The Grand comparison of whistleblowing channels. What is the best solution?

There are many ways to tick off the legal requirement for an internal whistleblowing channel. For those of you who want to enable people to safely speak up, we have a comparison of the individual tools side by side, with regard to the conditions of the new proposal for whistleblowing protection law.

Phone line

It takes a lot of courage for an employee to reach out via phone call. Phone call forces the person to describe the context without a chance to read and review what they want to say or to attach any form of evidence such as a document, a photo, or other files.

This solution lacks information about who is dealing with the report and what its current state is. In small teams, there’s also no guarantee of anonymity, as the employee’s voice can easily be recognized (what if there’s only one woman on the team?).

• Requires creating a new anonymous account or number
• Doesn’t allow the notifier to think everything through and review what they want to share
• The reporter can’t attach any documents and evidence
• Anonymity can’t be guaranteed
• The line isn’t always available but is subjected to the work hours of the responsible person
• According to the new law proposal, the received reports will have to be stored in written form

Email

E-mail at least eliminates the possibility to identify the notifier by their voice. But different obstacles can arise. Imagine yourself in the shoes of an employee from an older generation who’s already nervous enough about wanting to share a problem with you. If you expose them to the lengthy process of creating an anonymous e-mail, they will likely give up on it instead. Moreover, it will be a chore to create order within all the anonymous correspondence. Not to mention that it will be difficult to collaborate on resolving the issues safely with other colleagues.

• Requires creating an anonymous e-mail address
• You’re likely to get lost in all the incoming anonymous correspondence
• More people can’t collaborate on resolving issues at the same time, on top of which the notifier does not know the current state.
• It’s a cheap solution

Online whistleblowing channel

An online trust box platform enables anyone to speak up about anything safely and anonymously. In addition, it provides the whistleblower with an overview of what is happening with his report and the company solver can even establish a dialogue. In the administration of online reporting channels, the solvers can see the status and number of active reports. They can collaborate with other colleagues on the solution and possibly view supporting materials, such as attached photos or documents. Access to the channel can also be given to the customers, job seekers, or even suppliers.

Choose an online whistleblowing channel wisely. Ensure it meets all the demands that will soon be required from you and that it’s truly safe. It’s good to check how the personal data is handled, whether all the messages are encrypted, and if the ISO certification is present.

• The whistleblower’s anonymity is guaranteed as long as they want to have it
• They can attach any documents and other forms of evidence
• The solvers can establish a dialogue with the whistleblower without putting their anonymity at risk
• No need for creating an account
• It’s available also for suppliers, customers, and other kinds of whistleblowers
• There can be an option to include third parties in solving a certain topic (e.g. your lawyers or the company psychologist)

Physical mailbox

A physical mailbox is a good start. But how to follow up on an anonymous correspondence that arrives in the mailbox? How to find out further details, if someone mentions a serious issue and you’re lacking essential information needed for resolving it? A physical mailbox can be seen as a survival of time, especially among younger colleagues. At the same time, it isn’t compliant with the requirements of the new proposal for the whistleblower protection law, which encourages companies to make their whistleblowing channel accessible also to current job seekers or suppliers.

Maintaining anonymity can also become tricky. The whistleblower is risking being seen throwing a report into the box by someone.

• The whistleblower is risking being seen using the mailbox
• It’s not an ideal solution for the younger generations that are more comfortable with online platforms
• You have no chance to ask for further information nor to follow up on the report, in case it’s anonymous
• Customers and suppliers have no way of expressing their concerns if they don’t have access to the mailbox

We’ll be happy to show you what FaceUp can do. Check out our whistleblowing system and schedule a demo today.