Resource Category: Speak up culture
Speak up culture
Search our resources library
-
What Role Does Technology Play in Modern Whistleblowing Services?
Twenty years ago, a whistleblowing service typically meant a telephone number printed on a poster in the staff room. Today, technology touches every stage of the whistleblowing process. From the moment a reporter decides to come forward through to case resolution, data retention and programme-level analysis, technology is involved. The question for compliance officers is…
-
How Can Whistleblowing Solutions Support Health and Safety Reporting?
Health and safety concerns are among the most time-sensitive reports a whistleblowing channel will receive. A worker who identifies an unsafe health and safety condition on a construction site, a nurse who witnesses a colleague bypassing clinical safety protocols, or an engineer who discovers that maintenance schedules have been falsified – each holds information that,…
-
How Do Secure Digital Portals Enable Safe Whistleblowing?
Digital reporting portals have become the most widely used whistleblowing channel by volume. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) 2024 Report to the Nations found that web-based mechanisms (40%), or digital portals, have overtaken telephone hotlines (30%) as the most common method for submitting whistleblowing reports – the first time in the study’s history…
-
How Can Whistleblowing Solutions Be Customised for Different Industries?
A customised whistleblowing programme designed for a City of London financial services firm will look very different from one serving a multinational construction company, a healthcare trust or an international retail chain. While the core principles of confidentiality, accessibility and effective case management apply universally, the regulatory environment, workforce characteristics, risk profile and types of…
-
How Do Digital Whistleblowing Channels Address Cyber Risk?
Cyber risk presents a dual challenge for organisations operating digital whistleblowing channels. First, employees may use the channel to report cyber-related concerns – security vulnerabilities, data breaches, non-compliance with information security policies or suspected insider threats. Second, the whistleblowing channel itself handles some of the most sensitive data an organisation possesses, making it a potential…
-
How Can Whistleblowing Solutions Help Detect Workplace Bullying?
Workplace bullying is one of the most persistent and under-reported forms of misconduct that organisations face. A 2024 report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that almost one in four UK workers have experienced some form of workplace bullying or harassment during their career. Yet the same research revealed a significant…
-
What Types of Misconduct Should Whistleblowing Channels Address?
One of the most consequential decisions in designing a whistleblowing programme is defining its scope. If the types of misconduct are too narrow, and the channel excludes concerns that represent genuine organisational risk. Too broad, and it risks becoming a general complaints mechanism that overwhelms the compliance function and dilutes the programme’s credibility. For compliance…
-
How Do Whistleblowing Channels Enable Proactive Compliance Management?
Compliance management has traditionally been a reactive discipline. An incident occurs, an investigation follows, corrective action is taken and the organisation moves on – until the next incident. This cycle is resource-intensive, disruptive and, by definition, always one step behind the problem. Whistleblowing channels offer a fundamentally different model: a continuous, real-time source of intelligence…
-
Are External Whistleblowing Channels More Trusted by Employees?
Trust is the currency of whistleblowing. An employee who witnesses fraud, harassment or a regulatory breach will only report it if they believe their concern will be taken seriously, handled confidentially and acted upon without personal consequences. Where that trust is absent, the concern goes unreported – or is taken to an external regulator, the…
-
How Does Digital Reporting Improve Whistleblower Participation?
The effectiveness of a whistleblowing programme is ultimately measured by whether people use it and digital reporting has increased the likelihood of participation. A system that exists on paper but receives no reports is not a sign of a misconduct-free organisation – it is a sign of a programme that has failed to earn the…
-
How Can Organisations Ensure Transparency in Reporting Channels?
A whistleblowing channel is only effective if people use it and transparency is the key to ensuring people speak up. The most technically sophisticated reporting platform, backed by the most robust case management system, will deliver little value if employees do not trust the process enough to speak up. Transparency – in how the channel…
-
How Can Multiple Whistleblowing Channels Help Address Systemic Workplace Issues?
Most discussions about whistleblowing channels focus on individual reports: a specific allegation of fraud, a particular instance of harassment, a named individual’s misconduct. But the greatest long-term value of a well-managed whistleblowing programme often lies not in any single case but in what the collective data reveals about the organisation’s culture, management practices and operational…