|
With the ‘Whistle Blower Policy’ being
made mandatory by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI),
the role of the corporate ombudsman has come into focus in the country.
Under clause 49 of the Listing Agreement, all companies whose stocks
are traded on Indian stock exchanges, will be required to formulate
an internal policy under which employees can report any unethical
or improper practices without fearing repercussions. The US Sarbanes-Oxley
(SOX) Act also provides such rights and protection to employees,
and is a regulatory requirement by the US Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC). In the IT sector, Wipro, an NYSE-listed company,
has a well-formulated ombudsprocess policy, along with Infosys.
Who is a corporate ombudsman? What are his duties
and functionalities? The Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines
ombudsman as “one that investigates reported complaints (as
from students or consumers), reports findings and helps to achieve
equitable settlements.” A Swedish word, it literally means
“representative” (a derivative of Old Norse umbothsmathr;
umboth means “commission” and mathr meaning “man”).
The word has been used for several centuries to describe a man who
protected or represented the rights of another. In the corporate
context, an ombudsman is a representative of the organisation’s
consciousness. An advocate of ‘fairness’, he is expected
to resolve conflicts and employee concerns in the organisation,
guided by the principles of justice, objectivity, confidentiality
and independence.
The responsibility of an ombudsperson is to ensure
that employees are protected against any abuse, bias or improper
treatment. The key characteristics of an ombudsperson is his impeccable
reputation of integrity—a just and trustworthy person. It is
also necessary for an ombudsperson to have excellent problem-solving
and communication skills to resolve conflicts effectively. He should
be an excellent communication conduit between conflicting parties
to find a solution. An upholder of human values in the organisation,
an ombudsperson should possess the sensitivity to view a situation
from different perspectives.
Wipro Ombudsprocess
Wipro introduced its ombudsprocess policy from
April this year. The policy assures that the employee need not fear
any act of retribution nor worry about losing his job, if he brings
to notice a matter of serious concern. “When we launched this
ombudsprocess, we were being proactive in providing a robust structure
for employees across the globe to raise their concerns. Wipro Ombudsprocess
gives the confidence and accessibility to employees to escalate
their concerns. Indirectly all this adds to a strong bonding between
the employees and the company,” says Anurag Behar, corporate
ombudsperson of Wipro. Behar is also the vice president of brand
and mission—Quality, Wipro.
Behar points out that for more than 25 years
Wipro has had a clear and well-articulated Code of Conduct and Integrity
Policy, which reflected the organisation’s values. “The
organisation and the employees live these values and the policies.
There always have been channels to ensure that any non-compliance
to these policies is quickly surfaced. As the organisation has grown,
the need was felt to put in place another channel, which will be
complementary to the existing channels. This need was felt because
of the desire to make the process of raising a concern even more
employee friendly and comforting,” he informs. This consequently
led to the formation of the ombudsprocess. Six ombudspersons have
been appointed in the company, one at the corporate office and one
each in various businesses.
Key tenets
At Wipro, an employee can communicate his concern
to the relevant ombudsperson through e-mail, telephone, fax or any
other method. Behar informs that the ombudsperson can investigate
the concern herself or through any other person. The report of this
investigation is submitted to the Compliance Committee, which is
empowered to take suitable action. Following are some of the key
tenets of Wipro Ombudsprocess:
- It assures employees that they can raise concerns without any
fear of retribution.
- All “concerns” shall be suitably investigated and
resolved.
- Ombudspersons have been appointed at every Business Unit level,
and one at the corporate level to ensure complete accessibility
and transparency.
- The Compliance Committees are involved intimately with the
decision-making.
- The Ombudsprocess reports to the Audit Committee of the Board,
which consists of three independent directors.
Confidentiality factor
Confidentiality is one of the critical factors
of the ombudsprocess. The ombudsperson uses his good judgement to
decided how and where the information can be shared. At Wipro the
employee who has made the complaint, others who are aware of it,
and also those investigating into the matter, cannot make the matter
public without the consent of the Audit Committee. The company has
assured the employees that it will not discuss the concern raised
by them with anybody who is not associated with the investigation.
Response from employees
An organisation which has always prided in its
open and people-oriented culture, Wipro has had several forums,
both formal and informal, where employees could voice their concerns
and receive redressal. “Ombudsprocess is yet another structure
in the cultural system of Wipro. Employees have used the process
and their response to the entire process has been good,” states
Behar.
The organisation has taken several steps for
creating awareness and encouraging employees to speak up. Behar
informs that the entire process has been put up on the intranet
sites. This apart, Web-based communication tools have been used
to ensure top of mind recall. “We have a strong communication
drive to ensure that each employee realises the right that has been
accorded to him or her, under the process, for its effective utilisation.
There are also regular poster and mailer campaigns, Web chats. Apart
from this we organise regular Awareness Week and Awareness Month
when we activate a strong and focused communication drive detailing
the kinds of concerns that one could raise,” he adds. The process
also forms part of the induction programme for fresh recruits to
make them aware of the rights that vests with them under the policy.
This apart, management team members begin all their discussions
with their teams with a small presentation on the company’s
ombudsprocess.
The concerns
The nature of concerns voiced by Wipro employees
range from perceived violation of integrity (for instance forging
a bill) to very innocuous ones. The latter, points out Behar, are
essentially not concerns about violation of any Integrity Policy
or Code of Conduct, but are in the nature of grievances, which are
also suitably addressed.
Do ombudspersons take care of external concerns
also (by customers and vendors)? “We have other mechanisms
within the company to take care of concerns by customers and vendors.
But they can use the ombudsprocess also,” answers Behar.
Appointment of an ombudsperson is the vital to
the process of corporate governance, which most IT organisations
in India are trying to establish. It is, in fact, the clincher to
the process.sudipta@expresscomputeronline.com
|
