BUILDING A MODERN HOTLINE HELPLINE STARTS HEREYou’ve taken an important first step in building a legally defensible program that feeds a thriving culture. Here’s how and why to take the next step.

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It’s been said that being in compliance is not for the faint of heart. You’re the company’s backbone, sound board, the one who has to say, “But, first…” or “This is not ethical because…” or flat out say “No” to big initiatives. You may not be well-liked throughout your company, but that’s about to change. Together, we are going to position you as the trusted partner; the chosen and sought after proactive business resource; the body guard; the culture bearer – and it all starts with establishing an effective compliance helpline and case management process.

Being the voice of reason for your company, let’s start by renaming the traditional hotline to be a helpline. After all, it’s objective is to help employees communicate with the business and for compliance to take that intel to form actionable strategies. We’ve put this together to help you stand up a helpline program or switch from an existing one that is no longer working with ease and sophistication. At the end of this, you will be the company’s hero.

Within the regulatory landscape around ethical cultures and legal defensibility within a compliance context, it’s become paramount for those in compliance to ramp up efforts to prove such is taking place -- whether you find yourself in the role by accident, are in an HR or legal role and filling in for the compliance department, or just starting your compliance career. You need a solution that is dynamic and scalable that meets today’s changing expectations. No longer is compliance static and held against the same seven attributes.

MYTH 

We just need a basic helpline. 

 

REALITY

A lot of companies do only need a basic solution; however, it’s important to get a complete understanding of your needs to ensure they align with the solutions you’re evaluating. If all you need is a phone number, a basic hotline is probably sufficient. While that will help you detect misconduct, it will do little to help you prevent or remediate risk.

MYTH VS.

REALITY

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You are receiving this material because you’re looking for a helpline solution for your company. Maybe you are tasked with finding the least expensive solution; the solution with a low-barrier of entry; the solution that is the down and dirty fix to check a box off your to-do list.

First thing first: helplines are so much more than a to-do list item. A helpline is the cornerstone of your entire compliance program and the tireless body guard that protects employees, the company (and you) from risk, fines and regulatory scrutiny not to mention a breeding ground for some prime data in your organization --- that is, if employees know about it and use it. And with helplines being a top responsibility for compliance executives for another consecutive year, according to the Deloitte and Compliance Week 2015 Compliance Trends survey, it’s time for you to take it seriously. The company’s culture hinges on it.

While 81 percent of those surveyed in the 2015 Ethisphere and Convercent benchmarking report say they use a helpline and case management system in their compliance program, the challenge to create a speak-up culture remains a top pain across the industry.

In parallel to these trends, the industry has seen an explosion of data analytics. Data this, data that, data everywhere – but yet, many in the space struggle in knowing 1. How to get the data and 2. How to use the data effectively to make decisions and influence the company. Guess where you find a swath of data to start working from? Your helpline. Nearly all organizations who do measure program effectiveness use metrics from helpline calls, according a recent survey by Deloitte and Compliance Week.

MYTH 

Our internal solution works fine.

 

REALITY

Outsourcing a helpline contributes to employees feeling comfortable using it and removes the fear of retaliation while also ensuring anonymity.

MYTH VS.

REALITY

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• How to choose the best solution for you and your business

• Dispel common myths with facts

• Outline implementing a helpline in a few easy steps (seriously, shopping for a cell phone is more time consuming than setting up your company’s helpline)

• Set you up with best practices with our step-by-step decision making process

At the end of this piece, you will see that getting a helping up and running is not nearly as intimidating or overwhelming as you may think. Save that fear and uncertainty for when you decide to go rock climbing or bungee jumping or sky diving – not for setting up a helpline.

Establishing a helpline is the first step in creating a really great program – one that protects your company; one that makes the business better at what it does and in an ethical way; one that proves your worth and the value of having compliance as a trusted partner and business enabler versus a business blocker.

In this short piece, we will:

• Define what a helpline is

• Discuss why a helpline is important

• What happens when you go with a check-the-box solution

• The risks and liabilities if your helpline fails or you don’t have a helpline

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A helpline is a channel (phone, web form, etc) given throughout the company to call into and report wrongdoing such as harassment, fraud, insider trading, bribery or corruption and other ethics violations. The objective of a helpline is to offer employees the ability to make calls 365/24/7 and the option of anonymity. Helplines provide expert support on any compliance and should be offered in the native language of the caller, helpline representatives

should be regularly trained on company policies and procedures and return calls within 24 hours. The way you talk about and bring awareness to your helpline it should reduce fear of reporter retaliation or retribution.

Most helplines come with a case management system, which opens up reporting channel options to your employees.

Helplines SHOULD Helplines SHOULD NOT

Be simple to use for reporter and compliance team

Intimidate, incite fear or promote chances of retaliation

Produce data graphics with the touch of a button

Have the legacy of the tattle teller

Have compliance remain top-of-mind for your organization

Be complicated to report an issue

Be offered 24/7, 365 days a week, in multiple languages and and offer anonymity

Have a high-barrier of entry (ask too many questions before the employee is able to report the issue)

Promote proactive reporting and ask questions

Only be offered in one language

Give employees options Only be offered in one format (i.e. a phone number)

Adjust to the needs of the changing workforce

Have poor user experience

Measure and track call rates, call volumes, case topics, etc

Managed internally

Reduce risk, close more cases, determine root cause

1 HELPLINE DEFINED

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• Way to measure the culture and ethics of your company

• Helps you build an ethical culture

• Helplines are a core program area the regulators are looking at to determine ethical cultures

• A helpline is the tool you need to put yourself in the most defensible position

• Cultural impact: if you’re helpline is promoted and used correctly, it can help you build a proactive culture that trusts and depends on compliance to help. If your helpline is not used or cases are never being followed-up on, a culture that does not trust compliance is bred and promoted.

• Helplines contribute to your reputational Risk – brand equity and the value that has on your company.

2 WHY HELPLINES ARE IMPORTANT

MYTH 

A helpline is a “nice to have; not a need to have.”

 

REALITY

This is one of the biggest misconceptions of having a helpline. While private companies, for example, don’t require a helpline, it’s an avenue to give your employees to report misconduct or unethical behavior. Doing so can reduce risk for your company while demonstrating a transparent and ethical culture, meeting regulatory requirements and makes you more defensible in court.

MYTH VS.

REALITY

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You wear many hats. Many would say that’s what makes you a well-rounded professional, but yet, it still is cumbersome to constantly multi-task and be pulled every which way. So when it comes to your helpline, you likely are seeking something that is quick and easy – a solution that allows you to cross it off you ever-growing to-do list. Aside from meeting minimum requirements, your helpline must be able to help you structure big picture strategy and help bring your compliance program up a notch, not set it back. A simple check-the-box solution doesn’t help you with that latter part, and if it’s only a bare minimum solution, you could be putting you and your company at greater risk for not doing enough to help reduce misconduct.

Other common problems we hear often from those who first went with a check-the-box solution, aside from being easy to implement and lighter on the budget are:

• Hefty litigation costs in terms of time invested (i.e. in-house or third party attorney/mediation costs; energy and financial resources when a breach occurs.

• A check-the-box solution may not satisfy regulators requirements after all, since they are honing in on this area, they are getting down to the brass tacks from implementing processes and awareness programs to usage proof points. These are areas in which a check-the-box solution may not be equipped to do.

• Purchasing a check-the-box solution sometimes leads to more trouble and places your company at higher risk. At the end of the day, it may not be worth it at all. The objective of a helpline is to help safeguard your company and its interest, not throw it in harms’ way, which is often what we see as outcomes and unintended consequences when applying minimalist approach to your program.

• Check-the-box solutions enable a “set it and forget it mentality.” We regularly hear that when a helpline is not front and center of a compliance program, it’s one of those functions that gets pushed to the back burner and often forgotten. Yet, when used in everyday practice, an integrated helpline is your most powerful tool for your program to become all-inclusive of the industry’s best practices.

3 WHAT A CHECK-THE-BOX HELPLINE GETS YOUYou get what you pay for…

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• Increase profitability

• Retain loyal customers

• Reduce risk

• Keep better employees

• Enhance relationships with key markets

• Be better prepared for crisis

• Sustain long-term growth

• Outpace competition

• Save money

4 ETHICAL COMPANIES ARE MORE LIKELY TO:

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Features denoted with an asterisk are regulatory best practices

FEATURE BENEFIT

Our helpline links to case management* Builds defensibility and a paper trail that can be brought to court if the time arises

Our helpline is a central repository for employees to ask questions

Becomes a trusted portal for employees to use time and time again to ask questions and raise concerns; eliminates confusion of having too many systems to report into

Our helpline gives you data to justify why compliance is here

Data pulled from your helpline can aide you in spotting trends such as regional hotspots or allegation types by employee seniority level

Make it your own -- a white labeled solution allows you to brand the helpline to fit your organization

Builds brand recognition and awareness with employees and sends the message that your helpline is part of the company

Manage multiple allegation types* Spot trends and patterns faster when cases are clustered together by allegation types

Respond to incidents quickly and consistently, even with your phone or tablet

On-the-go or in the office, you have a constant line of sight into how your helpline is running and what cases are being reported or questions being raised

Offers anonymity* Reduces employees fear of reporting misconduct or raising a question with the chance of retaliation while also reducing the intimidation factor

Translation capability* Allows you to communication with any of your employees no matter their native language

Third-party service manages your helpline externally 365/24/7*

Peace of mind that your helpline is being constantly monitored and properly managed with trained professionals who are privy to your company’s policies and training program

5 HOW CONVERCENT’S HELPLINE IS DIFFERENT

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Employee behavior insight with case records, root cause determination, environmental and behavioral factor consideration

Seeing trends and patterns allows you to take the data to deeper levels which when done properly will help you become predictive and set up to determine things before they happen. Was there a recent lay off (environmental) that led an employee to act out (behavioral); an equipped helpline can help spot and link those to factors so you can address the case with more knowledge and increase efficiency.

Easy intake and case management By making the process as simple as possible to report a case and escalate it through your company, it will reduce the risk employees from turning away or not reporting at all because they got frustrated with the intake process (i.e. if you ask too many questions before they are able to share their insights or the interface crashes before they are able to report).

Case administrators can communicate with reporting parties

Efficient and transparent lines of communication can help bring priority and high-risk cases up to the surface faster and allow admins to ask the right questions before the case gets buried or forgotten

Track and report contributing factors* Helps you to determine if there are any links to other cases or problems that exist in your organization

Relate cases to policies, training and disclosure history

If someone reports into your helpline about a fraud case and the alleged guilty parties have just recently attested to the new fraud policy and underwent training, you can prove that your program did all it could do to educate and prepare the employee to do the right thing

Set privacy controls, access and issue types

Keep those who need to know in the know. Too many cooks in the kitchen can created unintended fires that may have a domino effect and trigger other bad things to happen

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Let’s work together on getting a helpline solution that meets your organization’s unique needs and your goals. Contact us:

MYTH 

All hotline providers offer the same thing.

 

REALITY

While providers offer a hotline, not all vendors offer:

• Call routing to a live operator,

• Multiple reporting channels,

• The ability to route cases to specific individuals/departments,

• Free multi-language support, and customized notification profiles,

• Many others lack a user-friendly design.

MYTH VS.

REALITY HOW TO CHOOSE A SOLUTION THAT FITS YOUR ORGANIZATION

info@convercent.com1 (866) 403-2713

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MYTH 

We don’t need a case manager.

 

REALITY

Having a centralized case management process in place isn’t just a best practice, it ensures you’re able to conduct a more complete investigation. It fully documents the process and results in the event of legal proceedings/regulatory audits. It allows you to track and report on all case activity.

MYTH 

We don’t get many calls so that must mean we have an ethical culture.

 

REALITY

If you’re not receiving calls, something’s wrong. Too few calls are often an indication that employees don’t trust the current process or don’t know how to file a report, which comes down to how you’re marketing the helpline.

MYTH VS.

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Convercent’s risk-based global compliance solution enables the design, implementation and measurement of an effec-tive compliance program. Delivering an intuitive user expe-rience with actionable executive reporting, Convercent integrates the management of corporate compliance risks, cases, disclosures, training and policies. With hundreds of customers in more than 130 countries — including Philip Morris International, CH2M Hill and Under Armour — Convercent’s award-winning GRC solution safeguards the financial and reputational health of your company. Convercent is backed by Sapphire Ventures, Tola Capital, Azure Capital, Mantucket Capital, and Rho Capital Partners. Convercent is based in Denver, Colorado.

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