Post By: Adam Turteltaub

Preventing retaliation is a constant uphill struggle for compliance programs.  There is something in human nature that makes people want to know who made the report and ostracize him or her for it.

Munich-based Darja Galante, Senior Business Integrity Manager and Regional Investigations lead for Nokia, has spent considerable time thinking about and addressing the issue. She believes that one reason companies struggle in this area is that they approach the problem in traditional, company-centered way, focused on controls after the incident.  Instead, she argues in this podcast, it needs to be thought of more like biting a lemon.  It’s good for you but the bitterness can be difficult to overcome.

Companies, she argues, need to face the problem head on, encouraging leadership to act and compliance teams to better understanding what’s in the mind of the potential retaliator.

Case studies, she has found, can be very useful for educating the workforce.  At Nokia they even created an anti-retaliation hub for employees to make it easier to access information.

She also advocates changing terminology from “whistleblowers” to “compliance heroes”, and using audit tools to monitor for retaliation.

Listen in to better understand this constant, challenging issue.  Then plan on attending her session at the 9th Annual European Compliance & Ethics Institute, taking place 15-17 March.