Interview with Executive VP of Strategy Shannon Walker

Tell us about Case IQ, what is their vision & goals?

At Case IQ, our mission is to create safer, more inclusive, and more productive workplaces by resolving and preventing workplace incidents. We are a culture-driven organization, as through our 20+ years of experience, we have found organizations perform better when transparency, honesty, and respect are embedded in their daily workflows. Our goal is to make employees more productive and engaged by providing them with a safe place to work where they feel comfortable speaking up about any problem they may encounter because they know it will be taken seriously and handled appropriately.

What energizes you within your work?

What energizes me in my work is its profound impact on fostering ethical environments in workplaces and shifting cultures to where people feel safe and valued. Our work advocating for a speak-up culture has the potential to transform an organization’s ethical climate not only to enhance employee well-being but also to strengthen the entire organizational structure. This, in turn, leads to more vibrant, committed workforces and more robust, resilient and profitable organizations.

We are driven by the challenge of developing systems and strategies that not only encourage ethical reporting but also protect those who have the courage to speak up. Each time a company successfully makes the transition to implementing a hotline system and corresponding case management system, we get to hear about the success stories from employees feeling safer to the organizations preventing financial loss, all of which fuels our team to keep working toward our goals. We want to continue to expand our reach and impact, striving for a more prominent global influence where all employees can freely report misconduct without fear.

Additionally, witnessing the real-world benefits of a strong ethical culture—such as increased employee morale, enhanced trust, and reduced legal risks—affirms the value of our work. It is deeply rewarding to see organizations transform into spaces where ethics lead the way, and this success inspires our team to continue pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve in the ethics and compliance space.

Can you share a little bit about yourself and how you got into your current role?

I came into my role at Case IQ following an acquisition of the company I founded, WhistleBlower Security Inc. (WBS), as our service offerings in the risk management and compliance space overwhelmingly complement each other. To backtrack a bit, WBS is a global ethics hotline provider, which started shortly after the introduction of the Sarbanes Act when we realized there was an opportunity for comprehensive whistleblowing systems that had properly accessible intake mechanisms. The tool quickly extended far beyond just meeting regulatory requirements for publicly traded companies, as the benefits for organizations proved to be so much more. As the company grew, we found a great opportunity to partner with Case IQ, as their risk management software offers a sophisticated, highly configurable approach to case management.

Moving into the executive VP of Strategy role, I’ve had the opportunity to develop the partnership further and advance our mission to help employees speak up without fear and help organizations stay compliant. How would you explain your role to a non-technical audience? The role I am in now is less technical and leans more toward strategic positioning. Now that I hold dual roles with WhistleBlower Security and Case IQ, a lot of the focus is on how the two companies can continue to merge and support clients and our team.

What advice would you give to someone wishing to start their career in HR tech?

Take a people-first approach to problem-solving. While you may see the intersection of HR and technology as an exciting space for innovation, people and human operations really remain at the centre. No matter your technical skills and background, you must have a holistic understanding of how your innovations will affect and be used by people and how to maintain compliance. Ethical operations in anything HR-related remains a paramount consideration, so ensure you understand these concepts fully and care about making people’s lives better.

Does your organization analyze logs, metrics, and trace data to improve and secure your systems?

Our system stays secure by keeping data security protocols in place to protect any information related to investigations. Our dedicated privacy officer is in charge of monitoring and making recommendations for our system based on advancements in global compliance and privacy. Further, we use data masking capabilities to ensure managers can study aggregate case trends and details without the associated personal information to ensure security for users. Case IQ maintains SOC 2 Type II accreditation and has the necessary data protection protocols for HIPAA, PIPEDA, GLB, GDPR and more.

What does the intersection of cybersecurity and case management look like?

Cybersecurity and case management work together in two main facets. Firstly, with the most advanced case management solutions being software-based solutions, they need to be properly configured to protect the sensitive information they collect and store. Secondly, comprehensive case management is also one element of an organization’s overarching cybersecurity strategy, as it can help you detect trends in reports, and ensure responses are efficient and effective to any potential cybersecurity breach.

By leveraging technology such as cloud security, you can better manage and mitigate risks associated with data breaches, cyber threats, and compliance issues.

Case management systems are used to log and track cybersecurity incidents from detection through resolution. These systems ensure that each incident is documented, assessed, and acted upon according to predefined workflows and severity levels. This allows organizations to respond promptly and systematically, ensuring consistency and accountability in the handling of security breaches and having oversight on the outcomes of the investigations.

Are there any exciting projects in the pipeline that you can share?

Much like many tech companies, Case IQ is leveraging artificial intelligence in our service offerings. Right now, we are working on launching the Summarization Copilot. One of the biggest time consumers and error-prone processes in case management is compiling evidence and other case information and producing final reports. Case IQ’s Summarization Copilot leverages generative AI to instantly summarize the pertinent details of your case and produces a consistent, complete case report in seconds, freeing investigators to attend to more strategic parts of their role. We’ve worked with Microsoft to create a secure, intelligent and easy-to-use case summarization tool that will ensure every case report meets the organization’s exacting standards, regardless of the person who created it. Our hope is that this exciting new feature being added to the case management tool will be of great benefit to our current and future clients.

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