Common Questions

What is the Gartner Ethics Helpline?

The Gartner Ethics Helpline is a confidential reporting mechanism that helps Gartner identify and resolve matters that may violate laws, regulations and policies. The Gartner Ethics Helpline is not intended to replace existing policies or procedures or less formal methods of resolving internal complaints or concerns regarding routine matters. Rather, it is intended to complement the processes and procedures already in place and provide an additional reporting tool to associates and others.

Who can use the Gartner Ethics Helpline?

Anyone. Gartner’s Ethics Helpline is open to everyone including Gartner employees, former employees, interns, contractors, suppliers, directors and shareholders.

What is EthicsPoint?

EthicsPoint is a third-party, independent reporting service provided by NAVEX that operates the Gartner Ethics Helpline on behalf of Gartner. When you contact this service, you do not have to give your name, and your call is not recorded. You may call at any time 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

What options do I have for submitting a concern?

Gartner offers multiple reporting channels to use to raise a question or concern, the most effective may depend on the nature of the concern.

If you are a current associate, you can start by talking to your manager. You can also talk to any other manager in your business unit, a Human Resources partner, or a member of Legal & Compliance.

If you don’t feel comfortable with raising your concern through the other reporting channels, or you are not an existing employee, you can contact the Gartner Ethics Helpline. Our third-party helpline allows for confidential and anonymous reporting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in many different languages.

What type of concern can I report?

Gartner strongly encourages reporting concerns related to unethical, fraudulent, illegal behavior, concerns of retaliation and violations of our Code of Conduct.

Please note anyone who reports a concern in good faith will be protected from any form of retaliation.

Is the Gartner Ethics Helpline for emergencies?

The Gartner Ethics Helpline is not intended for emergency use. If you need emergency assistance or believe a crime is in progress, call the police immediately.

Why are there languages listed in the top banner?

These languages are available for translating the Gartner Ethics Helpline reporting experience. For any other language preferences, please use the report-by-phone option.

What happens when I contact the Gartner Ethics Helpline?

A customized web intake form or a professional interview specialist will document your concerns and relay the information to the designated Gartner official for review, possible investigation, and follow up. Reports are handled promptly and are treated as confidential to the extent possible and you may be contacted to provide further information which will assist any investigation.

Once your report has been submitted, you will receive an acknowledgement with a unique, randomized number called a “Report Key” and will be asked to choose a password. If you choose to remain anonymous, this will be the only way that anyone within Gartner can contact you. You can return to the EthicsPoint system either by Internet or telephone to add more detail or answer questions that may have been posed by a Gartner representative. Within 10 business days of submitting a report, you will be provided with a status update. This update may include a request for additional information.

Why should I report a matter?

Gartner associates have an obligation under our Code of Conduct to report any matter they become aware of that violates the law, regulations, or Gartner policies. If you report a matter in good faith, please know that you will not be retaliated against and will face no retribution.

What if I remember something important about the matter after I file a report through the Gartner Ethics Helpline?

You may add information to your report at any time by returning to the online web form or by calling back in and providing your “Report Key” and password. If your matter is investigated and you have been introduced to an investigator, you can also provide information directly to them.

What if I still have questions about the Gartner Ethics Helpline?

If you have questions or concerns about the Gartner Ethics Helpline, contact the Legal & Compliance Team at LegalCompliance@gartner.com.

If I see a violation, shouldn't I just report it to my manager, security, or human resources and let them deal with it?

When you observe some behavior that you believe violates the Gartner Code of Conduct, you are obligated to report it. Ideally, you should bring any concerns forward to your direct manager or another member of our management team, HR Partner, or Gartner Legal & Compliance. We recognize, however, that there may be circumstances when you are not comfortable reporting the issue in this manner. It is for such circumstances that we have the Gartner Ethics Helpline. We would rather you report anonymously, where allowable by local law, than keep the information to yourself.

Completely anonymous disclosures are by their nature more difficult to investigate. If you want to raise a concern confidentially but not anonymously, we will make every effort to keep your identity confidential and only reveal it where necessary to those involved in investigating your concern.

Please note that Gartner does not tolerate retaliation of any kind against anyone who reports a concern in good faith. Any associate that engages in retaliatory behavior will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

Reporting Security & Confidentiality

It is my understanding that any report I send from a Gartner computer generates a server log that shows every website that my PC connects with. Won’t this log identify me as the report originator?

NAVEX does not generate or maintain any internal connection logs with IP addresses, so no information linking your PC to EthicsPoint is available.

May I file a report from home and still remain anonymous?

A report from home will remain secure and anonymous if you request anonymity. An Internet portal never identifies a visitor by screen name, and the EthicsPoint system strips away Internet addresses so that total anonymity is maintained.

I am concerned that the information I provide EthicsPoint will ultimately reveal my identity. How can you assure me that will not happen?

The EthicsPoint system protects your anonymity. However, if you wish to remain anonymous, you - as a reporting party - need to ensure that the body of the report does not reveal your identity by including facts or descriptions specific only to you.

Is the telephone toll-free Gartner Ethics Helpline confidential and anonymous, too?

Yes. You will be asked to provide the same information as you would in an Internet-based report, and an interviewer will type your responses into the EthicsPoint website. These reports have the same security and confidentiality measures applied to them during delivery.

What if I want to be identified with my report?

There is a section in the report to identify yourself.

Tips & Best Practices

I am aware of some individuals acting unethically, but it doesn't affect me. Why should I bother reporting it?

When you observe unethical behavior, you are obligated to act in Gartner's best interest, even if you think there may be consequences for a colleague. Our incident-management processes are designed to make sure reports are investigated fairly.

I am not sure if what I have observed or heard is a violation of company policy, or involves unethical conduct, but it just does not look right to me. What should I do?

File a report. NAVEX can help you prepare and file your report so it can be properly understood. We'd rather you report a situation that turns out to be harmless than let possible unethical behavior go unchecked. Gartner does not tolerate retaliation of any kind against anyone who reports a concern in good faith, even if the report turns out to be wrong.

What if my manager or other managers are involved in a violation? Won’t they get the report and start a cover-up?

The EthicsPoint system and Gartner incident-management processes ensure that implicated parties are not notified or granted access to reports in which they have been named.

Are follow-ups on reports as secure as the first one?

All EthicsPoint correspondence is held in the same strict confidence as the initial report, continuing under the umbrella of anonymity.

What if I lose my Report Key or forget the password I created?

To ensure security and confidentiality, if you lose your report key or password, you will need to file a new report. In the new report, mention that it is related to a report or question you previously submitted.

May I still file a report if I don’t have access to the Internet?

You may file an EthicsPoint report from any computer that can access the Internet. You may file from home. Many public locations, including public libraries, have Internet computers. If you don’t have access to or are uncomfortable using a computer, you may call the EthicsPoint toll-free Gartner Ethics Helpline, which is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.