Challenge: Demonstrating Commitment to Transparency
Before the YMCA of Greater Rochester implemented an employee hotline system, the organization relied on a whistleblower policy to help them encourage employees to report their concerns. But on the heels of high-profile corporate scandals in the early 2000s, the organization realized it needed to formalize its reporting process and demonstrate its commitment to transparency.
With more than 3,000 employees in 17 branches, across five counties in western New York, Fernán Cepero, Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Diversity Officer wanted to ensure that all employees had a voice and felt like they were being heard.
Solution: EthicsPoint® Incident Management Software
Upon the recommendation of a fellow regional YMCA human resources colleague, the YMCA of Greater Rochester chose EthicsPoint Incident Management software as its solution for collecting and managing employee reports. “Having a tool such as EthicsPoint helps the employee. It gives them the assurance that they know their voice can be heard and that they can do that either anonymously or with full disclosure,” said Cepero.
The EthicsPoint employee hotline is publicized on the YMCA of Greater Rochester’s website and is introduced to new employees during their orientation. The organization also worked with NAVEX Global to produce awareness materials promoting the hotline that could be distributed to its various branches and posted in employee common areas.
Once an employee submits a report, either over the phone or online, the report is automatically sent to designated reviewers who respond with a confirmation that the report has been received. The reviewers are then able to engage in a dialogue back and forth with the reporter – even if the report is anonymous. “From that aspect, there’s no delay or lag time from getting the report to actually responding to it,” said Cepero.
Results: Demonstrating Commitment to Listening to Employees
After more than a decade of using EthicsPoint, the YMCA of Greater Rochester has seen some distinct benefits from implementing the software. For one, the organization is better able to see what’s going on at each of its branches.
Cepero takes the data and reports from EthicsPoint and sends it to the senior management team, which includes the Chief Operations Officer, Chief Financial Officer, the CEO and the district vice president. “They equally look at the reports as critically important because they feel that if an individual felt compelled to use this as their vehicle to let us know about an issue that they’re concerned about, then it’s important.”
In addition, every year the YMCA of Greater Rochester does an employee engagement and satisfaction survey. The organization is able to do a comparative analysis between the results of that survey and the reports that are submitted to EthicsPoint. Using both data sets, Cepero and his team can make connections to underlying issues that are being raised in both forums.
Above all, having EthicsPoint in place has shown employees that their opinions matter. “It helped us to reach out and provide a tool to staff who otherwise may have felt that they didn’t have a voice.”
About YMCA of Greater Rochester
The YMCA of Greater Rochester is a charitable association of members that seeks to place Christian principles into practice through its programs for the community to build a healthy spirit, mind, and body for all. The association has more than 3,000 employees in 17 branches across five counties in western New York.