With corrupt practices having been woven into the fabric of organisational culture of most organisations, both public and private, most Boards have introduced whistleblower policies to curb this cancer. But are whistleblower policies a panacea for all corrupt practices in organisations? This piece post will unpack the issue in the context of board leadership.

Whistleblower Policy

In an effort to fight corrupt practices in organisations, every organisation should seriously consider adopting a Whistleblower Policy. Typically, a whistleblower policy should have the following provisions:

• Availability: Who should the policy be available to?
• Recipient/s: Who should receive reports from whistleblowers?
• Early Reporting: How soon should identified concerns be reported?
• Method: How should the identified concerns be reported?
• Reporting Standards: What identified concerns qualify to be reported?
• Confidentiality: Should the whistleblowers be promised confidentiality or not?
• The Process: What will happen as a consequence of the report or after the report has been made?
• Investigations: How should investigations stemming from reports be carried out?
• Follow-up: Should there be any follow-ups with the whistleblower after the reports have been made?
• Logging and Audits: What standards should be observed in the area of logging and auditing the reports?
• Retaliation: What will be the policy around retaliation of whistleblowers after reports have been made?
• Board Review: Any merit in having periodic Board reviews of the effectiveness of the whistleblower policy?
• Employment Handbook: Any merit in including the whistleblower policy as part of the Employee Handbook? 

Will a Robust Policy be a Panacea for All Corrupt Practices?

Adopting and publishing a whistleblower policy is a step in the right direction in curbing corrupt practices in organisations. In truth however, a piece of paper is not going to result in reports on corrupt practices if staff perceive senior management and Board members as Gestapo – like in their tactics.

Long before the Board adopts a formal whistleblower policy, it should have established a de-facto one through whom it hires on the Board, in senior management ranks and the control it exerts over employment practices and policies in the organisation. This is walking-the-talk! If the Board has shown that it is responsive to staff, it is much more likely to receive vital information from staff who are concerned about their organisation, particularly if there are clear channels for communicating the information. The Board shows that concern not in just how it responds to a whistleblower but also in how it responds to staff questions and proposals in general.

A robust whistleblower policy also needs to be supported by other policies such as the Ethics Policy and the Board Financial Oversight Policy. The former covers ethical ways expected of everyone at all levels of the organisation, including Board members. The latter policy is about the provision of financial leadership to the organisation, from Board level to the lowest level.

Whistleblowers who become frustrated by the manner in which their reports are handled in an organisation may decide to raise their concerns outside the organisation. This can prove embarrassing if the whistleblower seeks the help of the media, or expensive if the whistleblower contacts a lawyer.