Hotline  

Organizations that are truly committed to creating and maintaining an ethical and compliant environment want and need to learn of potential violations of policies and laws. An organization can only address problems if it becomes aware of them—and the sooner, the better. Hotlines offer a convenient and, if desired, confidential way for employees and others to alert the organization to potential violations. The information collected can then be passed rapidly and in a standard format to management. Further, a quality hotline system allows the organization to review statistics on the kinds of allegations/complaints received, sources, etc., and can allow the organization to produce related charts and graphs. A hotline/allegation reporting system thus is a critical tool not only for enforcement but also for analysis and corrective action. 

Critical Considerations

• Can allegations be made by telephone, electronically or both?
  • If allegations are made by telephone, who receives the calls and what protocols to they follow/what questions do they ask?
• Can allegations be made confidentially?
  • Lack of confidentiality may significantly hinder reporting
• Can allegations/complaints be made 24/7/365?

• Can allegations/complaints be made in languages other than English?

• What kind of reports are generated and who are they sent to?

• What kind of information management is available to support analysis of allegation/complaints?
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• Does the system support a comprehensive case history for each complaint?

• What steps were taken to investigate

• Investigator notes
• Resolution/disposition
• Document retention

• Can the hotline be integrated with online training?

Brightline's Approach

Through its industry-leading partners, Brightline brings state-of-the-art hotline and reporting services to its clients. Brightline will consult with your organization to identify its key needs and to design an appropriate system, including identifying who within your organizaiton will receive reports, have control over case management. Options include both toll-free telephone hotline services (staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year) and web-based reporting. Allegations made by telephone are received and transcribed by highly trained intake managers according to protocols designed to ensure detailed and accurate collection of relevant information. Hotline intake is available in 75 languages and all allegations can be made confidentially.

Core hotline and reporting services will enable your organization to:

• Receive, respond to, search, enter new reports, as well as generate summary reports

• Analyze data on the number of allegations received, the kinds of allegations received, and how many cases remain open 

• Set and change a case status to follow an investigation from open through closed

• Assign the case to an investigator

• Input investigation case notes

• Search case notes and case status

• Attach documents to the case

Finally, the hotline system (whether telephone hotline or web-based reporting or both) can be integrated with Brightline's online courses:

• Your organization's toll-free hotline number will be included in the contact information provided with each course

• A link to your organization's web-based reporting site (if selected) will be inserted in each course