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A whistleblowing programme should be reviewed at least annually against best practices and constantly improved to add more value to the business
Companies that have a reporting system are strongly encouraged to review it according to a recognised standard. Speeki suggests that all clients should use the ISO 37002 Whistleblower Guidelines as a guide towards best practices.
Learn more by reading some of our client stories.
Improvement is a continual part of any compliance or risk programme initiative. Whistleblowing is no different. The programme must be constantly reviewed and improved to reflect best practices.
It is common for every programme to go through stages where it is either not being used, not trusted or potentially over-used. It may also be lacking in process or procedures, or perhaps the protocols need to be updated. The aim is to make a system that people use to report issues and the company can gain insights from as part of their review and investigations.
Results
Re-establish parameters for reporting and investigations
Establish revised protocols to speed up investigations
Re-engage key stakeholders for improved buy-in and support
Situation or challenge
Our client had a reporting programme in place for years, but as part of a move to the Speeki Platform wanted to revisit their whole system. They wanted to make sure the system followed best practices, and were looking for a gap analysis and a set of tasks that they could implement to drive continual improvement of the system.
Solution
Our solution was to conduct a gap analysis and provide a suite of recommendations to improve the system. The improvement of the whistleblowing programme was done according to ISO 37002 whistleblowing guidelines. We reviewed their system, including their policies, procedures, guidelines and controls, and suggested improvements. We provided them with a path to meet all the requirements of the ISO guidelines.
Results
The results showed clearly that the company had a lot to do to get to the level of the recommended ISO 37002 standard. They lacked a lot of buy-in and understanding of the value of a whistleblowing programme and needed a lot more knowledge and involvement by top management to make the programme effective. Their policies and procedures were also quite old, complex, too long and poorly drafted. The investigations protocols were simplistic and lacked clarity and detail. The programme improvement actions added significant focus, won executive buy-in for the improvement initiatives, and set a path to meeting the ISO 37002 guidelines. The aim of making the system more robust, more relevant, more understood and more efficient was well achieved.
* We take our clients' confidentiality seriously. While we've masked or changed their names, the results are real.
