How we help organisations deal with whistleblowing

Kenya Peters

| Leadership
|
| 5 min read

“So it’s like whistleblowing?” – This is a question we often get asked when we start to explain what our anonymous reporting system is about. The answer is not a straightforward “yes” but it’s certainly not a “no” either. This blog post will help you understand how it can help organisations enhance whistleblowing processes and be used for it.

Whistleblowing complaints can be difficult to handle, and often, if it gets to this stage the issue has already gone too far for the individuals involved and the organisation’s reputation

We understand that whistleblowing is often unclear for employees, with many considering it the last resort. And some employers might not be fully trained in how to deal with them if they come in. We recommend that our partners are clear on what behaviours may be reported through our system, and which of those behaviours may constitute a whistleblowing offence.

Whistleblowing statistics

Did you know, according to YouGov research in 2021…

  • Only 31% of employees know how to raise a whistleblowing concern at work
  • 46% of people asked said they don’t know if their employer as a whistleblowing policy
  • 76% of workers want to see all employers have whistleblowing standards in place
  • And 80% agree that employers should face sanctions for breaching those standards

But did you know that almost 1 in 4 people have blown the whistle faced dismissal after raising a concern once and 66% feared dismissal at the first attempt. This rises to 32% and 84%, respectively, after a third time or attempt. So, while you would expect employees to be protected by law if they do this, many sadly aren’t. Our video below outlines tips for employers on how they can better protect and support their employees when it comes to whistleblowing.

Protecting whistleblowers

We work with each of our partners to understand their processes and key roles regarding whistleblowing, and can include a specific question on whistleblowing within our reporting platform if partners request this. Where partners do have a Whistleblowing Officer, we encourage that they have permission to access relevant information in your case management dashboard. Furthermore, we encourage the support articles to contain detail about any relevant whistleblowing hotlines and to make your whistleblowing policy and procedures clear and accessible. 

We also consider safeguarding obligations by providing all of our partners with best practice questions that have been researched and user-tested. However, we understand that each of our partners may be different, or have different stakeholders they need to consider. 

We encourage all partners with safeguarding responsibilities to provide specific permissions access within our report and case management dashboard to the safeguarding lead, or designated safeguarding officer. 

Within our reporting form, third parties can report on behalf of others, include the Safeguarding Lead. And, reporters can list ‘safeguarding concern’ as an incident type within the system. 

We encourage all of our partners to ensure that any relevant policies relating to safeguarding have references to our software being used, and to ensure there is a clear risk assessment and escalation process in place. 

Whistleblowing FAQ

There are a few frequently asked questions that have emerged across our partnership base. And that includes how organisations can balance their safeguarding obligations with the introduction of anonymous reporting. 

Here are some things to consider: 

  • We have a series of best-practice questions that have been designed and tested to remove barriers to reporting and give reporting parties ownership on how they share their experience, reduce the necessary personal information that is required to make a report, and to allow organisations to have meaningful insights into what is happening in their organisation. 
  • There is a reluctance to introduce anonymous reporting – unfortunately it is a necessary step in many organisations because there are a number of barriers to making an identifiable disclosure and/or going through a formal process – including trust and confidence in the organisation. 
  • Anonymous reporting provides that interim step for those who have experienced unacceptable behaviour, and empowers them to tell the organisation something has happened. This is key in part of their journey to seeking support. 
  • For organisations, it provides meaningful data and insights into what is happening across the organisation to enable effective and proactive prevention, and risk management. 

Help for whistleblowers

While Culture Shift does not receive disclosures or whistleblowing reports, we would encourage you to contact your organisation’s Whistleblowing Officer, or the relevant person or body depending on your sector. You can find a comprehensive list of prescribed people and bodies on the government website

Additionally, you may also wish to contact Protect, the national whistleblowing charity for free, confidential advice on 020 3117 2520. Or you could use Acas Helpline Online to ask questions, look at the full A to Z of advice that Acas can give, or call the Acas hotline on 0300 123 1100. 

Want to find out more about all of this and more regarding our platform, get in touch with our friendly, helpful Culture Shifters who will be happy to have a chat!

Kenya Peters

Kenya’s work is driven by the knowledge that when organisations demonstrate to their employees that they belong at work everything has the power to improve; from productivity to retention rates and end of year projections. Combining expertise in building inclusive cultures with marketing Kenya writes and delivers content that cuts through the noise to provide practical, executable guidance to organisations looking to transform their culture.

https://culture-shift.co.uk/resources/workplace/how-we-help-organisations-deal-with-whistleblowing

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