Speak-up channels are in place, but employees still do not trust them, NAVEX report finds

Most organisations now have the structures for employees to raise concerns. Far fewer have the trust that makes people use them, according to NAVEX’s 2026 State of Risk & Compliance Report, which analysed ethics and compliance programmes worldwide.

The report found that 55% of organisations have non-retaliation policies and 55% have anonymous reporting channels. Yet 36% of respondents said issues raised were not addressed or resolved, 30% did not receive a follow-up after raising a concern, and 28% said investigations took too long. Only 40% of organisations have trained their managers on how to receive or handle reports.

Money is not the gap. 93% of businesses expect to maintain their compliance budgets or increase them by as much as 10%, and more programmes are reaching the highest levels of maturity. But 59% of the most mature programmes still report issues, only slightly fewer than the 66% of the least mature.

Erena Langley, Director of Regulator Solutions at NAVEX, says that having a reporting channel, a non-retaliation policy and open-door conversations “is merely a confirmation of the structure. Whether or not an organisation can claim it is safe and compliant depends on the experience of its employees.”

Boards set the tone

Over a quarter of boards are not consistently engaged in compliance programmes, the report found. Among those that are, only 36% take part in periodic compliance training and only 34% have a designated oversight committee. Langley warns that workers “may be less willing to elevate a concern if they perceive their leadership to be holding themselves to a different ethical standard.”

What this means for HR leaders

Langley suggests judging a speak-up programme by cultural indicators rather than by counting policies: whether leaders model ethical behaviour, whether boards move from awareness to active oversight, and whether employees trust that their concerns will be handled fairly. Timely follow-up after a report, and visible action on it, are what show people their concerns are taken seriously.

As she puts it, “employees need evidence, not just assurance, that their employer is doing the right things right.”

The full findings are in NAVEX’s 2026 State of Risk & Compliance Report.