Enhancing global supply chain transparency: The significance of worker engagement for credible social and labor data
In an increasingly regulated manufacturing industry, awareness about a companies’ human rights impacts is essential. Conducting social assessments in facilities within global supply chains is more important than ever. SLCP’s Converged Assessment Framework (CAF)– used by over 7,000 facilities in 2022, is one of several examples.
However, the success and authenticity of these assessments hinge on a number of factors. One key factor is effective worker engagement. In this blog, we delve into the importance of worker engagement in the process of conducting social assessments, shedding light on two complimentary approaches – SLCP’s Worker Engagement Technology and Good Business Lab’s Inache – and how each ensures transparency, accuracy of data, and sustainable improvements for workers.
Worker Engagement and Social Assessments
Social assessments encompass the evaluation of a facility's social performance, covering aspects such as working conditions, employee treatment, safety measures, and adherence to ethical standards. These assessments are intended to identify shortcomings, initiate corrective actions, and improve the overall well-being of workers. However, the efficacy of these assessments is not solely determined by external auditors or facility management; rather, it is greatly strengthened by the active participation of the workers themselves.
The Power of Worker Engagement
There are a number of benefits of engaging with workers directly, according to SLCP and Good Business Lab. These include:
Firsthand insights: Workers are the most fundamental stakeholder in a facility. They possess invaluable insights into daily operations, work conditions, safety concerns, and ultimately their own treatment. Engaging with workers allows external stakeholders to gain unfiltered, firsthand information that might otherwise remain hidden.
Credibility and transparency: Worker engagement brings additional credibility and transparency into the assessment process. When workers are consulted, they feel valued and empowered, fostering an environment of trust. This leads to more accurate and reliable data.
Identifying hidden issues: More substantive issues such as harassment, discrimination, and exploitation, may be deeply entrenched in workplace culture. Workers, often fearing retaliation, might not openly report such concerns. Engaging with them privately can reveal these hidden issues and enable timely intervention.
Encouraging positive change: By involving workers in the assessment process, they become stakeholders in their own workplace's improvement. This empowers a culture of positive change, as workers take ownership of their role in transforming their workplace for the better. Evidence shows that good worker well-being also contributes to increased productively, so it makes good business sense too.
Implementing Effective Worker Engagement
It is one thing to have worker engagement. It is another for it to be effective. To ensure meaningful worker engagement in facility assessments, several key steps should be considered:
Anonymous channels: Establish confidential communication channels that allow workers to share their experiences, concerns, and suggestions without the fear of reprisal.
Representation: Include worker representatives in assessment discussions so that workers feel more at ease in communicating concerns, and to ensure a diverse range of perspectives are considered. Worker representatives can act as a bridge between management and workers, enabling communications to flow more fluidly.
Capacity building: Provide training and awareness sessions to help workers understand their rights, the assessment process, and its potential impact.
Feedback loop: Create mechanisms for workers to receive feedback on the assessment outcomes and the subsequent actions taken.
Introducing SLCP’s Worker Engagement Technology (WE Tech)
When it comes to harnessing the power of worker engagement for robust facility assessments, one example is SLCP’s recently launched Worker Engagement Technology (WE Tech).
WE Tech brings a cutting-edge digital approach to real-time communication directly with workers via a mobile app survey. This allows workers to complete the 20 question-set survey designed specifically to inform the CAF assessment. There is also potential for the WE Tech platform to be harnessed by the facility to include ongoing dialogue with workers – an important element in some instances to ensure grievances are heard and addressed.
To implement Worker Engagement Technology, a facility will select an SLCP approved service provider. Currently, SLCP has approved four providers, including &Wider, Labor Solutions, Timeline Consultancy, and Ulula.
It is great to observe that other partners in this sector are also demonstrating the efficacy of robust worker engagement strategies. Another successful example is the worker voice tool Inache developed by Good Business Lab (GBL). Inache takes a holistic low tech route, utilizing a user-friendly accessible technology that anonymously connects workers with their HR Department through voice or text messages, enabling them to share effectively, resulting in improved wellbeing outcomes. This approach is continuous, allowing workers to employ the tool whenever needed throughout the year. This continuous approach contrasts with the annual utilization of WE Tech in the SLCP assessment. However, as noted above, the WE Tech platform can be harnessed to incorporate a more ongoing approach similar to Good Business Lab (GBL). GBL, a signatory of SLCP, has also undertaken extensive research into the necessity for effective worker voice tools in understanding the worker experience.
‘In every day life we regularly feedback our thoughts, concerns and complaints, be that in the workplace or in relationships. This is a continuous process and leads to progress and hopefully culture change. Tools like Inache emerge from that simple insight and bring additional value to those relationships.’
Achyuta Adhvaryu, Chief Development Officer and Co-Founder of Good Business Lab.
While both approaches aim to amplify worker voices and insights, they offer distinct flavors of engagement - one through high-tech immediacy resulting in aggregated worker data, and the other through a low-tech, ongoing engagement journey.
A Collaborative Path Towards Ethical Supply Chains
Worker engagement isn't just about ticking boxes on an assessment checklist; it's about fostering a collaborative approach to addressing the intricate challenges faced by global supply chains. By further involving workers, supply chain stakeholders can better understand their experience, further validate the social and labor data captured, and ultimately improve working conditions.
As consumers increasingly demand transparency and ethical practices from the brands they support, worker engagement becomes an essential component of social assessments. It signifies a commitment to not just meeting minimum standards, but to actively uplifting the lives of those who contribute tirelessly to the creation of products that touch every corner of the globe. In the pursuit of a fairer, more sustainable world, worker engagement stands as a beacon guiding the way toward accountable supply chains.
