What is a confidential counsellor?
A confidential counselor is an independent person who employees of an organisation can contact with questions or matters integrity issues of unacceptable behaviour. A confidential counselor can be an employee, an internal confidential counselor, or a external confidential counsellor .
The confidential counselor contributes to a safe environment in which the employee can have conversations with the confidential counselor. The topics for which you can contact a confidential counselor:
Confidential counsellor for undesirable behaviour:
Confidential integrity counsellor:
- Act with business integrity
The confidential counselor listens, advises and supports employees in finding possible solutions and, if necessary, refers to other relevant authorities. In addition, confidential counsellors provide information about undesirable behaviour and integrity and provide the board and management with solicited and unsolicited advice.
Why is a confidential counselor important?
About a million employees (source: TNO and CBS) suffer from undesirable behaviour in the workplace. This includes (sexual) intimidation, discrimination, bullying, aggression and violence. Various studies by TNO, CBS and Motivaction, among others, show that approximately 22-26% of employees in 2022 had to deal with a long-term conflict or unwanted behaviour. These situations have a significant impact on both the working atmosphere and the health of employees. In addition, integrity issues, regardless of their size, can arise within any organisation and have a significant impact. Having a confidential counselor is an effective and accessible facility where employees can discuss their complaints, find a listening ear and be informed about the available options. The confidential counselor helps create a safe and pleasant working environment and promote the well-being of employees, with the positive effect for organisations, in addition to promoting a good working atmosphere, reducing turnover and absenteeism.
Confidential counsellor: Safety and well-being of employees
By making a confidential counselor available, an organisation ensures that employees feel heard and supported. This contributes to their well-being at work. An unsafe work environment leads to high employee turnover and lower productivity. The deployment of a confidential counselor plays a crucial role in the pursuit of a positive working climate and thus contributes to the well-being of employees and the success of the organisation.
Confidential counsellor: Prevention and early intervention
A confidential counselor plays a crucial role in preventing and tackling undesirable behaviour, fraud and abuse at an early stage. By creating awareness, providing information and informing employees about etiquette, a confidential counselor can contribute to preventing incidents. In addition, employees with concerns or signals of undesirable behaviour and abuses can contact the confidential counselor in a timely manner, so that action can be taken quickly. This can often prevent a situation from escalating. An escalated situation is often accompanied by high costs for the employer, for example due to absenteeism, absenteeism due to illness, investigation and possible legal costs. It is important that a confidential counselor is clearly visible within an organisation, because this has a lowering effect. In many cases, a conversation with a listening ear and possibly some tips are sufficient for an employee. Trust between employees and the confidential counselor is essential for successful support and guidance.
What does a confidential counselor do?
Confidential counselor and confidentiality
A confidential counselor is neutral and independent, someone who guarantees the confidentiality of conversations. You often see in organisations that a manager, board member or HR advisor takes on the role of confidential counsellor. However, this creates an undesirable and even unsafe situation, no matter how good the intentions are, because managers, directors and HR advisors always serve the interests of the employer in their actual position. Employees must be able to speak freely without fear of negative consequences or repercussions.
Confidential counsellor and the promotion of a positive work culture
By making a confidential counselor available, an organisation shows that it takes the safety and well-being of employees seriously. This contributes to creating a positive work culture in which respect, openness and trust are central. It promotes a working environment in which employees feel valued and can perform optimally. The employer shows that a healthy work culture is important for the organisation and this can increase the confidence of employees, customers (customers, clients, patients, students) and other stakeholders.
Confidential counsellor and cost savings
An important advantage of having a confidential counselor is the possibility of timely intervention in undesirable behaviour and integrity issues. By actively responding to reports and signals, the confidential counselor can help to de-escalate situations and prevent further escalation. This not only has positive consequences for the working environment and employee well-being, but can also result in significant cost savings. If unwanted behaviour is not addressed in a timely manner, it can lead to long-term conflicts, tensions in the workplace and even legal proceedings. These situations often entail significant costs, such as costs for absenteeism, legal defense, damages and also lead to possible damage to an organisation's reputation.
By deploying a confidential counselor who can respond quickly and effectively to reports, organisations can avoid or minimize these costs. The confidential counselor can act proactively, provide guidance to the parties involved, mediate and refer if necessary.
The most common occupational disease in the Netherlands falls under the category Psychosocial work load (PSA) accounts for a third of total absenteeism due to illness. Work-related psychological complaints contribute largely to this absenteeism figure.
Confidential counsellor and compliance with laws and regulations
There are currently many developments in legislation surrounding psychosocial workload. It is currently not mandatory to appoint a confidential counselor, but legislation is now being prepared. On May 23, 2023, the House of Representatives adopted the Groen Links private member's bill and the Senate is now considering it. This bill states that it will be mandatory for all organisations with ten or more employees to offer employees access to a confidential counselor. Certain requirements are also imposed on the qualifications of a confidential counselor. If the Senate adopts the proposal, organisations will probably have twelve to eighteen months for implementation. For companies with fifty or more employees, it is even mandatory to set up a reporting scheme that offers employees access to a confidential counsellor, according to the House for Whistleblowers. These developments emphasize the importance and urgency of having a confidential counselor in organisations.
Although it is not yet legally required, the Labor Inspectorate already checks for the presence of a confidential counselor in all organisations. This is because a confidential counselor is an effective tool that enables employers to create a safe working environment and implement a policy required by law in the field of psychosocial work strain. It is therefore very important to act proactively and appoint a confidential counselor, even if a confidential counselor is not yet legally required.
The landscape of legislation regarding confidential counsellors and psychosocial workload is constantly changing. If you want to stay informed of current and future legislation in this area, you can find out more about the latest developments and legislation regarding confidential counsellors and psychosocial workload via the link below: Is a confidential counsellor mandatory?
Confidential counselor for undesirable behaviour and confidential counselor for integrity
The tasks of an integrity counselor and an undesirable behaviour counselor are largely comparable, but there are a number of important differences. In the case of undesirable behaviour, the confidential counselor focuses on complaints from individual employees who are bothered by the behaviour. Integrity issues concern matters that affect social or organisational interests. The reporter may have a derived interest in this, such as when reporting abuses or irregularities such as theft and fraud
The same confidential counselor can often act in both cases.
Role as intermediary
In cases where the reporter does not wish to reveal his identity, the Integrity Confidential Counsellor can report to management on behalf of the reporter. Here the confidential counselor acts as an intermediary between the reporter and the organisation during the investigation into the report. The aim is to give the organisation the opportunity to investigate the suspected abuse and take appropriate measures.
Reference to authorities
The Integrity Confidential Counsellor can refer employees to authorities. This includes legal authorities or supervisory bodies. Or specifically to the Whistleblowers Advice Center of the House for Whistleblowers. This indicates that the confidential counselor has a broader work area and requires knowledge of other legal areas and research methods.
In addition, the information is confidential for the Integrity Confidential Counsellor, unless there is a matter of conscience, criminal offenses, official offenses or agreements with the client that breach the obligation of confidentiality. The confidential counselor informs the employee in advance about the working method and discusses whether there is a question of reporting or sparring. The advice can be requested by both employees and management and can vary from appropriate behaviour to specific substantive issues, where behaviour does not always have to be the driving force.
Combination function
Combining the areas of work of an Undesirable behaviour Confidential Counsellor and an Integrity Confidential Counsellor offers important advantages. In practice, 90% of confidential counsellors choose to combine these functions.
Internal or External Confidential Counsellor?
What does an internal confidential counsellor do differently than an external confidential counsellor? What are the advantages of an internal or external confidential counsellor?
Internal Confidential Counsellor
Advantages of internal confidential counselor:
- Well familiar with the organisation: An internal confidential counselor knows the organisational culture; structure and processes well, giving them easy access to relevant information and contacts. An internal confidential counselor can more easily collaborate with other internal stakeholders, such as managers, the works council (OR), HR and policy makers, to promote a safe and healthy working environment.
- Familiarity: Some employees feel more comfortable sharing their concerns with someone they already know and are in regular contact with, but some reporters pay absolutely no attention.
- Close proximity: The proximity of an internal confidential counselor can lower the threshold and allow earlier reporting. For example, sometimes a minor problem for which an employee would not go to an external confidential counselor can be resolved at the coffee machine. In this way, a situation can be addressed earlier, which has a de-escalating effect
Disadvantages of internal confidential counselor:
- Possible conflicts of interest: An internal confidential counselor may encounter conflicts of interest, such as loyalty to management or colleagues, which may compromise confidentiality or impartiality. This can quickly happen within a small organisation.
- Less objectivity: Due to their involvement in the organisation, internal confidential counsellors can be influenced by existing relationships and dynamics, which may affect their objectivity. This tends to happen more often and faster at smaller companies.
- Less specialized and less time: In addition to his role, an internal confidential counselor also has a (full-time) job within the organisation. Often an average of 4 hours per week is taken into account for confidential work. This means there is less time to build up expertise and in a heavy case the workload can become too heavy.
- Relationship between organisation and confidential counselor: In order for an internal confidential counselor to function properly, a number of matters must be properly arranged. To prevent conflicts of interest, there should actually be the same rights as Works Council members and dismissal protection.
External Trustee
Advantages of an external confidential counselor:
- Independence and neutrality: An external confidential counselor is separate from the organisation and can therefore take an independent and neutral position when handling reports. Or better said, really representing the interests of the employee.
- Increased trust and confidentiality: Employees may feel freer to share confidential information with an external confidential counsellor, because there are no direct ties with the organisation. This can have a lowering effect.
- Increased sense of anonymity: Contact can be made completely anonymously with an external confidential counselor and if no report is made, the reporter can remain completely anonymous.
- Expertise and experience: External confidential counsellors often have specialized knowledge and experience in the field of confidential work, allowing them to provide effective guidance and support.
- Intervision groups: External confidential counsellors are more often affiliated with one or more intervision groups. Difficult cases are confidentially submitted here to a network full of the expertise of external confidential counsellors.
Disadvantages of an external confidential counselor:
- Less familiar with the organisation: An external counselor may need more time to get to know the organisation and understand specific contextual information.
- May be more difficult to identify and advise: If there are no reports, it may be more difficult for an external confidential counselor to identify undesirable behaviour and advise the board due to limited involvement.
Choosing between an internal or external confidential counselor therefore depends on the specific needs and circumstances of the organisation. Both options have their pros and cons in terms of familiarity with the organisation, neutrality, confidentiality and expertise. For smaller organisations of fewer than 50 employees, it is advisable to engage an external confidential counselor due to confidentiality and (the appearance of) a conflict of interest. For companies with more than 50 employees, we believe that there does not have to be a choice, but a combination. Read why below.
The power of a combination of internal and external confidential counsellors
We believe that in the ideal situation there is an internal and external confidential counsellor, or, depending on the size of the organisation, several internal and external confidential counsellors. This approach offers a unique and powerful combination of benefits, allowing organisations to take full advantage of the expertise and commitment of both parties.
Synergy of expertise
By deploying both internal and external confidential counsellors, the organisation benefits from the synergy of their expertise. Internal confidential counsellors have in-depth knowledge of the organisation, while external confidential counsellors bring valuable external perspectives and experiences. It is also worthwhile to bring internal and external confidential counsellors into contact with each other. An external confidential counsellor can act as a sparring partner for an internal confidential counsellor and sometimes they can even work together in a complex case.
Accessibility and Freedom of Choice
Some employees will prefer to speak to someone they know, while many employees do not. The combination of internal and external confidential counsellors offers employees accessibility and freedom of choice. They can choose who they feel most comfortable sharing their concerns with, knowing that a suitable counselor is always available.
Saving costs
Although an external counselor provides valuable expertise and independence, engaging external services can incur higher costs in the long term. The combination of internal and external confidential counsellors allows organisations to limit these costs and still benefit from external input when necessary.
On the other hand, using internal and external confidential counsellors with a higher level of expertise can lead to cost savings. For example, achieving de-escalating results earlier can prevent lengthy conflicts and legal proceedings. This results in significant savings on possible legal defense and damages.
Combining internal and external confidential counsellors therefore not only offers short-term financial benefits, but also long-term benefits by minimizing external consultancy costs and avoiding potentially expensive legal and compensation costs. This allows organisations to use their financial resources more efficiently and at the same time provide high-quality support to employees.
