If you’re a compliance officer who handles whistleblower complaints, understanding these individuals and why they come forward is key.

Compliance Week’s recent series, “Witness to Wrongdoing: Whistleblowers share their stories,” explored the experiences of five corporate whistleblowers. It shed light on their blowing the whistle but also detailed their attempts to bring forward complaints within their organizations.

Most internal complaints from employees never become whistleblower cases. That’s because they are handled correctly and efficiently by the organization receiving them. The best organizations have a strong, reliable, and trusted system for reporting wrongdoing—one that values accountability, transparency, communication, and results. Investigations are launched based on facts, not emotion, and are concluded after a thorough examination of the complaint.