Mining employees report ethical breaches 300 days sooner than employees working in 22 other global industries including manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, education and transportation finds the second annual ‘WhistleBlower Security Global Mining Report’. The report, released today at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference, also finds 55% of all whistleblowers in mining reported the incident on the same day it occurred, up from 32% in 2021.

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The 2022 aggregate data used in the ‘WhistleBlower Security Global Mining Report’ is from dozens of mining companies that operate across four continents in 11 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, Mexico, Peru, United States and West Africa.

“I applaud the mining industry for how well it is adopting, launching and promoting whistleblower hotlines,” says Shannon Walker, Founder and President, WhistleBlower Security Inc. “Mining has gained a significant advantage over other industries due to a 23% increase in same-day reporting and learning of issues a full 300 days sooner. Not only does this minimize risk and damages, but it can identify any health or environmental concerns that may have gone unnoticed. Ultimately, this helps create a more ethical, compliant and safe workplace.”

When employee complaints are not reported in a timely manner, the organization can be at greater financial, legal and reputational risk. For example, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, companies without a hotline experience double the financial loss of those that have an anonymous reporting method in place. As well, the ‘WhistleBlower Security US Report‘ found that the longer an issue goes unreported, the greater likelihood the employee will make it public by telling friends and family (21%), industry officials (14%), lawyers (9%), media (5%), and social media (5%).

“It may seem counter-intuitive, but successful hotlines get a fair bit of use,” explains Ms. Walker. “If a hotline is working as it should, employees know what to do and where to report issues they aren’t comfortable taking to their boss or HR. Then, when management communicates the outcome of a whistleblower investigation, employees see they take it seriously and are encouraged to use the hotline more. You can see how this cycle increases utilization and reporting, but most importantly, it alerts management to issues that might otherwise go undetected.”

According to experts, effectively launching and promoting a whistleblower hotline is essential to its success. WhistleBlower Security’s tips for implementing a hotline include:

• Launch the hotline with all employees in a highly visible, credible way and support with messaging directly from managers.
• Promote the whistleblower hotline throughout the year and remind employees how and when to use it.
• Respond to whistleblower reports in a timely manner. Employees need to feel heard and that management is taking their concerns seriously.
• Ensure leaders in the organization ‘walk the talk’ and conduct themselves in an ethical manner.

About WhistleBlower Security Inc.

WhistleBlower Security Inc. is a B Corp Certified provider of anonymous employee helplines. Global helplines are live-answered 24/7/365 in English, French, and Spanish (150 additional languages also available) so employees can speak up in their own language and in their own time zone. Visit https://www.whistleblowersecurity.com/ for more information.