A whistleblower hotline is an effective way to uncover fraud and misconduct in the workplace. But, it’s only effective when employees feel safe and sure about using it. Sadly, most employees want to report abuses, but they’re afraid of retaliation. And, that fear isn’t unwarranted. According to at least one study, a full 1 in 5 employees is retaliated against for reporting fraud and misconduct. Here’s how to set your employees’ minds at ease and improve compliance.
Encourage Employees To Report Abuses
When abuses happen, you want to know about them as soon as possible. It actually makes good business sense for an employee to report fraud, for example, because it damages the company – sometimes permanently.
But, without confidential employee hotlines, some employees might fear reprisals. That sets up a no-win situation where dishonest management or dishonest employees can take a company down. The whistleblower is the defender of truth and justice.
Aside from setting up confidential hotlines for employees, you might also consider setting up an independent division within your company that consists of a third-party auditor. This auditor does not answer to any management and, therefore, will not fear retaliation. Moreover, this independent department can protect employees from dishonest management within the company.
Yet another way to encourage employees to report fraud and misconduct is to offer a monetary reward for reporting – part of the funds recovered, a bonus, or some other type of compensation.
Market The Program
If you want to encourage employees to use an internal service, market it. It (marketing) works for your customers, and it’ll work for your employees too. But, don’t think that slapping up a few posters is going to do it. In fact, companies who do that often report a decrease in morale. Why? Because it sets up a mysterious attitude by corporate management – one that pits management against employees and makes employees suspicious of reprisals.
Create a Culture of Honesty and Integrity
By creating a culture of honesty and integrity, you eliminate the threat of retaliation. In fact, if your upper management is honest and has integrity, they won’t commit abuses in the first place. This means, however, that you have to cultivate a strong culture of honesty, integrity, and trust.
Both employees and management must be trustworthy. Taking away incentives for fraud helps too. For example, offering generous bonus packages, giving employees and managers the recognition they deserve for meeting or exceeding benchmarks, and diversifying power within the company – creating a sort of internal checks-and-balances system on management – will all help mitigate fraud and misconduct.
Starting a mentor program will help management connect with employees. When employees see that management isn’t their enemy, they begin to trust their superiors. This is hard to do in a company that has an active union, where employees are pitted against “corporate.”
But, in non-union companies, a culture of trust built on a mentorship program, not only eliminates the need for whistleblowing, it ensures the future survival of the company. Employees are trained in managerial positions, mentored to advance in their department, and learn critical managerial skills that could otherwise take a lifetime to master.
Rose Morris is a human resources officer for a busy corporation in NYC. When she gets some time off, she enjoys sharing her insights on the latest corporate happenings.
