Complaints made to global agency group Dentsu’s internal whistleblowing line rose by a staggering 118% from 2022 to 2023 according to its latest ‘Integrated Report’.
Facilitated by the worldwide ‘Speak Up’ portal, 218 incident reports were recorded across 2023, up from the 100 recorded in 2022. Notably, the Japan-specific ‘Compliance Line’ saw reports increase by 167% (20 additional incidents on the previous year).
With more than 71,000 employees globally, the Dentsu group comprises its flagship agency alongside a host of big international players including Carat, Dentsu X, iProspect and Merkle.
The alarming jump in cases follows on from legal action faced by Dentsu in its home nation of Japan. The Fair Trade Commission initiated criminal proceedings against an employee and the agency itself over alleged corruption surrounding the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
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Dentu’s Mindset and Behaviour Reform committee was established in May 2023 to respond to these issues, and is actioning a series of reforms designed to enhance operational fairness and transparency across the wider group.
Chaired by president and global chief executive Hiroshi Igarashi, the committee’s aims include 17 targeted initiatives to smooth out any future compliance issues and improve Dentsu’s organisational culture.
An agency spokesperson told Campaign Dentsu is committed to “nurturing a culture where our people can innovate, thrive and feel empowered to act with integrity in everything we do”, adding that the increase in reports pointed to a “healthy company culture”, where “people feel safe to speak up”.
“Our Speak Up portal demonstrates our commitment to creating an open and safe culture for our people.
“We stand behind those who speak up and have welcomed an increased number of reports over the last three years as we have raised awareness of the platform.
“Despite our year-on-year increase in Speak Up reports, in fact these increases are well within global norms for well-run and ethical companies. This indicates a healthy company culture, where employees feel safe to speak up, knowing that all reports are investigated with discretion and timely action.”
