Creating a Safe Environment for Employees to Report Complaints

I’ve overseen the representation of clients in thousands of cases, and I’ve learned something that might surprise you: most organizational damage doesn’t come from the initial problem—it comes from how leadership responds when someone tries to report that problem.

When I tried to call a hotline to report an assault during my time at Harvard and was told erroneously that the number was not for students in my program, I’d stumbled into what I call a “black hole.” I existed in an area or class of people not included in the formal process and procedures. This experience taught me that creating genuine safety for reporting isn’t just about having policies on paper—it’s about ensuring those policies actually protect real people in real situations.

The Foundation: What Safety Really Means

Most people making reports of wrongdoing feel they are informing the institution of a problem, not creating that problem. When you treat the person coming forward not as putting you at risk but alerting you to risk, you ease their anxiety and begin the process on a cooperative note. Viewing them as complainers will ignite an adversarial process, which escalates the threat of litigation. Supporting whistleblowers is also a key step in providing a safe working environment for employees. Learn how to create a safer, trauma-informed workplace.

How can you resolve conflicts in a manner that doesn’t dehumanize anyone and respects all people involved? How can you respond to allegations in a manner that respects the humanity of the claimant? How can you take the next step in a manner that recognizes that someone feels harmed?

You don’t know all the facts, but you want to protect your organization’s legal interests. By asking these questions of yourself, you stand a better chance of avoiding a lawsuit—and even if a lawsuit does come your way, you’re more likely to protect the reputation of your organization and minimize the fallout within.

The Four Pillars of Organizational Safety

Through my experience, I’ve identified four essential elements that must exist for true reporting safety:

Clear Communication Channels

I had noticed the sign on the women’s restroom door enough times that when I decided to report George, I knew exactly where to find the number. Making that initial call was hard. I was concerned I would set into motion a bureaucratic and legal machinery that might publicize my disturbing encounter.

Your employees need to know exactly where to go when problems arise. But more than that—they need to trust that those channels actually work for people like them.

Protection from Retaliation

If a physician is making multiple mistakes or abusing patients, his or her colleagues need to feel safe in bringing those incidents to the attention of administration before someone is seriously harmed. If a faculty member is known to be sexually harassing students, his or her colleagues need to know that saying something won’t cost them their job or career.

Communicate safety to all levels and at all levels of the reporting process, and create protocols that facilitate safety as a goal.

Cultural Transformation

Instead of viewing your impact as limited to just quashing the allegation and keeping your people in line, you can create an organizational culture that over time reduces incidences and reports of wrongdoing. You will have fewer reports not because people keep their mouths shut, but because the culture itself takes concerns seriously and addresses them before they escalate.

Equal Treatment Across All Levels

Treat everyone as equally deserving of respect. Whether a janitor, security guard, department head, or CEO, ensure that each person feels equally respected and recognized throughout the reporting process.

What Destroys Safety (And How to Avoid It)

I’ve seen organizations inadvertently destroy the very safety they’re trying to create. If you want your organization to get through investigations unscathed and maintain its strong organizational culture, instruct all levels of management and all investigators to:

Quash rumors and gossip
• Avoid and discourage retaliation
• Be as transparent as possible
• Constantly communicate the grave consequences of libel and retaliatory actions

This protection goes both ways—for the claimant and the accused.

Conversely, the organizational culture gets undermined by:

• Suggesting guilt before an investigation is complete
• Blindsiding your witnesses with surprise interviews and interrogations
• Communicating that the claimant is a problem

These actions expose you to a less effective investigation, higher risk of litigation, higher damages, and a hit to your reputation. Failing to focus on providing a safe working environment for employees can quickly escalate issues. Once you’ve violated these principles and parties become reactive, it can be nearly impossible to control the spill. The complaining and disenchantment will not be held in by the walls of your organization but will make their way to the eyes and ears of the public. Learn more about how trauma-informed care supports this at this resource.

The Transformation That Happens

When you recognize the varying touchpoints along the way and how these touchpoints can become turning points—either escalating the conflict or resolving the matter as constructively and early as possible—you transform your entire organizational approach.

From the organization’s perspective, the process is clear and typically looks straightforward: someone makes an accusation, an administrator determines whether the claim merits action, the matter gets investigated if necessary, and action may be taken.

To those making the complaint, however, the process is anything but clear. This disconnect is where most organizations lose control of the situation.

Final Line about the Safe Environment for Employees

Creating genuine safety for reporting isn’t just good human resources practice—it’s essential risk management. When people feel safe to report problems early, you can address issues before they become crises. When they don’t feel safe, those same issues often surface later in much more damaging ways—through litigation, regulatory complaints, or public scandals.

The choice is yours: create an environment where problems surface early and get resolved constructively, or wait for those same problems to surface later when they’re much harder and more expensive to address.

You have nothing to lose from rethinking your current approach to complaint handling. Indeed, you—and the organization you serve—have everything to gain from doing so.

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For comprehensive guidance on creating trauma-informed processes that build genuine safety while protecting your organization’s interests, my book Win Win: Helping Organizations Mitigate Legal Risk for the Common Good provides the systematic framework you need to transform how your organization handles complaints and investigations.