WG Whistleblowing

2025 – Protecting Whistleblowers: Promises Kept or Broken?

On March 18, 2025, the ECS Whistleblowing Working Group hosted an online event featuring Mark Worth, Executive Director of Whistleblowing International. The event was organized in collaboration with the PRME Anti-Corruption Working Group and the PRME Business Integrity Action Center at FHGR.

Over the past 30 years, whistleblower protection has been heralded as one of the most effective ways to expose, stop and punish corruption. From the UN to the EU to the OECD, whistleblowing has been endorsed by every major international and regional organization. Thanks to advocates and reform-minded legislators, some 60 countries across all regions now have whistleblower laws. However, despite major efforts to establish protective systems, retaliation remains rampant as these systems are underperforming almost everywhere. Barriers to effectiveness and necessary reforms were discussed.

Mark’s keynote presentation was followed by a discussion among participants to learn from each other about effective approaches to whistleblower protection.

2024 – Trainings tailored to the target group – wishful thinking? An interactive workshop

The CMS/ISO Working Group held an event on November 13, 2024, at the FHGR Campus in Zurich. The session focused on “Tailored Training – Wishful Thinking?” and was conducted in an interactive workshop format.

The workshop explored the challenges of designing effective ethics and compliance training programs that are relevant and tailored to the specific needs of different teams and roles within organizations. While such customization is widely recognized as essential for meaningful engagement, implementation remains a significant hurdle for many companies.

Based on the results of exploratory research, Dr. Helke Drenckhan, lawyer and compliance expert, and Prof. Dr. Christian Hauser, Head of the PRME Business Integrity Action Center at the University of Applied Sciences of Grisons, shared key insights during the session. They discussed the common barriers faced by organizations and highlighted both the needs and opportunities for delivering more tailored ethics and compliance training. Participants were invited to engage with the research findings and contribute their own perspectives in an interactive setting.

Middle Management: How to empower Middle Management to foster a speak up culture

On November 26, 2024, the CMS/ISO and Whistleblowing Working Groups hosted a joint online event entitled “Middle Management: How to Empower Middle Management to Promote an Effective Speak Up Culture.”

Often, organizations focus on establishing formal whistleblowing policies and procedures and less on embedding a chosen solution into a broader speak up culture. Middle management plays a key role in fostering such a speak up culture. Regardless of whether a formal whistleblowing management system is in place, line managers are often the first point of contact for employees wishing to raise a concern. It is therefore crucial that middle management responds to such sensitive issues in a way that further builds trust.

Nicole Küffer, research assistant at the Berner Fachhochschule (BFH), conducted research on how middle management can be better empowered and equipped to foster a speak up culture. In this online webinar, she shared the results of her research and best practice recommendations that emerged from the research. Nicole’s presentation was followed by a discussion among participants to learn from each other about other effective approaches and measures to ensure that a speak up culture is not just a buzzword, but truly embedded in the hearts and minds of middle management and throughout the organization.

Blowing the Whistle in Sport: Lessons from Swiss Sport Integrity

On September 2, 2024, the Working Group on Whistleblowing hosted an event featuring Markus Pfisterer, Head of the Ethics Violations Department, Swiss Sport Integrity.

As a result of the cases of abuse within sports organizations, an independent reporting office, to which victims or witnesses can report an incident or suspicion, began its work on January 1, 2022. The reporting office is a unit within Swiss Sport Integrity. Victims from both professional and amateur sports can report to Swiss Sport Integrity. People who are not directly involved but who observe incidents can also report. This includes coaches, parents, spectators or club representatives. Swiss Sport Integrity can be contacted online via a reporting portal or a telephone hotline. Victims and witnesses can also use the hotline to receive advice and information on how to proceed without having to make a report. In 2022, Swiss Sport Integrity received 264 reports. In 2023, there was a 42 percent increase to 374 reports. Approximately 30 percent of the reports relate to psychological injury and another 30 percent relate to physical or sexual assault. During the event, Markus Pfisterer presented the work of the independent reporting office and how it manages the increasing number of reports. The session was moderated by Christian Hauser.

Corruption in International Business: Does a Creaking Door Hang Longest?

On May 15, 2024, ECS was pleased to welcome Prof. Dr. Christian Hauser of the University of Applied Sciences Grisons and Dr. Martin Hilti, Executive Director of Transparency Switzerland, to present the results of a recently published study on the incidence of corruption in the foreign business activities of Swiss companies. The study, based on a survey of more than 500 Swiss companies of all sizes and sectors operating abroad, found that 52 percent of Swiss companies surveyed are confronted with requests for informal payments in other countries. Of these companies, 63 percent make such payments.

The results are remarkable given that the vast majority of large and multinational companies have compliance management and anti-corruption programs in place. Dr. Hilti of Transparency Switzerland believes that the results can be explained by the following factors:

1. Excessive risk appetite: short-term profits are strategically prioritized over long-term legal and reputational risks.
2. Inadequate enforcement of corporate criminal law:  The perceived (and objective) risk of successful prosecution and conviction is low
3. Insufficient risk awareness: Low awareness of the risks of corruption (and its consequences), especially among small and medium-sized companies
4. Gaps in preventive measures (as well as in their adaptation and implementation): Preventive measures are often taken only after an actual case of corruption has occurred

After the presentation, the 35 participants engaged in a lively discussion. The question-and-answer session was moderated by Patrick Wellens.

2023

How do you measure Speak-up campaign?

On May 2, 2023, about 30 ECS members met at the offices of Meyer Lustenberger Lachenal Froriep in Zurich to discuss “How to measure the speak-up culture.” On behalf of the Working Groups Whistleblowing and Life Sciences, Patrick Wellens, Vice-Chair of the ECS, welcomed the participants and introduced Gerald Hucky as speaker. Gerald used the ACFE Report to the Nation and the Navex Whistleblower Benchmark Report to provide some insights on the median percentage of allegation categories, reporting mechanisms used by whistleblowers over time, statistics on the volume of reports per 1000 employees, retaliation reports, and what a SpeakUp cockpit might look like.

After the presentation, the working group engaged in an active discussion and came to the following conclusions:

• Benchmarking against other companies or industry standards is good, but companies should be careful when comparing “speak-up statistics” with other companies as the definition of what is included in the speak-up numbers may be different
• Looking at the median percentage of allegation categories, HR, Diversity and Workplace Respect represent between 50-60% of all cases. This is extremely high.
• Finding the right balance between employees speaking up and receiving many irrelevant whistleblower reports
• An analysis of the numbers should ideally be done by region/division, by anonymous/non-anonymous, and by percentage of confirmed allegations
• The numbers should be analyzed over time and analyzed by region/division/country, by anonymous/non-anonymous, by percentage of confirmed vs. non-confirmed allegations, and by type of allegations.
• In addition to analyzing speak-up numbers, assessing whether employees feel comfortable speaking up can also be assessed by including specific questions in employee surveys, such as “How comfortable are you reporting misconduct?”

The group then continued the discussion over an apéro.

Whistleblower Protection in Switzerland – Quo vadis?

In March 2020, the National Council rejected the whistleblower law by a large majority. The Whistleblowing International Network (WIN) and the Fondation Charles Léopold Mayer (FPH) have now produced a report on whistleblowing in Switzerland. The aim of the report is to provide an “outside perspective” on the issue of whistleblower protection in Switzerland and to analyze the reasons for the slow progress in the political consensus-building process.

At the ECS event on March 20, 2023, the findings of the report were discussed from the perspective of the private sector by the following panelists:

• Anna Myers, Executive Director, Whistleblowing International Network (WIN),
• Juliette Decoster, Program Manager, Fondation Charles Léopold Mayer,
• Sandra Middel, Head of Group Compliance, Clariant International Ltd
• Stephan Howeg, Partner, Lemongrass Communications AG.

The discussion was moderated by Christian Hauser, Professor, University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons

2022 – Success factors of a speak-up culture

On February 28, 2022, the ECS Whistleblowing and Life Sciences Working Groups organized a joint event to discuss the success factors of a speak-up culture. Patrick Trepanier, Director of Compliance at FIFA, provided an overview of FIFA’s unique governance structure and speak-up channels.

Juliette Noto, Head of Analysis and Compliance at the Swiss Federal Intelligence Services, provided insights into the challenges of running a speak-up campaign in a federal intelligence service where employees deal with sensitive information and tend to work in secret rather than act openly and speak up.

Federal whistleblowing hotline at the Swiss Federal Audit Office

On April 13, 2022, the Working Group on Whistleblowing organized an event on the Confederation’s Whistleblowing Hotline hosted by the Swiss Federal Audit Office (EFK), with Eric-Serge Jeannet, Deputy Director of the EFK, as speaker. At the event, Mr. Jeannet presented the federal whistleblowing unit at the EFK.

Whistleblower investigations in the age of Big Data and artificial intelligence

On June 20, 2022, the Whistleblowing Working Group hosted a workshop on whistleblower investigations in the age of big data and artificial intelligence. Companies continue to receive whistleblower reports and other indications of misconduct which must be investigated. However, the sheer volume and variety of data collected and stored by companies makes investigations more and more complex, increasing the time and cost required to conduct a thorough investigation. Digital solutions using artificial intelligence are being developed and improved to assist with the data analysis for compliance investigations. These technologies can not only help to focus the scope of investigations but also are revealing associations out of the data.

During the event, compliance professionals and investigations experts shared their insights and experiences with digital technologies. The event was followed by an apéro.

Silencing Whistleblowers

An online event entitled “Silencing Whistleblowers” was held on November 17, 2022. The event was organized by the Whistleblowing Working Group in collaboration with the PRME Anti-Corruption Working Group and the PRME Business Integrity Action Center at FHGR.

During the event, investigative journalist Philip Whiteley discussed the playbook of six retaliation techniques used against whistleblowers to cover up wrongdoing. Whistleblowers Alison McDermott and Peter Duffy then described their own experiences as whistleblowers and how these techniques were used against them.

2021

On May 10, 2021, the Whistleblowing Working Group hosted an online event entitled “Whistleblowing systems in practice and during the pandemic”. During the event, two experienced practitioners presented the whistleblowing systems used in their companies, how they are implemented, what procedures are followed when a report is made, and the impact of the pandemic.

Presenters: Sandra Middel-Tissot, Group Compliance Officer responsible for Ethics & Integrity as well as Data Privacy and Information Security at Clariant

&

Dr Annette Schueller , Head of Group Ethics & Compliance and ERM, Secretary of the Board of Directors at Givaudan.

Moderator: Prof. Dr Christian Hauser, Head PRME Business Integrity Action Center, University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons

Whistleblowing: An Essential Element of Compliance Management and Good Governance

An online event with Bartosz Makowicz, Director of the Viadrina Compliance Center, took place on November 18, 2021. The event was organized by the Whistleblowing Working Group in cooperation with the PRME Anti-Corruption Working Group and the PRME Business Integrity Action Center at FHGR.

Whistleblowing management systems are not just about installing a communication channel. To support a “speak up” culture, the system should be smartly integrated into the existing management landscape by adopting existing tools, procedures and processes. Recent legislative changes, such as the EU Whistleblowing Directive, have a profound impact on how companies structure their whistleblowing management systems, and guidelines from ISO 37002 can promote successful and effective whistleblowing systems. In his presentation, Prof. Makowicz discussed the implications of this changing landscape for companies and provided case studies on how companies can best ensure the integrity of their management systems. He also focused on why whistleblowing

27 October 2020 – Webinar: National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines: Contact point for Responsible Business Conduct