A Year in Review: How has SLCP prioritized data quality and integrity in 2024?
Intensifying oversight of Verifier Body performance & enhancing capabilities
From 1 January 2024, we made membership to the Association of Professional Social Compliance Auditors (APSCA) mandatory for all Verifier Bodies (VBs) and Verifiers. By June 2024, all existing VBs and non-APSCA members had successfully transitioned. By Q2 2025, all applicant VBs must secure at least provisional APSCA membership status.
We also launched mandatory desktop reviews for new Verifiers, ensuring they gain a solid understanding of SLCP requirements from their first verification. This will also provide SLCP with valuable insights into VB quality oversight systems and Verifier performance.
Strengthening regional engagement with Verifier Bodies and Verifiers
We continued to prioritize training and support for Verifier Bodies (VBs) and Verifiers to ensure the highest quality of SLCP data. Across our calibration sessions, we trained approximately 200 VB personnel. Our quarterly General Calibration sessions focused on insufficient verification data, inconsistency with response, Verifier misunderstanding or misinterpretation, legal flags not used properly, and incorrect Verifier selection.
Alongside this, we also launched regional calibrations, targeting country-specific challenges in SLCP’s five focus countries - China, Vietnam, Turkey, Bangladesh, and India. During these sessions, we tackled unique local challenges, emphasizing Tool question alignment and fostering collaboration among Quality and Scheme Managers.
In May, we released a new technical bulletin specifically for China on CAF v1.6, focusing on Trade Unions, Freedom of Association (FOA), and Collective Bargaining (CB). This bulletin provided a comprehensive overview of the updated law-based questions, highlighted key changes in CAF v1.6, and offered clear guidance on verifying these questions.
To conclude the year, in November we hosted an in-person Quality Assurance Forum for VBs in Bangalore, India. We had 33 participants from 26 VBs and the session focused on deep dive into report review. We had participation from two signatory brands delivering a keynote address. Our Verification Oversight Organization (VOO), Sumerra, facilitated a session on deep dive into report review, providing valuable insights and practical tips for improving quality.
Implementing a risk-based approach to the QA process
SLCP expanded the scope of the automated checks to include the Assessor/Verifier Explanation field for 195 key questions and will run these mandatory checks in early 2025. These technology-driven automated checks analyze over 3000 data points to identify issues with the verification process and report content. We also developed a standardized narrative template to aid Verifiers and hosted a mandatory offsite person-day to facilitate verification preparation and report quality.
This year, we also introduced the use of Artificial Intelligence in predictive models to flag high risk reports. While still in the testing phase, the model has already helped us identify quality issues, enhancing our ability to ensure data accuracy and reliability. Alongside predictive analytics, we will also start routine descriptive analytics (driven by specific quality defect searches our team determines) in early 2025.
Streamlining the investigation process
In 2024, we have streamlined our approach to investigations by enhancing collaboration across different SLCP workstreams and taking prompt action in coordination with Sumerra, our VOO. To strengthen this effort, we introduced a new role in the team: DQI Data Quality Monitoring & Investigations Manager. This addition has greatly improved the efficiency of investigations and desktop reviews, resulting in faster issue resolution and enhanced data quality.
Using feedback to drive quality improvements
We expanded the Stakeholder QA Program this year, which allows brands to improve SLCP data quality by providing feedback on data quality issues. In 2024, brands signed a commitment charter, part of which was a commitment to conducting Shadow Verifications. These verifications give brands the opportunity to ensure that Verifiers adhere to SLCP requirements during the verification process.
A significant milestone this year was the development of a standardized narrative template for the Verifier Explanation field. This template helps Verifiers clearly understand the specific information to include in the Assessor/Verifier Explanation. The initiative was introduced to address recurring feedback from brands about the lack of relevant narratives for certain data points. Additionally, we implemented a requirement for Verifiers to provide mandatory explanations for 195 specific key questions.
Supporting facilities to provide honest & accurate data
We revamped our facility training this year with a strong focus on data quality and integrity. We encouraged facilities to consider performance and quality when selecting Verifier Bodies (VBs). This approach aims to drive improvements in data quality and enhance consistency in the verification process, ultimately contributing to better overall outcomes by VBs.
Finally, we updated section 6 of the Quality Assurance Manual on unethical behavior. We provided additional clarifications on how SLCP handle cases of unethical behavior by facilities (such as facility-led bribery, falsified records including double bookkeeping, and coaching of workers and denied access).
