Establishing a Whistleblowing Service

Situation: This natural resources company had an in-house ethics helpline system which was not very reliable and which lacked an effective record keeping and reporting system. As a result of the global nature of the business, the company needed a system that would work in multiple countries in a range of languages.

Challenge: To assess the weaknesses of the existing system and design and implement a 24/7 whistleblowing system with multilingual capacity that would work in more than 20 countries.

Action: Assessed weaknesses in the current system by reviewing record of activities of the helpline. A desired set of features for a new system was developed. Assessed a range of service providers, identified selection criteria and prepared tender documentation. Evaluated the tender submissions and selected the most qualified service provider. Established a comprehensive 24/7 multilingual system which documented the issues raised, the process of addressing the issues, and a reporting system to monitor how the issues were resolved and time-to-close. Delivered face to face training to businesses in 5 continents to introduce and embed the new system.

Results: The company now has a robust 24/7 multilingual whistleblowing system with a centralised record keeping and reporting system. Individuals who report wrongdoing can remain anonymous and the company can communicate with them to obtain additional information without whistleblowers fearing reprisal. The company can now easily assess the number of cases open, the status of each case and the results of each case and investigation for each business area within the company. Status reports are produced monthly to monitor the effectiveness of the system.