Whistleblowing: group forms panel to define standards.

Is there a need for a global set of standards for whistleblower hotlines/helplines? A group of leading vendors thinks so--and more importantly, so do a clutch of major corporations and nonprofits.

The Open Compliance and Ethics Group (OCEG), a nonprofit consortium of companies, nonprofits, business leaders and academics, in July announced the formation of its Hotline Working Group, a panel that will document a global set of open standards for whistleblower hotlines. The objective: to help organizations address the evolving requirements for hotlines and to help create more effective hotlines that address issues before they become larger problems.

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Initial members include Archer Daniels Midland Co., Ernst & Young LLP, Staples Inc., Wal-Mart Stores, Qwest Communications and nonprofits such as Catholic Heath Initiatives and the Texas University System. The working group will be co-chaired by the CEOs of three leading hotline vendors: EthicsPoint, Global Compliance Services (GCS) and The Network Inc. The Working Group will publish an exposure draft later this year for public comment.

"Over the past 24 months, OCEG has documented end-to-end process standards for governance, risk, compliance and ethics management systems," says Scott L. Mitchell, chairman and CEO of OCEG. "This working group will build on that success and begin the journey of developing specific operating and technical standards for whistleblower hotlines."

"This work will deliver value to the marketplace by making it easier and less expensive to manage, benchmark and evaluate the effectiveness of whistleblower hotlines," adds Mitchell. "It will provide a real opportunity to integrate these hotlines into other enterprise systems such as case management, human capital and learning management systems."

The group will work to provide guidance regarding best practices for organizations of all types, sizes and sectors. Specifically, they will define and communicate:

1. a common code of conduct for hotline vendors and departments to follow;

2. core practices and performance indicators that all organizations should expect to measure and manage as part of an effective hotline/helpline; and

3. technology and data interoperability standards to help integrate hotline/helpline systems with the enterprise architecture.