Mature organizations that strive to minimize risks shall identify the source of the organization's business principles.

Few days ago I came across the quote which stipulated that "it is not the role of compliance nor HR to create organizational culture, it’s the tone from the top what matters”.

It’s disputable due to the fact that the role of the management vel. senior staff is to promote values by which company is driven nevertheless its compliance and HR's role to actively participate in that process and those functions shall definitely not to exclude themselves from this very task.

It applies both to setting values for the company as a whole and as well in design and implementation of the whistleblowing system.

The discussion of the basis of company’s fundamental values really boils down to the age-old dispute over the primacy of law, and consequently the identification of the foundation on which the organization is built.

Legislation aimed at reflecting the provisions of the EU whistleblower protection directive in the relevant national legal orders, as well as the mere fact of enacting the relevant legislation at the macro level, as well as at the micro level in the form of internal regulation, is only a prelude to a multi-faceted process aimed at establishing whistleblowing channels with due protection for whistleblowers.

Company fundamentals

Comparing the implementation of whistleblower protection solutions, on the ground of an organization, to the construction of a house, we assume the protection of whistleblowers including the zero tolerance for retaliation rule, constitutes the stability of this construction.

However, it remains an open question whether this foundation will be natural law, that is, the principles, norms and values that guide the organization, or legislation, followed by a hierarchical system of internal regulations.

Finding an answer to this question, is not unrelated to further activities of the organization aimed at fulfilling the obligation understood as the implementation of a whistleblowing system with protection of whistleblowers, in which the management of the entity plays a significant role.

With regard to the well-known concept of tone from the top, which is the subject of numerous analyses, it is worth considering the very aspect of building an identity culture, based on the lack of social acceptance of behavior that is not in compliance with generally accepted principles, regardless of its background.

The role of the broader management here cannot be overestimated in terms of building an organization that operates in a manner that complies with the requirements of the applicable law.

Merely familiarizing oneself with internal regulations, conducting training either "face-to-face" or periodic online training, as is the case nowadays in the era of widespread digitization of work, is not equivalent to implementing these principles in practice and applying them in daily work.

Raising awareness of the important role of all, without exception, employees of an organization in the implementation of the compliance process and ethical business conduct is a key premise, necessary for a proper understanding of the role of compliance systems, of which whistleblowing channels are an integral component.

An effective compliance system without whistleblowing channels is an oxymoron, with no chance of success.

Conscious organizations that strive to minimize the risks inherent in their operations, through effective training and awareness-raising of their employees, and, above all, converting the requirements of laws and internal regulations into reality by putting them into practice, gain not only the opportunity for effective risk management. More importantly they're construing an organization based on the principles of legality, transparency and integrity, which are fundamental to the functioning of any legal entity.

Each organization that strives for full and proper compliance management is forced to identify the source and substrate of its principles.

While adopting an attitude based on the primacy of state law, and with it the construction of a whistleblowing system based on internal legislation, it should be borne in mind that internal regulation, devoid of appropriate surrounding measures aimed at putting its provisions into practice, does not guarantee the full and, above all, proper implementation of a whistleblower protection system.

Binary regulation

In a formal sense, the enactment of an internal regulation that meets the requirements imposed on a given institution, for example, by law, is a prerequisite for the implementation of the imposed obligation, but, what is worth emphasizing, only a prerequisite. Implementation of a given solution, regardless of the source of this obligation, cannot remain in isolation from practice, which indicates that the focus on legislation without taking into account other elements of the implementation process, such as derived from risk management - self-assessment of risks, Know Your Audience or effective communication on the implementation, management, operation and evaluation of the whistleblowing system in the organization. constitutes only its apparent implementation.

The enactment of appropriate internal regulations is an emanation of the principle of compliance in books. A principle that, if focused only on the formal aspect, leads to an apparent and facade implementation of whistleblower protection.

Perhaps this is due to a literal interpretation of the regulations. Many times overly mathematical, using the term zero-one (binary) interpretation of the imposed obligation.

Conceiving of the enactment of an internal regulation as the sole prerequisite for fulfillment of the obligation. does not carry the risk of non-compliance per se, because in a formal sense, the requirement has been fulfilled. Nevertheless, it may carry the likelihood of materialization of operational risk as a consequence of the failure to materialize the provisions of internal regulations in practice.

Conceiving of the enactment of an internal regulation as the sole prerequisite for fulfillment of the obligation. does not carry the risk of non-compliance per se, because in a formal sense, the requirement has been realized. Nevertheless, it may carry the likelihood of materialization of operational risk as a consequence of the failure to materialize the provisions of the internal regulations in practice.

So we return to the beginning of our considerations and the determination of the "foundation of compliance" for the organization's operations. Is it a clear, transparent and, more importantly, reflected in practice code of values, the emanation of which is internal regulation, or a contrario is it an attribute of state law, on the basis of which the organization seeks to materialize certain norms and patterns of behavior. The determination of this basis for the activities and functioning of the organization, is the cornerstone of the process of implementing whistleblower protection solutions, and determines its subsequent phases or stages.

Undoubtedly, those organizations in which internal regulation is only a formal confirmation of the principles of organizational culture, internal governance in force in the company, stand in a privileged position. Building the right organizational culture with the perception of responsibility for compliance, at every level of the organization, is a long and arduous process. A kind of work at the foundation of compliance, which cannot be done only by creating a hierarchical system of internal regulations.

Sturdy Construction

In summary, the foundation of the organization's compliance, determines a series of follow-up activities aimed at implementing a whistleblowing system.

The organization should strive to embody the principles and rules that guide or ultimately are to be followed. In particular, by exercising due diligence to ensure an adequate level of safety, security and stability of employees in relation to the organizational culture and the principles that constitute it.

Ultimately, there can be no properly functioning whistleblowing system without the commitment, acceptance and good example of management. Without which the principle of non-retaliation against whistleblowers, which is an emanation of social justice, even in the case of the most comprehensive and at the same time meticulous internal regulation, will not be realized.

This is because through the implementation of whistleblowing channels onto company ground we strive to realize the philosophy of Immanuel Kant based on the ethics of duty, that is, acting in accordance with universal duty, that is, the law. At the same time, keeping in mind the moral value of the act, that is, the motives we consider as motives for a certain behavior.