Compliance hotlines can alert management to possible instances of unethical or fraudulent behavior and can highlight the need for additional training on the organization’s policies. They can enable “employees to participate in enhancing the culture” of organizations, says Julie Myers Wood, chief executive officer with Guidepost Solutions, a risk, investigation and compliance consultancy.
Indeed, a hotline is where “the rubber meets the road” for an organization’s overall compliance program, says Donna Boehme, principal of Compliance Strategists. “All of the risk assessment, policy development, training, monitoring, and reporting activities of the program are useless unless they result in employees’ willingness and ability to safely raise compliance issues and concerns.”
