QUESTION 5

What kind of whistleblowing solution do companies need to implement to be compliant with the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive?

To be compliant with the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive, what kind of whistleblowing solution do companies need to implement? Online, e-mail or telephone hotline, for example? The short answer is that the new directive does not stipulate whether the reporting channel should be web-based, telephone-based or otherwise, instead it focuses more on the obligations that the system needs to help companies fulfil.

 

Over and above the requirements of the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive, what kind of whistleblowing solution do companies need to implement?

We would recommend that companies implement a secure, simple-to-use, web-based system that incorporates both a reporting channel and a case management tool. According to our customers, this creates greater efficiency, quality and robustness in the entire process as the online system guides the case management and is independent of any single individual.

During the last two years we have seen that many companies are skipping whistleblowing phone hotlines as a mode of reporting and moving towards web-based systems. Some of the reasons given are that web-based systems:

  • Are more secure – the information can be encrypted all the way from the whistleblower to the receiver of the message, through case handling and to archiving and deletion.
  • Are more cost-efficient – a cloud-based solution requires simply access to the internet and can be easily scaled up or down.
  • Provide higher quality reports – whereas phone messages cannot always be understood or heard, an online system can guide a whistleblower on the type of information to provide through a simple online form.
  • Have richer functionality – as an example, in today's world of smart phones, a digital system allows whistleblowers to attach evidential material to the web-based reports, such as pictures and text files, which is valuable for the investigations.

 

What kind of whistleblowing solution are companies choosing to implement?

WhistleB's whistleblower solution can include a telephone hotline worldwide, but we always recommend the digital whistleblowing service as the first choice. Today, approximately 95% of our customers use the purely web-based service and only 5% of them add telephony. A small percentage which is clearly decreasing.

What kind of whistleblowing solution do companies need to implement to be compliant with the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive? Clearly you should focus on the requirements of the directive, but then put whistleblower safety first! Carefully consider whether different groups and countries in your organisation really need a telephone-based option, and weigh that up against the most secure option – which is a digital whistleblowing service. Our advice is to offer voice phone whistleblowing hotlines as an option only in countries where Internet access is not widespread, or for employee groups that might hesitate to report in writing.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.