ClearView Connects Help

Transcription

1 ClearView Connects Help Table of Contents General How does this system work? How do I make a report? Can I use my computer at home? Who receives the information in my report? What type of information should I include in my report? I have some supporting documents that I would like to include with my report. How do I include them? What happens to the information I provide? How do I know that my report was received? How do I check the status of my report or add more information to it? Can anyone else log in to see my reports? How long is my Report ID good for? What happens if my report is closed and I want to provide more information? I am a supplier, contractor, or friend/family member of an employee. Can I submit a report? Who is ClearView Strategic Partners Inc. and what do they do?... 4 Security How is my identity protected? Can t my organization trace a web report I make, if I make it from my computer at work? What features does your system use to ensure the security of my data? Is your system linked to my organization s computer or web server?... 5 Troubleshooting What happens if I don t include enough information, or if I only have a little information? I forgot my Report ID and/or password. How do I check the status of my report? I had a technical problem with this website. What do I do? My report fits into more than one category, or it doesn t fit into any. What do I do? I see an option to re-route my report to different Reviewers. What happens when I check this box? The search function isn t finding my organization. What do I do?

2 General 1. How does this system work? ClearView Connects is a third-party ethics reporting/whistleblowing solution that provides a secure, anonymous and confidential way for you to raise concerns or report unethical workplace behaviour. The ClearView Connects system is designed to protect the identity of individuals making a report. The system is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is accessible from anywhere there is a telephone or internet connection, so you can make reports when and where you want. Once submitted, your report is immediately available to authorized reviewers within your organization. The ClearView system has a unique feature that will allow you to have a "virtual dialogue" with the authorized reviewers without requiring you to reveal your identity. 2. How do I make a report? Making a report is very easy. The system is designed so that you can submit a report several different ways. First, you can make a report through ClearView s web-based system using any computer or mobile device. Second, you can access the ClearView Connects system by calling the designated toll-free or collect-call telephone hotline for your organization. Once connected, you can choose to speak with a ClearView agent or leave a voic message containing your report but remember that if you leave a voic message, you will not have the chance to follow up on the status of your report. Third, you can submit a report by mail to ClearView s Post Office Box. Finally, you can call ClearView s hotline via Skype audio if your organization has chosen to use this reporting method. Please refer to the reporting materials or guides published by your organization for information about how to mail a report or call the ClearView hotline. 3. Can I use my computer at home? Yes, you can use your computer at home or at another location like a public library or an internet café. Furthermore, you can use any mobile device. All you need is internet access and a mobile device, and you can make a confidential and anonymous report using the ClearView Connects system. 4. Who receives the information in my report? Your organization has established how reports will be reviewed and who within your organization will review them. ClearView personnel DO NOT review or investigate reports; instead our client organizations determine the individuals who are responsible for these activities. Often, these individuals, called authorized reviewers, are chosen because they are best positioned and qualified to conduct these activities. Please review the communication materials or guides from your organization for specific details. 5. What type of information should I include in my report? The more information you can include in your report, the better. It will be easier for the organization to investigate your report if it contains specific details like dates, times, locations, departments, documents, accounts, policies, names, activities, etc. Just be sure to avoid providing details that will identify you if you would like to remain anonymous. Remember that if you made your initial report using the web or 1

3 through a live agent, you can log back into the system and add more information to your report at a later time. Simply use the Report ID and password provided to you when you made your original report. Please note that you will not be able to change information submitted in your original report. 6. I have some supporting documents that I would like to include with my report. How do I include them? If you have additional information that you would like to provide with your report and it is in an electronic format, you can use the Add Attachment feature found on the report entry screen within the ClearView Connects web-based system. It is possible to upload many types of files, including Microsoft Office files, videos, pictures, and PDFs. In order to protect your identity when uploading these files, it is important for you to remove all personal information and identifying metadata from the electronic files you are attaching. Metadata is data that defines or describes another piece of data, and can include things like the author s name, the date the file was created, or the geographic location where the file or picture was created. If you wish to remain anonymous, please ensure that you have removed this information before uploading your files or documents. Information about removing metadata from some common file types is included below. Please note that the guidelines may not remove every piece of identifying information in every file. Some file types, such as PDFs, require specialized tools to remove all metadata. Furthermore, these guidelines do not contain instructions for ALL types of files that contain metadata. Please review your files and inform yourself further to ensure you have removed all relevant metadata from your specific files. If you are unsure about the removal of the metadata from your files, and wish to remain completely anonymous to your organization, we recommend that you do not upload the attachment only do so if you are sure that the metadata has been removed. To remove metadata from a generic file in Windows 7 on a PC: 1) Select the file 2) Right-click, select "Properties", select the "Details" tab 3) Click on the link "Remove Properties and Personal Information" 4) Ensure "Create a copy with all possible properties removed" is selected 5) Click OK You will now find a file in the same directory using the same filename with " - Copy" added at the end. Please note that this process will not remove all metadata for every file. To remove metadata from an Office 2010 document on a PC: 1) Open the file using Word 2010, Excel 2010 or PowerPoint ) Select the "File" tab 3) Click on "Info", "Check for Issues", "Inspect Document" 4) Ensure all checkboxes on the left are checked 5) Click "Inspect" 6) For each section where data was found, in order to remove that data, click on the "Remove All" button 7) After removal, in each section where data was successfully removed, the resulting message should confirm the data was "successfully removed." 8) Click "Close" 9) Save the document 2

4 10) Close the application 11) Re-open the application, and open the same document. Verify that the metadata has been erased using the above steps. If the additional information is in hard copy, you can also mail these documents to ClearView, and they will be added to your report record by ClearView s Client Services team. When mailing the information, please make sure you include your Report ID (which was assigned to your report when you submitted it), on all documents to ensure that these documents are attached to the correct report. Please refer to your organization s published reporting materials or guides for the ClearView Connects mailing address. 7. What happens to the information I provide? The information you provide is immediately submitted to the authorized reviewers within your organization. These reviewers will assess each report and decide what actions are appropriate or not. They may have questions or comments for you, so please be sure to record your Report ID and password that were assigned to you when you submitted your report online or through a live agent. They will allow you to sign into the ClearView system online or through a live agent to review information that the organization may have posted, and will allow you to respond if you wish. 8. How do I know that my report was received? You can check the status of your report by logging into the ClearView Connects web-based system or speaking to a live agent via the telephone hotline, and providing the Report ID and password that were given to you when you made your report. When you log in, you will be provided with information detailing the current status of your report. This will allow you to determine whether your report has been reviewed, whether questions have been asked of you, etc. 9. How do I check the status of my report or add more information to it? If you submit your report through the web-based system or by speaking to a live agent, you will be provided with a Report ID and password at the end of the session. Record these in a safe place because they are needed to sign back into the ClearView Connects system, either through the web-based system or by calling the live agent. Note that ClearView does not track these passwords. We do this in order to ensure your complete anonymity within the system - you are anonymous, even to us at ClearView! If you submitted a report by leaving a voic message or by mailing your report, you will not be provided with a Report ID and password because ClearView has no way to give you this information. To access the system with your Report ID and password, please call the ClearView hotline and provide the agent with these two pieces of information, or enter these pieces of information into the Check Report Status fields on the ClearView Connects homepage ( 10. Can anyone else log in to see my reports? No, all Report IDs and passwords are unique to your report. They are system-generated and are not tracked by ClearView, so we cannot recover them if you lose them. Unless you give someone your Report ID and password, the only people who will be able to view your report will be you and the authorized reviewers within your organization. 3

5 11. How long is my Report ID good for? Once your report has been closed by the organization, you will be able to log in once more to review the status of your report before your password expires. So keep checking the status of your report for updates or questions that have been asked of you by the authorized reviewers. 12. What happens if my report is closed and I want to provide more information? You will have to make a new report. If you want to provide more information about the same issue and your report is closed, refer to the Report ID of your original report in your new report. In this way, the authorized reviewers within your organization will be able to consider both your new report and your previous report. 13. I am a supplier, a contractor, or a friend/family member of an employee. Can I submit a report? Yes, you can submit a report. Simply follow the same process as an employee would, and when requested to specify your relationship to the organization, enter this information into the web-based system or provide it verbally to the live Agent. 14. Who is ClearView Strategic Partners Inc. and what do they do? ClearView Strategic Partners Inc. is a Canadian company focused on compliance, corporate governance and employee engagement solutions for organizations. They are a privately held company with their headquarters in Toronto, Canada, and offices in Burlington, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec. Security 15. How is my identity protected? The ClearView Connects system is operated by ClearView Strategic Partners Inc. and is independent from your organization. ClearView Connects was designed to maintain your anonymity; for example, we do not track IP addresses or subscribe to caller I.D. services. We use the latest in encryption and security technology to ensure that our system is secure. You must take care not to provide personal information or information that will identify yourself in your report if you want to remain anonymous. 16. Can t my organization trace a web report I make, if I make it from my computer at work? Technically yes, however the senior managers of your organization have subscribed to our service in order to provide a confidential and anonymous system and have agreed that no attempts will be made to trace reports. If you are uncomfortable making a report from a work computer, you can access the ClearView Connects web-based system from any other non-work computer or mobile device. 17. What features does your system use to ensure the security of my data? We use the latest encryption technology to protect your identity, and our website has a firewall and other security features to protect the information that you are providing in your report. 4

6 18. Is your system linked to my organization s computer or web server? No, absolutely not! Our system is not linked to your organization's computer, servers, or IT networks. ClearView Connects is operated independently of your organization on our own servers, which are located in Canada. Troubleshooting 19. What happens if I don t include enough information, or if I only have a little information? If you do not include enough information it will be very difficult for those reviewing your report to act on the information you submitted. The more information that you can provide, the more valuable your report will be. It is best, however, to provide any information you have no matter how much, or how little. If the reviewers require more information they will be able to ask you questions through ClearView Connects. In order to check to see if they have done so, you can either call the ClearView Connects hotline or you can log into the web-based system using the Report ID and password provided to you when you made your report. The Report ID and password are unique and system generated, and they allow you to continue to communicate with the authorized reviewers anonymously. If you obtain more information as time passes, you can log into the system and update your original report, or file a new report that references the original one if your original report has been closed. Please note that you will not be able to change information submitted in your original report. 20. I forgot my Report ID and/or password. How do I check the status of my report? Unfortunately there is no way to check the status of your report if you lost your Report ID and/or password. As part of our process to completely protect your identity, we do not keep track of your password. If you still have your Report ID, you can make a new report and refer to this number. 21. I had a technical problem with this website. What do I do? Unfortunately, the system does not store the report information you were entering until the Submit button is clicked. This helps protect your anonymity and ensures that the system is secure. In order to make your report or update your report, please start the report process again. Be sure not to use your browser s Back button; instead, use the Back button within the ClearView Connects application. 22. My report fits into more than one category, or it doesn t fit into any. What do I do? It is ok if you aren t sure what category to choose for your report. Pick the one that you think is best, and submit the report. Your organization s authorized reviewers will be able to change the category to the most appropriate one after the report has been submitted. 23. I see an option to re-route my report to different Reviewers. What happens when I check this box? This functionality allows you to avoid submitting the report to authorized reviewers who may be involved or implicated in the situation you are reporting. Instead, the report will be sent to someone else 5

7 associated with your organization, someone who has been authorized to receive these sensitive reports. Please be aware that if you check this box unnecessarily, it may delay the investigation of your report, so only check the box if you have reason to believe that one of the authorized reviewers is implicated in the situation you are reporting. 24. The search function isn t finding my organization. What do I do? First, try searching for other names your organization uses. These could be short forms or names of the organization that owns or operates your organization. If that doesn t work, you can submit your report anyway. If you do this, it will be reviewed by ClearView Client Services staff, who will then try to send your report to the organization you listed. You will want to check the status of your report in this case, in the event that ClearView s Client Services staff members have questions for you regarding the name of the organization to which you wanted to submit your report. 6