HX5 Encrypted Ltd, a UK software company, have built a new anonymous and encrypted messaging platform to help businesses be more effective and efficient when dealing with concerns.
The company founder claims it is going to revolutionise the way businesses deal with whistleblowers, change management, stock loss and customer and supplier feedback.
Andy Parr, the company’s founder says, “We built the platform to be the first truly independent way for people to report to companies while maintaining their anonymity. There are two ways the system can work. A business can deploy the platform internally allowing anyone to report to them regardless of who they are. Or for companies that do not have the platform deployed people can report via the platform, and the platform automatically raises the concern with the company giving them chance to deal with it. We believe this level of independence provides the reporting person with total anonymity to protect them from being retaliated against for reporting something to the company.”
Illegal Killings
Andy built the platform because he blew the whistle about illegal killings in Afghanistan and was retaliated against for raising the issue.
“I know what it is like to think you’re doing the right thing and people will trust and listen to you, only for the organisation you’re trying to protect to turn against you and treat you like the problem. It taught me a life lesson. If I faced the same circumstances again, I would still report but armed with what I now know, I would do it anonymously to protect my career. I would never report internally to a company that’s causing concern because even though they often claim their systems are anonymous, there are lots of digital ways you can be identified,” Andy said.
The platform comes with a portal website helping businesses keep a tab on what is being reported, who it is that is handling the report and various statistics to help managers know what the problems are inside the business and spot trends.
Total Business Eco-System
Because of the way it has been built, anyone, not just internal employees, can report. This means whistleblowing reports can come from the businesses eco-system, suppliers and customers, so they can report things like internal theft or stock loss and feedback on customer performance – helping the business to improve its bottom line through better management of issues.
For those companies that don’t have whistleblowing software enabled internally, the reporting person can still raise a concern via it, submitting an internal company email that all messages will go to and from when they join. But this time, if the business doesn’t deal with that matter effectively or fails to respond, the platform has a cohort of approved lawyers and journalists that the reporting person can ‘re-allocate’ the report to, so they can resolve the matter more publicly and potentially through civil litigation. This option isn’t available when the platform is deployed inside the company directly.
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Uncover Serious Wrongdoing
Andy says this is important to uncover serious wrongdoing that impacts things like the environment for utility companies or fraud in the financial sector. “Our system is multi-sectoral. We have even deployed it as a ‘crimestoppers’ function in a police force. It facilitates safe communications between parties that are trying to do the right thing. But it protects both sides by ensuring the matter is dealt with effectively and efficiently and resolved to prevent further harm. We really believe it is a game-changer for whistleblowers. Because it allows them to report safely while helping to protect the organisation’s reputation because without the platform the person can report externally without even engaging the company. In light of today’s always on media and social media, stories can and do blow up and can cause significant reputational damage to companies that fail to deal with matters effectively. Our platform puts a stop to that risk.”
