Intake Channels: Where Are Your Reports Coming From?
The ways in which your employees go about reporting compliance violations says a lot about your organization.
It speaks to your transparency and willingness to extend empathy, but it also speaks to your accessibility and ease of the process. Reporting shouldn’t only be encouraged for severe compliance cases, it should apply to every issue or concern your employees may have.
Learn how to maximize the usage of your intake channels and prioritize them based on your organizational culture. See ComplianceLine’s 2020 benchmark report below:
Let People Talk to a Human Being
Although hotlines are usually associated as being the first step of the way towards incident reporting and mediation, they are oftentimes the most effective step towards solving the issues.
They offer anonymity for the employee, so there’s no fear of retribution. A hotline also has the all-important ‘human element’ so the process feels more personal and empathetic for the reporter.
When employees feel like they have a confidant, someone who will exhibit empathy and provide helpful mediation, they are more likely to come forward with compliance inquiries.
Reporting Across Channels Says a Lot About Culture
The most common intake channels for reporting on compliance issues are of course the hotline, in-office, or through an online intake form.
While hotlines typically offer the most personalized experience, some organizations may prefer to go the digital route. If you are an organization where the majority of your communications take place online, it may be smarter to encourage online reporting.
The bottom line is that you want to make your team feel comfortable and open to reporting violations. If you can do that by encouraging the channels they most frequently use, you’ll increase your reporting overall.
Handling Online Communications
When it comes to online communications, it starts with an effective online form that correctly captures the employee’s grievance.
Web forms should be dynamic and seamlessly integrated into your system. They should invite more incident reporting by being easy to use and a fast overall process.
ComplianceLine’s online forms allow for full customization along with several time-saving features designed to help your team mediate issues faster.
We also help you maintain updated lists of employees, locations, and other specific details to keep everything organized and expedient.
But… It’s Better to Favor Your Hotline
While it’s important to have a robust online reporting system if you’re a digital business, your hotline should be the primary way that people report compliance issues.
The personability factor is huge when it comes to reporting, and you simply can’t get that from submitting an online form. A hotline is a place where empathy rules, and the human factor is paramount.
Over 60% of ComplianceLine’s reporting comes via the hotline, versus just 33% for the competition. It’s pretty clear cut at this point, more calls via the hotline equate to better overall compliance.
By investing the time to build up the framework for a successful hotline, your organization will ensure that all severities of compliance violations will be properly addressed.
