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SpeakUp for Third Parties

Things to consider while setting up SpeakUp for suppliers, contractors, consumers, and other third parties

Background & importance

Besides your employees, allowing job applicants, interns, consumers, suppliers, or other third parties to report misconduct can greatly benefit organisations. 

SpeakUp® extends beyond employees to include all key stakeholders, driven by mandates like the German Supply Chain Act and the EU Whistleblowing Directive. This tool can be customised for employees and third parties, including suppliers and customers. Here, we discuss the types of reporters and technical/practical considerations for setting up a third-party SpeakUp line. 

 

Background of Supply Chain Sustainability 

 

Types of Reporters

Employee SpeakUp Line

Designed for employees to report misconduct about other employees

Supplier SpeakUp Line

Much of your employees’ daily interactions involve suppliers. Suppliers, being close to your employees, can witness misconduct. As they are related to your organisation, any misconduct can affect you. Therefore, staying informed about misconduct within your supply chain is crucial for control.

The Supplier Code of Conduct helps manage supplier behaviour. Encourage suppliers to set up their own effective misconduct communication systems. This can be advantageous or even required for critical/high-risk suppliers during selection. To monitor this, ensure your organisation has access to reports on concerns and their resolutions.

Encourage suppliers to report breaches of your Code of Conduct either directly to their dedicated account manager or via the Supplier SpeakUp line.

Global SpeakUp Line

Customer reports are a valuable source of feedback. Allowing customers to report misconduct enhances their confidence and trust in your organisation. We can establish a global SpeakUp line, enabling worldwide reporting of compliance concerns.

Opening a channel to the entire world may lead to messages unrelated to compliance, such as product and service complaints. This could increase translation costs. Thus, it is crucial to set up the communication effectively to ensure the SpeakUp line is used for its intended purpose.

Practical Considerations

How to Communicate

Promote the external SpeakUp line on a dedicated webpage, ensuring details are clear and user-friendly. Simplify the term 'compliance' and use visuals to communicate the line’s purpose effectively.

Availability

Ensure it is easier for employees to find their internal SpeakUp line than the external one. Promote the external line to suppliers proactively through: 


 

  • Organise a dedicated Compliance Day at your largest supplier(s) in which you – or a local compliance officer – discuss topics such as your (Supplier) Code of Conduct and the importance of reporting.

  • Putting the information of the supplier SpeakUp line on purchasing orders that go out to suppliers 

  • Use hard copies and share them by using the suppliers’ black boards, hallways, cafeterias, etc.

  • Informing the account managers that are responsible for the relationship with the supplier about this tool, and asking them to discuss it with suppliers (cascading approach) 

Client References

Numerous organisations have implemented external SpeakUp lines, including:

If you would like, we can connect you with clients who have successfully opened external SpeakUp lines to share insights and ideas.