Whistleblowing - an essential tool to combat malpractice
Most corrupt, illegal and immoral practices go undetected because employees fear the consequences of blowing the whistle through internal channels.
In 1996, corporate governance was not the hot topic for management that it is today. Neither were directors' duties as onerous as they are now. Unlike the US, where there is a long established culture of effective whistleblowing, the UK and Europe have not been so supportive. It took a spate of corporate scandals, the rise of shareholder activism and legislation in the form of the Public Interest Disclosure Act to bring about the sea-change in attitudes.
Why use an external whistleblowing hotline?
Good intelligence is often the best defence and there is no better source of this information than from the vast majority of your employees who are honest and ethical. Most corrupt, illegal and immoral practices go undetected within any organisation, because employees, aware these things are going on, fear the consequences of reporting them through existing internal channels.
Trusted staff present the biggest threat to companies because they know the systems and security checks and their actions are rarely questioned by staff or auditors. According to figures produced by the insurer AIG, 85% of frauds are committed by the company's own staff, and 55% by senior managers. While some frauds will be detected by good internal audit procedures, most will not, and even the external auditors represent little challenge to the fraudster since it is not part of their duty to detect fraud.
Research suggests that employees place greater trust in a whistleblowing service which is not part of their company. A whistleblowing hotline not only provides a mechanism for exposing systemic fraud, it also serves as a useful catalyst for capturing other corrupt practices, such as bullying, which can have an equally debilitating effect on corporate performance and reputation.
Expolink's whistleblowing service is impartial and independent. We recognise the importance of an external whistleblowing hotline service:
- Good Intelligence is the best defence – most employees are honest and ethical and there is no better source of information than from those employees. Without an external confidential whistleblowing hotline in place, employees will fear the consequence of reporting internally and therefore it will go undetected
- The cost of silence – when the Piper Alpha Oil Platform caught fire in 1988, 167 people were killed. Workers knew about the safety risks but did not report them for fear of job losses. The Bank of Credit and Commerce International faltered under the weight of a £2bn fraud. The public enquiry found that the one auditor who had raised concerns was dismissed and others never spoke up because they felt they could not safely voice their concerns.
- The cost of a message being blocked – sometimes people fail to report issues because they don't know who to talk to, or their message may get blocked – as happened with the Zeebrugge disaster in which 193 people were killed. An external whistleblowing hotline gives employees the confidence they need to share their knowledge, knowing that their information will get to someone in authority who will do something with it.
- Auditable procedures – an appropriate external whistleblowing hotline complimenting internal reporting methods enables sensitive issues to be communicated for appropriate action by management in a correct manner.
- Compliance – strong corporate governance enables stringent management of a company's reputation.
What’s in it for you?
International outsourced whistleblowing hotlines are one of the most successful tools in encouraging employees to report misconduct.
Expolink’s whistleblowing hotline supports both large and small organisations, including many FTSE 100 companies, providing employees with the ability to speak up about corrupt, illegal and immoral practices, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Expolink's whistleblowing service is personally tailored to each and every customer requirement. Operators are trained to specifically record all the facts and information pertinent to a client’s investigation impartially, without providing advice or counselling. Expolink works in partnership with its clients and compliments your existing, internal HR structure providing you with significant financial gains from a reduction in potential fraud and other malpractice.
With Expolink, you will benefit from an impartial, professional external whistleblowing service – there's no fuss, no hassle. Expolink is dedicated to protecting and collecting information with complete confidentiality, giving your employees the peace of mind they need to speak out about malpractice in the workplace.
Expolink’s whistleblowing hotline provides:
- Personalised and simple services, designed to meet your unique needs.
- Worldwide access, in more than 150 languages, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
- Complete client confidentiality.
- Total security – we report only to authorised recipients and our procedures are vigilant.
- Anonymity and confidentiality – messages are passed on as received; all records of the call are destroyed once the information has been passed to you.
- Compliance with all the latest regulations and codes of best practice.
Working in partnership with Expolink's whistleblowing hotline, you will have the support of a dedicated account manager for day to day liaison. We pride ourselves on our internal processes and place extra care on our:
- Recruitment & training programmes.
- Performance monitoring.
- Investment in people.
- Escalation of critical internal communications.
- Management reporting.
- Disaster recovery and data backup.
- Professional body membership.
To find out more
To learn more about Expolink's Hotline solutions, contact Expolink today by phone (24 hours): 01249 661604, email: hotline@expolink.co.uk or complete the following form:
