Preventing Malicious Reports

#whistleblowing often comes with preconceived connotations and one of the most frequent questions we get asked WislPort Compliance is how we can prevent malicious reporting where people try to use the protection of whistleblowing as cover for raising false reports.

Before getting on to how this can be done, it’s worth remembering that effective whistleblowing in organisations is the sign of a healthy culture, one where people feel safe to report concerns in good faith.

This is important because effective whistleblowing programmes don’t start when a concern is raised, they begin where a culture of trust, transparency and right-doing is encouraged by management and leadership. Prevention of malicious reporting begins with clear policy, appropriate training, and awareness campaigns that encourage reporting in good faith and discourage malicious reporting by outlining that appropriate sanctions can be applied where it has been found to have occurred.

When a concern is raised, the next set of controls are to ask the person submitting the concern to acknowledge that the concern being raised is being done so in good faith, and signpost the reporter back to the policy, encouraging them to review it. This applies to anonymous reporters as it's just as easy to establish a 2-way dialogue without knowing the person’s name or other identifying details.

The assessment of the concern via triage provides further controls that can capture and prevent malicious reports before any detriment is caused to individuals, teams, or the organisation. When assessing a concern, it’s important to assess for risk to the person raising the concern AND the subject(s) of the concern. Is there enough evidence to proceed? Is the nature and delivery of the concern overly personal, using strong emotional language? Is the concern covered by the policy? Good organisations have a 30-40% substantiation rate for concerns raised meaning 60-70% of concerns remain unsubstantiated (as opposed to false or malicious). That means that it is just as important to protect those that are included as subjects, participants, witnesses etc, when a concern is raised to protect their wellbeing and that of the organisation. You cannot protect your organisation without protecting your people.

Where a triage does lead to an investigation, a further opportunity to identify false reporting is be available. It's important to ensure that investigations are conducted by properly qualified people or teams and that clear terms of reference are defined prior to commencement of the investigation.

Effective whistleblowing programmes build trust and support good culture in organisations. Malicious and false reports are extremely rare where these programmes are in place. Organisations that establish and run effective whistleblowing programmes benefit financially and reputationally. Protecting your people protects your organisation, its stakeholders and its bottom line.

To find out how Wislport can support your organisation with cost-effective solutions, contact us at [email protected].