EthicsLine Joins with The Network to Enhance Employee Hotline Services

Norcross, Georgia, December 19, 2001

EthicsLine, the employee fraud and abuse hotline endorsed by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), is pleased to announce their new strategic alliance with The Network, Inc. This partnership will bring enhanced hotline services to EthicsLine’s clients. Beginning January 1, 2002, The Network will be utilizing their extensive employee hotline experience, skilled personnel and advanced call center to provide EthicsLine’s clients with additional features to improve their ability to address critical workplace issues in an efficient, timely manner.

The new improvements will include multilingual interview capabilities, immediate report dissemination, critical issue escalation and enhanced telecommunications capabilities. Beyond these improvements, The Network will make other products and services available through this partnership, including hotlines to address issues such as sexual harassment, workplace violence, employee fair treatment, theft and fraud, and also claims and crisis reporting. They will also provide EthicsLine’s clients with hotline support that includes tools for program introduction, compliance documentation and ongoing communication.

EthicsLine is sponsored by the ACFE, an organization with 25,000 members in 70 countries around the world dedicated to reducing white-collar crime through prevention and education. In fact, ACFE stressed the importance of employee hotlines in their Report to the Nation on the status of fraud and white-collar crime in the U.S. They concluded, “Most fraud is uncovered as a result of tips and complaints from other employees. To deter and detect fraud and abuse, many experts believe an employee hotline is the single most cost-effective measure.” With EthicsLine’s commitment to helping clients reduce these issues in the workplace, the additional offerings from The Network will serve as ideal enhancements to their hotline service.

With 20 years of experience in employee communications and call center operations, The Network combines state-of-the-art facilities with powerful systems for data collection and reporting to help companies identify unethical, illegal or suspicious activity in the workplace before it can escalate. Working together, these two companies form a powerful alliance to give clients the most efficient and reliable system available for gathering vital employee feedback and maintaining safe, ethical environments.

“We are pleased to partner with The Network, and we are confident that this new alliance will provide even greater service and support than our members have received in the past,” said Jim Ratley, Program Director of EthicsLine. “Through our combined efforts, we will be enhancing both the written and verbal reports our members receive and modifying formats and procedures to improve our overall service.”

“Gathering employee feedback and identifying incidents has become more important than ever to companies and organizations,” said Ed Stamper, President of The Network. “We are extremely excited about our alliance with EthicsLine because it affords us the opportunity to provide their clients with the tools and support necessary to immediately uncover critical issues and take appropriate action. We also look forward to introducing members to new hotline programs and even more service enhancements in the months to come.”

About EthicsLine

EthicsLine provides a toll-free number used to anonymously report allegations of ethical violations, fraud, waste, and abuse. Companies subscribe to EthicsLine in order to provide employees with someone to call if they suspect unethical or illegal activity.

EthicsLine is manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by contract law enforcement personnel, Certified Fraud Examiners, and trained professionals. When an employee of a subscriber company calls, he or she is asked to describe the nature of the suspected problem. From there, EthicsLine promptly relays the information to the member company, who then decides what action is necessary.

About The Network

During the last 20 years, The Network has built a solid reputation as a premier provider of employee communications. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, The Network pioneered a unique approach that combines the gathering of employee feedback through a confidential, risk-free hotline with a complete program for hotline implementation that includes tools for education and awareness, program documentation and ongoing communication. The Network has helped hundreds of the world’s largest and most successful organizations utilize employee feedback to identify critical issues in the workplace.