Why positively promoting your whistleblowing program (including your whistleblower technology channel) matters

For many organisations, implementing a whistleblowing program can feel like a compliance ‘tickbox’ exercise - a necessary part of governance, but one that is rarely acknowledged. Organisations with underutilised or poorly advertised whistleblowing programs are often quick to justify their lack of engagement: “Our culture is strong; we have nothing to worry about.”

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It's a common mindset, but one that can nevertheless be problematic, especially when regulations are changing rapidly and employee expectations are higher than ever; not only do today’s staff have more rights, they also understand their rights.

The emerging, younger workforce expects greater accountability from their employers and is eager to seek out workplaces that use reporting channels to challenge unlawful or unethical conduct with integrity. After all, a well-promoted whistleblowing program sends a clear message that this is an organisation where concerns are taken seriously.

Moving from compliance to culture

An effective whistleblowing program goes beyond being a safeguard against misconduct; it should reflect your organisation’s embedded values and its commitment to ethical operations and transparency. While culture can’t be transformed overnight, taking a positive and proactive approach to whistleblowing is a good first step. Not only will a well-implemented reporting program reduce operational risk but also create a healthy culture where your employees are listened to, respected and feel able to speak out.

Here are some of the top reasons why it’s important to promote your whistleblowing program:

1. Attracting and retaining top talent
   Professionals seek employers who demonstrate strong governance and accountability. To be effective at recruiting and retaining top talent within today’s competitive market, it’s important to carefully consider how (and where) to promote your policies, including whistleblowing.
   
   
2. Adapting to regulatory changes
   Evolving regulations around whistleblowing and the introduction of laws such as the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive highlight the importance of transparent reporting mechanisms. By integrating whistleblowing into your organisational culture, maintaining compliance requirements is made easier.
   
   
3. Strengthening organisational integrity
   Whistleblowing channels are designed to encourage early intervention, allowing businesses to address potential cases of wrongdoing, malpractice or risk before they escalate. Insights from whistleblowing reports often extend beyond misconduct, revealing opportunities for businesses of all sizes to address broader operational and governance improvements.

Best practices for promoting your whistleblowing program

Whistleblowing channels are now commonplace in corporate environments. However, for your program to be effective, people need to know it exists, how it works and how to access it. Not only that does this involve removing any negative connotations around the term ‘whistleblower’, it means moving away from the traditional ‘set it and forget it’ mindset which misses the opportunity for you to engage with employees in a meaningful way.

Encouraging people to speak up can help you to move beyond compliance and create a program that offers genuine value:

• Clear communication
  Everyone, from entry level to C-suite) should understand how to raise a report, how it will be managed and how those who speak up will be protected. Rather than a one-time announcement, talk about your whistleblowing program openly and consistently, reinforcing it in company-wide training sessions and meetings and internal messaging.
  
• Leadership support
  Buy-in from your leadership teams, who endorse and actively promote the program, means employees are more likely to trust it and feel confident that their concerns will be handled sensitively, professionally and without retaliation.
  
• User-friendly channels
  A whistleblowing channel should be accessible, secure and confidential. Clearly communicate details of your program internally, through key documents such as the employee handbook, code of conduct and ethics policy.
  
• Data-driven improvements
  Using the information from whistleblowing reports could also lead to addressing any wider operational issues, improving workflows and governance practices.

Case study - How an organisation transformed transparency and trust with a whistleblowing program

Following a corruption case at organisation XYZ, the leadership team recognised the need for more transparency. Veremark was tasked with implementing an independent whistleblowing channel, which was widely advertised across XYZ’s workforce across multiple communication platforms. Leaders normalised its use - and stressed the importance of whistleblowing - by openly discussing it with the workforce, while qualified personnel were hired by XYZ to assess complaints and ensure confidentiality.

Over the course of 12 months, the results of the initiative highlighted the potential of whistleblowing programs to transform not just governance but organisational culture:

• After the channel went live, reports increased by 195% from the previous 12 months. While the significant rise resulted in an additional workload for XYZ, it also reflected a rise in employee engagement and trust.

• Not limited to misconduct reports, many complaints highlighting operational inefficiencies and governance gaps. This led to broader business improvement workflows being put in place with the relevant line manager or governance function.
• As the culture of transparency and accountability improved, so employees reported feeling more empowered and engaged.

• Integrity-related complaints to regulators dropped significantly over the preceding two-year period, demonstrating the effectiveness of internal reporting channels.

Why whistleblowing programs are non-negotiable

Corporate scandals can quickly escalate and having a secure, independent whistleblowing channel in place is essential to protecting your organisational integrity, employee trust, stakeholder confidence and brand reputation. But success requires more than just having a program in place; organisations need to actively promote it, have leadership buy-in and use data insights to drive continuous improvement.

At Veremark, we understand the challenges and opportunities of implementing an effective whistleblowing program. Our end-to-end solution combines secure online reporting with a best-practice policy framework, balancing the needs of the whistle-blower with the organisation, ensuring your program meets both operational and regulatory requirements.