Anonymity essential to trust in whistleblowing, according to new WhistleB customer survey

Organisations say that good communication about the whistleblowing procedure as well as anonymous reporting and dialogue are key factors for building trust in their whistleblowing systems. Also, more than half of all reports received led to further action. These are some of the key findings from WhistleB’s fifth annual customer survey on whistleblowing, released today.

“Once again our customers are saying loud and clear that letting people blow the whistle anonymously is crucial. There are many reasons for people to want to stay anonymous; they are afraid of retaliation, they are not 100% certain that something untoward is going on, or they know the person(s) that they suspect is involved in wrongdoing. Given that the EU whistleblower protection directive falls short of mandating anonymous reporting, it’s down to organisations and companies to lead the way here,” says Karin Henriksson Senior Adviser at WhistleB, Whistleblowing Centre.

In its fifth annual customer survey on organisational whistleblowing, WhistleB, part of the Navex Global group, asks customers about how they use their whistleblower system and the nature of the reports that are received. Once again this year, financial irregularities topped the list of the kind of misconduct that was reported at some 30% of reports, joined by workplace and health & safety issues. Up to 60% of reports received led to further case handling.

“The fact that more than half of the reports led to further action and investigation shows us that business leaders get valuable information from their whistleblowing systems. But systems must have the most robust IT and data security possible to safeguard both the whistleblower and the data throughout the reporting, follow-up and investigation process,” says Gunilla Hadders, Senior Adviser at WhistleB, Whistleblowing Centre.

Organisations responded that the main benefits of their web-based whistleblowing systems were building credibility in the organisation and detecting misconduct at an early stage.

Download a copy of WhistleB’s fifth annual customer survey on organisational whistleblowing here.

Contact:

Karin Henriksson, Senior Advisor at WhistleB,
Whistleblowing Centre
+46 70 444 32 16,
karin.henriksson@whistleb.com

About WhistleB
WhistleB, part of the Navex Global group, provides a secure whistleblowing service for companies, public authorities and organisations. Our solution is used in more than 150 countries. We are committed to helping customers minimise their risks and strengthen their performance through highly ethical procedures and a secure, leading-edge whistleblowing service.