to make it as easy as possible for concerns to be raised underlines your transparency, and helps to create trust.

“I need to report something, but I’m worried I might lose my job.”

Companies are required to protect whistleblowers and help them maintain their confidentiality. However, scepticism (unsurprisingly) remains within many organisations, where employees don’t believe internal systems and structures will truly protect their identity. They worry they’ll been seen as troublemakers and their careers will suffer or they’ll be made to feel uncomfortable.

Addressing that fear starts with culture. Even the most sophisticated whistleblowing technology won’t make a difference unless everyone in the organisation believes reporting is seen as beneficial rather than something to be discouraged.

From a systems point of view, employees need to know the channels they’re using are safe and secure. It’s important to choose an encrypted software platform where employees can send messages 100% anonymously – and where even the software provider can’t identify them by their IP address or other identifier. You should also offer the option, via your whistleblowing platform and supporting procedures, for employees to submit their names if they wish, with their complaint being treated in confidence.

“I need to report something, but I don’t believe anything will be done.”

A suspicion that their complaint won’t be taken seriously will dissuade employees from sharing information. Even worse, staff might flag issues which then get ignored, leading to a culture of apathy when it comes to resolving problems or highlighting wrongdoing.

Investigations should follow a structured approach, using a clear, well-documented process. Whistleblowers should be kept up-to-date with the progress of their report’s investigation and any action taken. This is where software can help: your platform should allow two-way messaging, even when the whistleblower has chosen to remain fully anonymous. Detailed reporting can also show management teams where patterns are occurring and how well and how quickly complaints are being handled.

“I need to report something, but it’s easier just to stay quiet.”

Publicising the fact you’re implementing encrypted whistleblowing software makes a statement. It shows you take your non-retaliation policies (i.e. that whistleblowers won’t be penalised) seriously. And it demonstrates you’re genuine about wanting to hear from and support employees.

Not only does this make it more likely people will make the effort to report – it also makes you more attractive as an employer. People naturally want to work somewhere where their opinions are valued and structures are in place to protect them.

Using a digital whistleblowing platform also helps to remove friction in the process, making it more likely that people will report their concerns. Offering an app that can be accessed from a mobile as well as a desktop, and is available in the employee’s native language, means there’s no barrier to use.

Everything works better when your people speak up

When unethical behaviour goes unchecked or is ignored, employees can feel disillusioned and disenfranchised. On top of that employees may lose confidence in leadership and the company’s commitment to ethical values, causing distrust. As any senior leader knows, we should worry when our people go quiet.

Make sure, then, that your well-documented procedures, and your simple, intuitive, digital whistleblowing platform, encourage your team to speak up.