Unlocking Hidden Insights: How to Hear What Employees Aren't Saying
Do you worry about the things employees aren’t saying to you?
It’s easy for compliance mishaps to slip through the cracks. These issues can hinder your business’s growth and impact employee morale.
Are you a leader in your organization? If so, how confident are you that you are aware of significant issues in the company?
There are many reasons why employees do not report their observed issues:
Lack of trust in the system. Nothing will happen; 25% believe reporting would not lead to meaningful action (Navex Global Report).
They [the company/the management] don’t care.
Afraid of retaliation for speaking up. Studies indicate that 43% believe reporting would not lead to meaningful action (Navex Global Report). (Skillcast). Not knowing the reporting channels, 30% of employees lack awareness of reporting channels.
These are just a few examples. Research highlights that only 41% of workplace misconduct is reported globally, leaving nearly 60% of incidents unaddressed. This alarming statistic underscores employees’ persistent barriers to reporting, including fear of retaliation and lack of trust in organizational processes (Corporate Compliance Insights).
Recently, I spoke to an employee. He was a STAR employee and had just received the “Employee of the Month” award for the second time in a short time when only few were given in this time frame. He was their superstar; but now he quit. He provided a resignation notice because he was unhappy.
These are some of the things he said as the reason of why he quit, and he said to to me privately, so the company does not know and probably will not know unless they ask. So I am asking would you as a leader of an organization want to know?
The offsite Center is treated differently from the HQ. When the HR or Compliance Team hosts certain events - the Center employees do not receive the same care. For example, company-sponsored gifts or giveaways are provided to the employees: they are freely given to the HQ employees. Not enough is left for the employees in the Center; this happens a lot.
“Employees with special skills” mistreat, belittle, and harass other employees without repercussions. Management does not care or do anything about it.
An employee was written up for complaining about a particular employee’s poor behavior during a meeting with an HR person, who was there to speak to the staff about treating each other with courtesy.
A root cause analysis was not completed when an issue occurred during a specific protocol, which could have been catastrophic. All staff involved were never interviewed about this incident; only a select few were interviewed to get the best outcome for the investigation, which was then brushed off as a minor incident.
Hard-working, skilled employees are given more work than employees who choose to say they can’t do something. There is no oversight or training and setting expectations from the corporate office to review who is doing all the work and who is not.
Customers can add more daily bookings than during the regularly scheduled working hours, 7 am—5 pm, going overtime. This causes frequent overtime work; one day, my husband worked from 7 am to 11 pm because a customer could book a long activity at 4 pm, which finished at 11 pm.
There is a lack of staffing to cover the workload; employees are overworked and spent, and without appropriate coverage, the existing employees are stretched thin.
Three (3) high-performing employees from the same department gave their notice in May alone.
Would you want to know these issues?
You would hope the immediate supervisors or managers would bring it to your attention, but what if they are a part of the problem?
In the meantime, you believe your business’s corporate Culture is excellent. Your company even made a few “top of “lists. But is it?
At which point would you sign the alarm? When three (3 ) star employees leave from the same department, will you wait for more “things” to arise?
But what if I told you that correcting these issues early could lead to a happier, more engaged workforce, which means more productive workforce.
To assess your organization’s “health,” you must ask questions at all levels of employees and create an environment where people feel confident about speaking out.
A healthy organizational culture aligns with core values, enhances employee engagement, and drives overall performance. In organizations with a strong culture of ethics and transparency, employee reporting rates are 35% higher than those with weak ethical cultures (Skillcast).
Strategies to Improve Reporting Rates
To address the issue of non-reporting, organizations can implement several strategies:
Enhancing Whistleblower Protections: Providing robust protections against retaliation can encourage more employees to come forward. For example, organizations with strong whistleblower protections see a 50% increase in reporting rates (Skillcast).
Improving Reporting Mechanisms: Simplifying reporting processes and ensuring anonymity can make it easier for employees to report issues. According to the 2023 Coalfire Compliance Report (Coalfire Report), 60% of employees prefer anonymous reporting channels.
Promoting a Culture of Transparency: Organizations openly discussing compliance issues and their resolution foster employee trust. Transparency initiatives have been shown to increase reporting rates by 30% (PwC Global Compliance Study 2025).
Regular Training and Awareness Campaigns: Educating employees about compliance policies and the importance of reporting can address knowledge gaps. For instance, organizations that conduct quarterly compliance training see a 25% higher reporting rate (Navex Global Report).
Leveraging Technology: Compliance management tools can streamline reporting processes and improve issue tracking. 48% of organizations report better visibility of compliance risks after implementing technology solutions (PwC Global Compliance Study 2025).
training Managers to be Ethics Leaders
However, the most critical key lies in open communication. How do we foster an environment where employees feel safe speaking up?
Create training specifically for supervisors/managers to become Ethics Leaders, the extension of the Compliance program. Teach the supervisors/managers how to have a conversation. The Integrity Toolkit is a perfect resource to help managers become Ethics Leaders.
We Encourage a Culture of Transparency: Leading by example. Sharing your challenges and how you addressed them, paving the way for others to do the same.
Acting on Feedback: When employees see that their voices lead to tangible changes, it fosters trust and encourages further open communication with their managers and the company.
By actively seeking out and addressing employees’ concerns, we create a more compliant, productive, and happier workplace and a strong Culture of Integrity, Ethics and Compliance which will lead to better business outcomes, satisfied customers and happier employees.
💬👇 #EmployeeEngagement #Compliance #WorkplaceCulture #Leadership #FeedbackMatters
