There are plenty of significant reasons to incorporate an ethics hotline into your company ethics policy strategy. It can be a safety net to help enforce best practices. It’s a game-changer for improving your company culture and attracting top talent. It will empower your employees and others to be vigilant about identifying areas of ethical concern. But there are also a host of financial benefits associated with imploring an ethics hotline. And it’s these bottom-line impacting results that might just convince you to set one up for your business.

Preventing Company Theft Will Save You Thousands

One of the biggest reasons company leaders leverage ethics hotlines involves protections against theft. Regardless of your business model, theft can occur anywhere, including faulty expense reporting, company supplies, digital assets, and client information. And with so many workers engaging remotely these days, it’s the ethics hotline that helps protect against many of these costly thefts.

Protecting Against Lawsuits

Those companies already using ethics hotlines will tell you they’re worth the investment to protect against costly legal action alone. When employees can report incidents or concerns and know an investigation and recourse will follow, they’ll recognize your effort to maintain a healthy work environment. But when instances of harassment or discrimination occur, and traditional measures of reporting are taken without proper follow-through, your company becomes at risk for legal ramifications and expensive lawsuits.

Identifying Safety Concerns Before They Become Incidents

With an ethics hotline in place, employees can efficiently and anonymously report safety concerns without hesitation. And this early reporting of concerns will allow you to address potential safety hazards before someone actually gets hurt or has an incident. Imagine being able to know about a faulty piece of equipment before it fails and really injures someone. You could save lives and prevent catastrophic financial costs.

Deputizing Everyone Is More Cost-Effective Than Hiring

For some smaller businesses, it’s too expensive to hire a team of ethics or human resources professionals to manage the ongoing enforcement of ethics policies. An ethics hotline can essentially deputize anyone in your organization, including vendors, contractors, and visitors, to report violations they experience or witness. In a way, you’re putting a pair of eyes on every aspect of your business without having to invest in costly hiring and ethics management outsourcing.

Limit, Reduce, and Avoid Violation Fines

OSHA and other industry organizations that play a role in your business can fine you for certain violations. Having an ethics hotline can help you spot misconduct and investigate before those potential concerns turn into reportable incidents and subsequent fines. When everyone can help keep an eye on everyday operations, missteps can quickly be addressed and remedied before third-party fines become part of the equation.

There are cost-efficiency and financial benefits to implementing an ethics hotline for your company. And the soft advantages, like an improved company culture that leads to less turnover, can also be reaped. When you’re ready to start leveraging all these incentives, both financial and otherwise, let Ethical Advocate help!