A FTSE100 Company Secretary writes...
We used Expolink for many years for our whistleblowing hotline but they have been taken over by NAVEX Global and the levels of service are now extremely poor. Have others had the same experience of NAVEX and can anyone recommend an alternative?
We used Expolink and chose to move rather than sign up to Navex, who were not prepared to go to RFP in competition with others – insisting that we ‘take it or leave it’. I have former experience of Navex (not in whistleblowing) which was not positive. We have moved our whistleblowing hotline to Got Ethics, who are an innovative Danish provider – quite new in the UK. Their platform is more focused on app and web based reporting and less on phonelines. We have only just gone live with them (1 November) but our experience during the RFP and set-up has been excellent. I would recommend talking to them.
I have used Convercent for a number of years and even though they are based in the US their online platform to manage the report is excellent.
Interesting timing for this question as we have likewise had a forced change from Expolink to Navex on the former’s acquisition by the latter. To summarise a saga, the change of service provider was very poorly handled by Navex and the service levels since then have fallen off, basically because they appear to be a US owned monolith with a “computer says no” approach to service provision – you can have the systems and services they want to offer you, and that’s it. Navex’s most recent attempt at enlightened customer relations is an enforced increase in charges (5%) when inflation is running at a fraction of that, with a “discount” of a 3% increase if one signs up with them for a minimum 3 year term. Our approach was to give Navex an opportunity to impress, but to look around, which we are now doing. No other provided leaps to mind though, so will be interested to see other answers. Our South African businesses use a very good provider, who claim to have global reach, but they are not right for our UK businesses.