Supporting whistleblowing is important, Whistleblowing still caries negative connotations but it is in fact a positive thing. Whistleblowers take risks with their own careers (although it shouldn’t be like that) to raise concerns about activities that of not addressed could put their organisation in serious jeopardy.
Therefore it is important that whistleblowers are encouraged and supported, and that this is seen to happen. In this article we will explore some ways of doing this. You may also wish to read our Introduction to Whistleblowing here.
The Right Culture
The key to getting this right is establishing and keeping live an appropriate culture of openness.
First and foremost it is important people find it easy to raise concerns. People can raise concerns with a prescribed person or body, depending on who their employer is – but in most instances it will be better for people to raise concerns within their organisation and they will be more willing to do so if they feel appropriate systems to do so are in place.
It is important organisations identify and tackle wrongdoing at an early stage. Too often mishandling or ignoring whistleblowing leads to a crisis. This generates negative publicity and reputational damage.
While whistleblowers who do experience harm – discrimination or dismissal for example – only have recourse to an employment tribunal there are still the disruptive operational effects and the reputational damage both internally (morale etc.) and externally (bad press) for a company to consider when looking at whether or not it is worth having robust whistleblowing systems in place.
A failure to recognise and support whistleblowing also points to a problem with the organisation’s culture, and one that exposes organisations to the risk of not being aware of a problem, or taking action on it, when it is too late to avoid damage.
Start With Policies
The starting point for supporting whistleblowing is an effective and clear policy that is communicated to all staff. This should make clear the distinction between whistleblowing and raising a grievance; and also give people concrete assurances that they will be listened to, their concerns will be looked into, and they will not suffer adverse consequences for speaking up.
People raising concerns are not required to provide evidence of their concerns. However in many instances they will be a key source of information. That is why it is important to:
- Listen
- Take their concerns seriously
- Investigate
When conducting an investigation it is important to do it as speedily as possible – sometimes these things take time, but one of the key frustrations people experience is that it is not apparent that raising their concerns have translated into any meaningful action. You might find it helpful to commit to timescales within your policy, so people know what to expect at the outset.
Supporting Whistleblowing and Whistleblowers
It’s also important to keep whistleblowers informed on your progress. You needn’t go into details but regular updates will help reassure whistleblowers they did the right thing.
Quite often, especially in smaller teams or organisations, it is hard to keep whistleblowers’ identities secret. if it becomes known they have blown the whistle they may be subject to negative reactions. You must not tolerate anything that is seen as retaliation. It is misconduct by individuals and places you at risk of an employment tribunal.
Taking Action
Finally, when your investigation is complete you must decide whether to take action, and if so what.
In most cases the issue will warrant some action, but perhaps not as much as the whistleblower themselves expect. This means you may end up disappointing both the whistleblower and the subject of the investigation, but almost certainly one of them (keeping the whistleblower informed helps manage this risk)
Finally, remember confidentiality agreements or confidentiality clauses do not remove people’s right to make disclosures that are in the public interest so it is hard – and risky – to brush instances of whistleblowing under the carpet.
Supporting Whistleblowing Top tips:
- Make it easier for people to raise concerns by designating specific routes to do so.
- Set these out in a clear and concise whistleblowing policy that encourages people to speak up
- Take concerns raised seriously, and until there is evidence otherwise assume the whistleblower is acting in good faith
- Investigate the concerns raised promptly, and do so as speedily as possible
- Keep the whistleblower informed – t will help reassure them that they are being taken seriously and manage their expectations
- Support them – if it becomes known they blew the whistle they may be subject to negative reactions from peers and colleagues
- Take action to address anything you have found. This will be easier the earlier or sooner someone raises concerns.