What is a confidant?

A confidential advisor is a person appointed by an organisation to support employees to discuss confidential issues and want to report complaints about inappropriate behaviour or integrity issues. But what is a confidential advisor, what exactly does this position entail and why is it so important? In this blog, we will discuss what a confidential advisor is, what his or her duties are and why having a confidential advisor is so important.

What is a confidant?

More and more organisations have appointed someone as a confidential advisor to support employees who experience trouble in dealing with one or more colleagues in terms of harassment, sexual harassment, bullying, aggression or discrimination. We call this undesirable behaviour. The employee determines whether a boundary has been crossed or not. This can be very unpleasant; how to deal with it, one goes to work with less pleasure and may wonder if and how this can be made discussable. Because to discuss it, that person can turn to a confidant. Together, they consider what follow-up steps are possible, from an informal solution to filing a formal complaint according to the complaints procedure. The employee ultimately decides this himself and everything remains completely confidential. An employee may also suspect that something is not right. Examples include theft, fraud or misuse of company assets. These are integrity issues. This too can be discussed with the confidential advisor. Together, they look at the possible next steps and what reporting procedures there are so that the employee can make a well-informed decision.

What does a confidant do: the confidant has 3 tasks:

1. The first task: supporting the victim of undesirable behaviour or the potential reporter of an integrity issue: hearing his or her story and working together to find an appropriate solution to the situation, enabling him or her to function safely and healthily again;
2. The second task: providing information to employees and managers on undesirable behaviour and integrity issues: the focus is on prevention, how to deal with it if it does occur and the role of the confidential advisor in this regard;
3. The third task: solicited and unsolicited advice to management in both areas.

Who can be a confidant?

A confidant can be someone within the organisation or institution, such as an HR manager, supervisor, lecturer or fellow student. But a confidant can also be hired externally, for example through an organisation such as Partners in Vertrouwen. The most important thing is that the confidant is available and easily approachable, can offer confidentiality and has the necessary qualifications and training.

What are the qualifications of a confidant?

A confidential counsellor must have a number of qualifications, including good communication skills, the ability to be empathetic and impartial and safeguard confidentiality. In addition, it is important that the confidant is trained in dealing with sensitive issues and complaints about undesirable behaviour and reports of integrity issues. The confidential counsellor should therefore be aware of the complaints procedures and reporting schemes within the organisation and, moreover, know whether they comply with legislation.

How to become a confidant?

There are several ways to become a confidant. Some organisations offer training courses to train employees to become internal confidants. However, if you want to work as an external confidential counsellor, it is possible to take a training course as a confidential counsellor at a training institute. It is important that this is a recognised institute so that external confidential counsellors can be certified and registered with the National Association of Confidential Counsellors (LVV).

Why is it important to have a trustee?

Having a confidant is important because it makes employees feel freer to report undesirable situations. This can help create a pleasant and safer working environment and prevent undesirable behaviour. In addition, a confidential advisor can help resolve conflicts and offer support to employees who have been victims of undesirable behaviour.

The confidant and prevention of undesirable behaviour

In addition, having a confidant is also important for the organisation. Consider an improvement in working conditions, reduced absenteeism, cost savings and a good image of the organisation.

The impact of a trustee on the organisation

A confidant can not only contribute to a safer working environment and the prevention of undesirable behaviour, but can also help improve working conditions and reduce absenteeism. Work stress led to 3.1 billion in total absence costs by 2022. Bullying alone causes 4 million extra days of absenteeism. 13% of employees say they experience undesirable behaviour at work on occasion and 1 in 6 civil servants are incited to work with no integrity. In addition, a confidant can help prevent reputational damage and comply with legal obligations on working conditions and safety.

Conclusion

A confidential advisor is a person appointed to support employees in discussing confidential issues and complaints about undesirable behaviour. A confidential advisor can contribute to a safer working environment, the prevention of undesirable behaviour and an improvement in employees’ working conditions and well-being. This benefits productivity and flexibility. It is therefore important that organisations pay attention to appointing a confidential advisor and creating an open culture in which employees feel safe to discuss problems.