If you must report incriminating information about a 3rd party to HR, should you do so anonymously?

manpreet Best Answer 2 years ago

If you noticed improper behavior at href="https://forum.tuteehub.com/tag/work">work, ranging from petty theft of href="https://forum.tuteehub.com/tag/office">office supplies to deliberate, willful manipulation of a company's financial statement, and you decided to report it to HR, should you do so anonymously?

manpreet 2 years ago

There are a few things that affect the decision you choose

• Is the problem something you want to simply report and say you've done your duty, or is it something where you want to be sure action is taken?

  If you're reporting just because you feel it is the "right" thing to do, then an anonymous tip is a good way to do so without getting involved in the whole process. How HR handles it from there is up to them.

  However if you want to ensure action is taken, it is better to report in person. An anonymous tip can often be disregarded as someone just out to cause trouble, and does not have the same credibility as someone risking their reputation and possibly job to make the same claim in person.

• How confident are you in your HR Manager's ability to keep a secret?

  Every HR manager I have worked with has been really good about keeping secrets, even when their boss asks. Just be sure you specifically tell HR that you want to keep your name confidential, as they might not immediately assume that is the case.

  If you have a valid reason for doubting their ability to keep a secret and you want to do more than just report the problem and be done with it, then I'd suggest reporting anonymously. It would be best if you give them an opportunity to ask you questions, such as calling in person from a payphone or using a non-identifying email account, instead of simply doing something like leaving a letter on their desk.

• How serious is the crime?

  If it is something likely to attract a federal (or state) investigation, it is possible the HR manager will be forced to give up your name, regardless of what they'd prefer to do. If this is a possible scenario, you may want to report anonymously just because you can't be forced to share information you do not have. But these cases are pretty rare.