Good Governance Guides

Good Governance Guide: No 6.4

Category: Transparency
Subject: Whistle-blowing
Source: Chartered Secretaries Canada

At the heart of any “Whistle-blower” policy is the protection of an organization’s reputation and good standing. As a result of many recent spectacular business scandals it is apparent that organizations need to stress the importance of honesty and cultivate a culture that underscores ethical behaviour. Accordingly, any organization would be wise to formalize a framework that establishes expectations for ethical behaviour in order to preserve the integrity of the particular entity.

Every employee should be encouraged to report any incident involving, wrongful, harmful, illegal or unethical actions or communications. The organization should encourage “reporters” to discuss such situations privately with someone with whom they have established a comfort level. This individual will hopefully be a Supervisor, Manager or Officer of the organization.

Organizations may wish to consider the appointment of an ombudsperson or perhaps an Independent Director of the Board to whom such reports could be made, especially if the “reporter” is fearful of retribution or retaliation. The arms-length relationship must be built on trust wherein there is a guarantee that, under no circumstances, will the identity of the “reporter” or “accuser” be revealed.

In a larger context everyone in the organization must know that retaliation in any form is unacceptable and will result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination.