This article explains how to add the Personio Whistleblowing app to your Personio plan and the steps to successfully implement the tool. We recommend completing the Launch Personio Whistleblowing course in our Personio Voyager Academy to complement the information within this article.

Add Whistleblowing to your plan

To add Whistleblowing to your plan, you can manage your Personio plan yourself or contact your Account Manager. 

Set up Personio Whistleblowing

Define the language preferences

The language preferences in your Personio account affect the language of your Whistleblowing app. For example, if your personal language in Personio is set to German, then your Whistleblowing app also appears in German. The language of the reporting form depends on the language settings of the reporter's browser. The tool will always default back to English.

See How Do I Change the Language of My Personio Account? to define your language preferences.

Grant access to manage reporting channels and case managers

Once you have added Whistleblowing to your plan, the next step is to define your organization's reporting channels and add case managers to the respective channels. Only the following users can take these actions: 

• A Personio Administrator
• A Personio user with "Channel Administrator" access rights (see more details below). 

Due to the sensitive content in Personio Whistleblowing, access rights for Personio and access rights for Personio Whistleblowing are completely separate. This allows for different individuals to serve as Personio Administrators, Channel Administrators, and case managers, helping to preserve anonymity, data privacy, and compliance. See more information about the varying levels of access rights.

Grant Channel Administrator access rights

To grant an individual "Channel Administrator" access rights, and the ability to manage reporting channels or case managers, follow these steps: 

1. Go to Settings > People > Employee Roles.
2. Create a new employee role specifically for your organization's Whistleblowing Channel Administrators. 
3. Add all designated Channel Administrators to the newly created role. 
4. On the Employee roles page, select the newly created role.
5. Click the Access Rights tab underneath the role title.
6. Scroll down to Configurations > Whistleblowing > Channel Administrator and enable the access rights.
7. Click Save.

Note
Case managers do not need "Channel Administrator" access rights. Only grant this access right to users authorized to add or remove reporting channels and case managers.

Manage reporting channels and case managers

Reporting channels

Reporters can submit their cases to different reporting channels, depending on the set-up of the organization. This adds additional security, and ensures that case managers can only see cases within the specific reporting channel(s) they've been assigned to. 

To define reporting channels, see Manage reporting channels and categories.

Tip
Reporting channels can only be archived, not deleted. We recommend creating clear, and easy to understand names for each channel to avoid confusing reporters.

 

Case managers

Only users designated as case managers can access cases in Personio Whistleblowing. To be added as a case manager, the user must have a profile in Personio. They need to be explicitly selected in the app, and this is not linked to any other roles or rights in Personio. All changes to case managers are logged, creating an audit trail of who added each case manager, and when. This helps ensure compliance. 

To add a case manager, including external individuals, to a reporting channel, see Add or remove case managers in Personio Whistleblowing.

Tip
Personio Administrators and Channel Administrators can't see cases unless they're assigned as case managers. In the Whistleblowing settings, they will only see the names of reporting channels and case managers assigned to each.

Access and share your reporting form link

Access your reporting form link

The link to your organization's reporting form is located in the Personio Whistleblowing app. We recommend copying this link and sharing it in accessible, high traffic areas. 

To access your organization's reporting form link, follow these steps:

1. Go to Personio > Whistleblowing.
2. In the top-left corner, click Whistleblowing > Settings.
3. Under Settings, click Reporting form link.
4. Click Copy link. 
5. Add this link anywhere that's visible and accessible, so individuals can easily report cases or follow up on cases they’ve already submitted. 

Tip
Your organization's reporting form link is:
https://[yourcompanyhostname].personiowhistleblowing.com

Add a link to your privacy policy on your reporting form

The Whistleblowing settings include an option to link your organization's privacy policy directly on the case reporting landing page. Once added, the link appears on the case reporting landing page that reporters can reference.

To add your organization's privacy policy link, follow these steps:

1. Go to Personio > Whistleblowing.
2. In the top-left corner, click Whistleblowing > Settings.
3. Under Settings, click Privacy policy link.
4. Enter the link to your organization's privacy policy and click Save link. 

The link appears on your reporting form landing page, under the FAQ section.

Suggested places to share your reporting form link

An accessible and visible whistleblowing reporting form is crucial. Making it easy for employees and external individuals to report misconduct helps foster a culture where reporters feel safe, encouraged to speak up, and protected from retaliation.

It's up to your organization to choose how and where you share the link to your reporting form. There are many ways to distribute the link - consider main touchpoints with your employees, applicants, or external individuals. 

See the table below for some suggestions: 

Your company website	Place the link prominently on your company's official website, like the "About Us" or "Contact Us" section.
Personio dashboard shortcut	Add a shortcut to the reporting form directly in the Personio dashboard for employees to easily see and access. (See steps below this table).
Employee intranet	If your organization has an intranet, feature the link there for easy access by employees.
Employee handbook	Include the link in your organization's handbook or code of conduct.
Email signatures	Encourage employees to include the link in their email signatures to promote easy access.
Internal documentation or communication channels	Share the link in your internal knowledge base, internal newsletters, and messaging platforms like Slack or MS Teams.
Training and onboarding materials	Include the link in training materials so new employees are aware of the reporting system.
Management and leadership meetings	Emphasize the importance of whistleblowing and share the link in meetings with management and leaders.

Tip
Where a link is placed does not influence the anonymity of the reporter - the reporting form is completely separate from Personio, and no personal information about the reporter is tracked. 

Add reporting form as a shortcut in the Personio dashboard

To add Whistleblowing as a shortcut in your Personio dashboard, follow these steps:

1. In Personio, go to Settings > Organization > Dashboard
2. Click Add Shortcut
3. Select an Icon and enter a title for the shortcut.
4. Add the link to the reporting form and click Add.
   Use https://<yourhostname>.personiowhistleblowing.com/
   EX: https://PersonioDemoGmbH.personiowhistleblowing.com/

The shortcut to your reporting form then appears on your Personio dashboard under Company Shortcuts.