Are you planning to start a whistleblower program in your organization? Looking for a tool to allow employees to report inappropriate activities safely and anonymously?
It’s unfortunate but true; no workplace is ever free of inappropriate behavior.
I admit that in most places, such accidents occur rarely. But they do. Unfortunately.
And the quicker you hear about those issues, the greater the chance to address them before things escalate.
But to do that, you need a system that will reassure employees that their reports are truly anonymous and safe.
You need a dedicated whistleblowing software.
In this article, you’ll learn what the best such platforms are and how each could help you run a whistleblowing program.
Before we get to that, though, we need to cover some basics…
What exactly is a whistleblower software?
When we use the term whistleblower software, we mean a tool that allows employees to anonymously report any unethical, illegal, or inappropriate behavior or activities within their organization.
The role of whistleblower software is to help employees raise concerns about such behavior without fear of retaliation from the person they are reporting or being labeled as a troublemaker.
These are valid concerns.
A joint study conducted by the University of Greenwich and Public Concerns at Work called “Whistleblowing: The Inside Story” found that for the majority of whistleblowers, their personal position within the organization actually worsened.
What’s more, from 7% to 10% had to resign.
Keep in mind that the data shows outcomes after just the first attempt to notify the organization of any inappropriate or illegal behavior!
(Data from the study.)
These changes become even more drastic at subsequent attempts… Look at the percentage of people who had to resign after the third attempt.
It’s terrifying. In some industries, up to 42% had to leave their jobs as a result.
(Data from the study.)
It’s no surprise that employees are skeptical about whistleblower programs.
They fear retribution, retaliation, and have concerns about their career prospects within the organization.
How whistleblower software addresses those concerns?
For the most part, factors that make a whistleblowing process successful relate to:
- Anonymity: Whistleblower software is built from ground up to ensure that employees can report misconduct anonymously.
- Confidentiality: Reports submitted through whistleblower software are kept confidential and only accessible to authorized personnel involved in the investigation.
- Anonymous Communication: The software also provides a way to conduct 2-way anonymous conversations between the reporter and the investigating team, ensuring that the employee’s anonymity is always protected.
The core features of a whistleblower platform
Whistleblowing tools are designed to facilitate anonymous employee feedback and conversations. As a result, the breadth of their features focuses on collecting feedback safely and securely.
Most such tools offer:
Anonymous reporting box
The box allows employees to report violations safely and anonymously.
This means that the software won’t record any personally identifiable information (PII) that could lead to revealing the whistleblower’s identity.
A wealth of distribution channels
For employees to report violations, they must have an easy way to access the digital reporting box.
As a result, whistleblowing platforms like Suggestion Ox (disclaimer – this is my tool,) provide at least several options to distribute the box:
- Through a shareable link,
- A QR code,
- An embed,
- Through dedicated integrations with the most common team communication platforms like Slack or MS Teams.
Anonymous direct replies
Often, an employee submission isn’t enough to begin addressing the problem fully. You might need more information to understand the problem, and a solid whistleblowing platform will allow you to do so without compromising the reporter’s identity.
For example, Suggestion Ox offers a Direct Reply feature that lets you respond to feedback and have a two-way conversation without ever revealing an employee’s identity.
Whistleblower hotline
Some laws or regulations require that people can report misconduct not just online, but by telephone as well. A “whistleblower hotline” is a telephone number that employees can call to make their whistleblowing report.
The best whistleblower hotlines preserve the employee’s anonymity, not just by ensuring their phone number won’t be tracked, but also by disguising their voice. Providing both recordings and transcripts of reports made by phone can also be helpful for the company as they begin their investigation.
11 Best Whistleblowing Software Platforms
#1. Suggestion Ox
I already mentioned my tool, Suggestion Ox, in this guide. but if you don’t mind, I’d love to tell you a bit more about our whistleblowing features.
So, Suggestion Ox is an anonymous reporting tool that provides a secure, anonymous system for people to report workplace violations or problems privately.
In other words, Suggestion Ox offers everything you need to prevent small problems from becoming big problems and meet mandated reporting requirements.
With Suggestion Ox, you can give employees a safe, private channel to report violations, misconduct, and other problems within your organization.
Different states, countries, industries and certification bodies have unique regulations for what comprises a legal anonymous reporting or whistleblowing service. Suggestion Ox is flexible enough that it can be configured to comply with any regulations. It’s used in every US state, in over 100 countries around the world, and in dozens of industries.
And Suggestion Ox’s whistleblower hotline provides an easy, safe phone number for reporting violations, one that protects the identify of the employee by disguising their voice and providing recordings and transcripts to the investigating team.
Here’s a closer look at our whistleblowing software:
- Collect 100% anonymous feedback and reply anonymously to employees.
- Deliver the reporting box through several channels, such as shareable links and QR codes, or use Slack or MS Teams integrations.
- Your employees can post suggestions on the web and their mobile devices.
- Case management capabilities allow you to assign and track issues, from intake to investigation to resolution.
- AI assistant helps you write more thoughtful responses.
- Data and analytics dashboards, and more.
LEARN MORE ABOUT SUGGESTION OX WHISTLEBLOWING SOFTWARE
#2. FaceUp
FaceUp is another comprehensive whistleblower software designed to facilitate the reporting a misconduct within organizations and schools.
Just like most whistleblower tools, FaceUp allows organizations and schools to provide a secure and anonymous platform to report unethical, illegal, or inappropriate behavior. Its security options ensure the reporters’ confidentiality and protect them against retaliation.
FaceUp’s platform is easy to implement. In addition to working on the web, it offers a dedicated app for reporting misconduct and provides a whistleblowing hotline.
A unique feature of FaceUp is that although the platform guarantees anonymity for whistleblowers, they also have the option to reveal their identity should they choose to do so.
#3. Allvoices
Allvoices is an all-in-one employee relations platform. Its capabilities cover anything from anonymous reporting, case management, pulse surveys, and workplace investigations.
As part of its robust feature set, the platform also offers whistleblowing capabilities:
- Anonymous reporting hotline that allows employees to speak up safely and anonymously.
- Anonymous 2-way conversations.
- 24/7 whistleblower phone line
- Whistleblower hotline that helps organizations remain compliant with laws, regulations, and even internal policies.
#4. Whistleblower Software
I guess the name of this product tells it all. Whistleblower Software is, well, a whistleblower platform offering everything you’d expect from such a tool:
- Anonymous reporting page with the ability to add policies, guidelines, and other documents
- Reporting box shareable by link or QR code
- Safe file upload
- Anonymous two-way communication
- Case management
- Full compliance with relevant laws and regulations, and more.
#5. Easywhistle
Easywhistle is another dedicated whistleblowing software focusing on helping organizations provide a safe and anonymous way to report issues or misconduct.
Aside from the typical features you’d expect from such a tool – the ability to conduct two-way anonymous conversations or GDPR regulation and EU Whistleblower Directive compliance – Easywhistle offers several interesting capabilities:
- Attachment anonymization – The software will remove any identifying information from attachments.
- Reporting on KPI figures and notifications.
- User management
- Audit trail, and more.
#6. SpeakUp
SpeakUp is a whistleblowing software that promises to help you simplify complex whistleblowing workflows.
The platform allows employees to report issues or misconduct either through an online form, phone, or SpeakUp app.
Naturally, SpeakUp collects all feedback anonymously, and its product complies with international and local directives.
Like many other tools on my list, SpeakUp also offers some AI capabilities to help you process feedback faster and more efficiently. It also offers case management capabilities, and allows you to set up a fully custom whistleblowing process.
#7. Ethico
Ethico is a slightly different product on this list. First, It isn’t a dedicated whistleblowing platform. The company refers to its product as a compliance platform designed to promote ethical practices within organizations.
But that, obviously, includes a strong focus on whistleblowing capabilities.
So, Ethico offers features that help you create a secure and user-friendly environment for employees to report misconduct anonymously.
It offers a direct whistleblowing hotline, digital and mobile intake forms, case management, analytics and reporting, and more.
But what’s more, the platform facilitates communication between whistleblowers and relevant authorities, ensuring that reported issues are addressed promptly and effectively.
As expected from such a tool, the platform offers robust encryption and security measures that guarantee whistleblowers’ confidentiality.
#8. NotMe
NotMe’s mission statement is simple: To create safe organizations and communities. As Ariel D. Weindling, the company CEO (and an employment lawyer), points out: “During my legal career, I have witnessed firsthand how traumatizing it can be for people who are victims of bullying, sexual harassment, and corporate power plays.”
Ariel’s company, NotMe, aims to help prevent these and many similar outcomes by providing employees with a reporting app to report misconduct safely.
The app offers an anonymous way to deliver feedback to the organization.
In-app messages allow both parties to communicate without compromising the reporter’s identity.
AI-powered case management lets HR teams track and resolve issues and more.
#9. Whispli
Whispli is another platform to consider when creating a safe space for employees to report concerns, ask questions, or seek advice. For that, Whispli provides you with a full Whistleblowing Management System to provide adequate and anonymous reporting channels to the members of your organization.
You can also run quick pulse surveys to engage with employees actively.
An interesting aspect of Whispli is its 24/7 whistleblowing hotline powered by AI. Whispli provides you with a local and toll free number that employees can call and notify you of any misconduct they’ve been witnesses of.
#10. Whistlelink
Whistlelink is another anonymous reporting tool created to allow organizations to provide a safe and secure environment for employees to speak up.
With Whistlelink, you create a dedicated landing page with an intake form where employees can submit their feedback. The page also allows employees to leave a voice recording of their submission.
The system also offers two-way communication between the reporter and the organization.
Whistlelink offers full case management capability for the organization, which HR and other relevant teams can access to review specific cases.
Finally, the redacting feature allows HR to hide sensitive information before providing access to the case.
#11. Trusty
Trusty is simple-to-use whistleblowing software that, like any other platform on this list, complies with the EU Whistleblower Directive and similar laws. Trusty is quick to set up, and offers all the features you’d expect from a whistleblowing platform – Anonymous reporting, customization of the intake form, case management, and more.
Conclusion
And that’s it. These are 11 of the best whistleblowing tools on the market. What’s left for you is to review them thoroughly and pick the one that matches your needs the most.
Good luck.
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