How technology can help employees speak up over misconduct

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Allegations of misconduct that enter the public eye can ruin corporate reputations and mark an end to executive careers. HR faces a tough challenge gaining employees’ trust to report misconduct, but technology can help, says Neta Meidav of Vault. There’s been a rise in corporate scandals in recent months, with the grimy corporate cultures of household name brands often being exposed by employees or whistleblowers. The fall-out for those organisations is severe – employees, customers and investors question their reputation and the financial impact can derail a business. Companies such as Uber, Nike and WPP have all made it to the news for these reasons, but the scale of this issue affected every sector and every industry. In many cases, such as Nike, employees started their own initiative to unmask harmful behaviour and individuals. Other cases became known because employees had taken to social and mainstream media. Pressure for legislation and the establishing of more regulations has built. Here in the UK, the parliamentary Women and Equalities Committee has recommended that the government introduce a new duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. In financial services, it’s been announced that the new Senior Managers & Certification Regime – which helps to safeguard against misconduct among senior finance executives – will also encompass sexual harassment in its remit. In the US, meanwhile, investors include “social due diligence” as part of their pre-merger preparation, in case any skeletons in the closet threaten to jeopardise a deal – some