subject: Reputational Risks In Your Organization - Part 6 [print this page] Why Individuals Are Reluctant to Blow the Whistle On Waste, Fraud and Abuse
Everyone knows that whistle blowing is often viewed as a career limiting gesture, despite the fact that federal law prohibits retaliation. Whistleblowers are not universally embraced by management in any organization. Often they are described as not a team player or are categorized as troublemakers. Management can use tactics such as rumor and innuendo to make the whistleblower look bad.
Whistleblowers discover, despite the egregious financial irregularities that she/he has identified, that they have virtually no support from management. The situation is not remedied and wrongdoers are not held accountable. Negative responses to whistleblowers can be subtle, such as ostracism or moving the person's office to a less desirable location, but just as effective as explicit retaliation in silencing or discrediting the whistleblower. Other tactics include the silent treatment by supervisors or colleagues or the type of equipment that is assigned to them. If this describes how whistleblowers are treated or viewed in your organization, you need to change the paradigm NOW.
Treating whistleblowers like snitches is like disabling your smoke detectors and fire alarms because you do not like the sound of the siren.
Senior management needs to send a clear message to all employees that reporting waste, fraud and abuse is crucial to the well-being of the organization and that there is a safe method to report any instance of retribution for reporting waste, fraud or abuse. Employees will not make these essential reports if they believe that it is not safe and that there will be unpleasant consequences. Whether management approves or does not approve of the whistleblower's message is irrelevant. Federal law has instituted a Whistleblower Protection mechanism which is clear about prohibiting retribution of any kind - even the subtle acts. In today's legal environment management can be held responsible for punishing a whistleblower even in subtle ways. Having an effective Whistleblower Protection Policy is important not only because of the legal requirements, but to provide a mechanism which protects the organization's integrity and future viability.
Management needs to establish a system to protect whistleblowers, but also to encourage reporting of waste, fraud or abuse. The sooner that senior management knows about a potential problem, the sooner the problem can be handled. Consider Whistleblower Protection as an important factor in your organization's commitment to total quality management. Individuals who report problems with internal controls or procedures should be rewarded! They could very well have saved your organization time, money and labor. The report might also have identified a problem that, ignored over time, could have resulted in a crisis.
Design of the Whistleblower Protection Policy
Every employee should have a copy of the whistleblower policy and it should be readily available for review in hard copy and online. This policy should also be covered in any orientation or training programs the business offers for its employees. The policy should clearly describe why whistleblower protection is necessary, how to file a report and the organization's commitment to protecting whistleblowers from retaliation.
The organization's legal counsel should review the wording of the Whistleblower Protection Policy before it is released and provide advice whenever whistleblower reports are filed. The following sample policy includes talking points that should be included in an easy to understand policy.
Whistleblower protection policy checklist
Your organization needs to have:
- A Whistleblower Protection Policy
- A method for reporting waste, fraud or abuse
- Procedures for conduction investigations
- Protocols for disseminating findings in conjunction with your legal counsel
Whistleblower Protection Policy
Note: The policy must be reviewed and approved by your organization's legal counsel
- The Whistleblower Protection Policy is being implemented at your organization to comply with federal law.
- At your organization, any employee who reports waste, fraud or abuse will not be fired or otherwise retaliated against for making the report.
- The report will be investigated and even if determined not to be waste, fraud or abuse, the individual making the report will not be sanctioned.
There will be no punishment including firing, demotion, suspension, harassment, failure to consider the employee for promotion, or any other kind of discrimination for reporting problems.
Methods for Reporting Waste, Fraud or Abuse
There are several ways in which your employees could report suspected waste, fraud or abuse.
- Contact the organization's ombudsman.
- Call the designated hotline that your organization has set up for this purpose.
- Send an email to a designated address that your organization has established for these types of reports.
- Make the report in writing.
Investigation the Report
Your organization should list the steps it would take to:
- Investigate the allegation
- Disseminate the report on your findings including providing the person filing a report with a summary of the findings.
- Take steps to deal with the issue addressed including making operational or personnel changes.
- If warranted, contact law enforcement to deal with any criminal activities.
