Whistleblowers
Confidentially investigate internal matters including whistleblower complaints, bribery and corruption, and internal fraud. Polonious’ detailed and ISO27001 compliant security ensures that you can thoroughly investigate sensitive internal matters while protecting the identity of anyone involved as long as required.
Full audit trails mean you can demonstrate your commitment to integrity and honesty in your dealings, while flexible workflows can deal with the complexity and open ended nature of whistleblower investigations. Detailed reporting allows you to identify trends and hotspots so you can proactively address any internal issues.
Key Benefits
Deep and detailed security configuration ensuring internal investigations are highly confidential
Adaptable workflows ensure rigor and audit transparency while handling complex, open ended investigations
All documents, communications, video and digital evidence stored securely to evidentiary standards
Application Highlights
You benefit from using Polonious in so many ways…
More than any other factor, the ability to configure a case management solution to reflect your business process gives you a competitive and organizational advantage.
Faster turnaround times. By allowing users to focus on their core responsibilities and not administration and reporting, they are freed up to work the case and complete it in a timely manner.
Ease of navigation, offering easy to use person, organisation and entity searching, case filtering and deep data and document search functionality users can easily find critical information or cases and take action.
Instant overview of case statuses. Via the dashboard, users immediately get a view of their cases with statuses and key dates identified.
Instant updates. Managers in the office can access the newly added data at the press of a button and share it with internal or external clients.
Reduced administrative effort. Typically Polonious reduces case administration from 10 to 25%.
Guided behaviour via configuration of available actions makes it easy for users to understand what they should do next. Users can easily add updates and enter text, change statuses, upload documents or media, check off completed actions, record relevant metrics like case time, travel time, expenses or mileage traveled, proof entries made by others, record complaints or use the log entry as a basis to create a report.
Available anywhere, anytime, online or offline. Users in the field can update case information directly with any device that can run a browser or the ios or android application then sync back to Polonious when they next have access to the Internet.
Automated case reports. In many cases the reports can be completely automated using data, documents and images added during the investigation process.
Less is more. Users only see the parts of the system relevant to their involvement and only cases that they need to see. Once logged in, the user’s view of the world is dependent on many factors including their role in relation to a case such as as a specialist, supplier/vendor, staff member, manager or auditor, the current status of the case and the business units or organisations they are attached to.
Automated updates keep interested parties aware of the progress of their cases via status updates, emails or text (SMS) messages.
Establishing An Effective Whistleblower Investigation Process
Every workplace should have an effective whistleblower system and investigation process in place that allows investigators to conduct thorough inquiries confidentially. Polonious Systems was developed by a team of individuals with decades of experience in investigations and IT solutions, enabling them to build software that can deal with the complex, sensitive nature of whistleblower investigations while maintaining integrity and honesty. With so much experience in whistleblower investigations across various industries, we have some tips for creating comprehensive and effective policies that empower employees to call out misconduct when they see it.
Create a comprehensive whistleblowing policy
Most workplaces have a whistleblowing policy in place. Public companies, large proprietary companies, and corporate trustees of APRA-regulated superannuation entities need comprehensive whistleblowing policies. The team at Polonious Systems has a few tips for creating a dynamic policy that protects everyone involved.
- Make sure your policy is clear. A vague whistleblowers policy is not going to help minimize misconduct in the workplace. You need to be very clear about what behaviors and actions should be reported and to whom who should report them. You should also include an outline of processes so your employees know the whistleblower investigation procedure and how to expect follow-ups.
- Link your policy to your organizational values. If your company values integrity and honesty, make sure your whistleblower policy embodies those values. Find areas of the policy to link back to your business’s core mission.
- Discuss confidentiality. The key to getting people to speak up is ensuring their confidentiality and privacy, as a common fear amongst whistleblowers is that of retaliation and victimization. You need to explicitly state the organization’s measures to ensure confidence is maintained by all involved.
- Ensure training is provided at all levels. You are responsible for ensuring your employees are trained to understand the whistleblower policy and their rights and obligations. Likewise, your management team needs to be trained in receiving whistleblower reports and responding to them.
Utilize Polonious Systems’ whistleblower investigation software
Polonious whistleblower investigation system allows investigators to conduct thorough, confidential inquiries into reports of misconduct.
- Guaranteed confidentiality. Polonious Systems is an ISO27001 compliant company, so you can be confident in conducting sensitive internal investigations. The software will ensure identities, case notes, and other pertinent details remain protected throughout your investigations.
- Flexible workflows. Whether you are investigating cases of theft, fraud, bribery, or corruption, you can tailor your workflow to meet each case’s complexity, allowing you to close cases far more quickly.
- Automated communications. A lot of investigation time consists of repetitive administrative tasks. Polonious workplace investigation software automates communications such as email or memo templates, report generation, and notifications, leaving investigators with far more time to spend on the case’s complexities.
- Update case notes from anywhere. Investigators can upload notes, photos, or videos from anywhere at any time from their computers or smart devices. If there is no access to the internet, investigators can continue to upload notes which will be synced to Polonious when they next connect to wifi.
Become proactive in your investigations
There are a few ways to use whistleblowing investigations to reduce the cases of misconduct in your workplace proactively.
- Be open to change. Policies can not remain the same forever. They need to be living, dynamic documents that reflect the business at that time. When you recognize opportunities for policy updates, make sure you implement them quickly to avoid future cases of similar misconduct.
- Look for trends. With Polonious’ detailed reporting function, you will be able to recognize hotspots and trends of misconduct within your organization so you can address internal issues proactively.
- Consistently assess for weaknesses. Internal audits are fantastic ways of assessing potential threats and vulnerabilities within your organization. Keep looking for ways to improve your business to prevent the need for whistleblower complaints proactively.
Contact Polonious Systems for help refining your whistleblower investigation process
Since 2005, Polonious Systems have provided scalable workflow management and risk assessment software to businesses of all shapes and sizes. We are committed to staying ahead of technological advancements and providing advice and support with IT capabilities across insurance investigation, banking, private investigations, and education. We are renowned for our wealth of experience, professional conduct, and willingness to support our clients comprehensively. If you are looking for software to assist with your whistleblowing investigation process, contact the Polonious Systems team and find out what we can do for you.
