At Labor Solutions we pride ourselves on being able to provide global data and local impact through worker voice and worker engagement. By educating and empowering individual facilities, direct, lasting change is being made on the ground.
Our tools are uniquely successful at embedding and supporting increased responsible business practices in global supply chains. We heard lots of stories of success this year, so our team got together to choose and talk about our favorite case studies.
Thanks to all our clients who made these stories of success possible. Our tools don't work alone they require willing and hard working teams on the ground to effect real change.
Read how a factory identified, addressed and prevented a safety issue to meet new HRDD laws. Cecilia, Senior Client Advisor, choose this article because:
“HRDD was such a hot topic in 2022, but with so many open questions about what it means and how to implement the different components. Its nice to see an HRDD program in action that actually created change for workers. It makes me excited about what’s to come from HRDD. It is great to see governments helping create real change in business practices and conditions for workers globally."
Labor Solutions collected survey responses from nearly 100,000 workers in Myanmar's Garment Sector in 2022. Workers were eager to respond and be heard about their perspectives on working conditions, and overwhelmingly were their family’s main source of income and are happy to have employment. Elena, Labor Solutions' CEO, commented when asked why this was her favorite case study of the year;
"We were all really excited about this project. No one had been able to capture the voices of garment workers in Myanmar at scale. We thought it would be much harder, we went in worried about connectivity, outreach and more. But when the results came rolling in quickly, we were blown away with the sheer number of responses. It was clear they were saying 'I want to be part of the conversation.' In such a complex situation, with a lot of stakeholders, many who are loud, hearing from the people who are most impacted by the political and business decisions being made was key to our clients. We are honored to help elevate the voices of such a vulnerable, underrepresented population. It is why we go to work every day,"
Education is the first step to effective a grievance mechanism and management. This case study demonstrates measurable impact of adding eLearning to an existing grievance program. Xiaowen, Senior Manager of Worker Engagement
said she loved this case study for many reasons;
"Not only does the case prove the essential role education plays to ultimately prevent human rights risks, but also it is a good reminder that changes happen over time.
Change, regardless of its form, scale, or objective, will always face obstacles and resistance, especially in supply chain where there has been a norm for decades if not longer. When implementing an innovative approach, it is important to have faith in what’s on the other side and proactively overcome the gridlocks with determination and patience."
After almost 4 months of closures, factories in Vietnam struggled to reopen and return to production.
Factories with WOVO opened and were back to full production faster.
Clear and effective communication helps workers feel valued and secure in their work situation, and helped maintain trust between workers and factory management.
“COVID was hard for everyone, particularly workers, comments Senior VP of Client Services, Bijie Li. "We knew that our programs were important to workers during COVID. But we didn’t have 'measurable proof.' When we were able to put this piece together it was like—see we knew it! We were really proud to have made any kind of impact during such a difficult time. But more importantly, it was rewarding to share these results with our factory partners who had worked so hard during COVID to stay in touch with workers.”
LS, Decathlon and over 27 suppliers deployed a worker engagement and wellbeing survey and improvement programs. Labor Solutions helped Decathlon to understand the results and to help their suppliers identify opportunities to change existing practices for the better.
Decathlon is now integrating worker surveys into their supplier support program and implementing WOVO in even more facilities and countries. Senior Director of Content and Partnerships, Jen Green, choose this case study because;
Supplier ownership is a cornerstone of how we see meaningful change towards responsible business practices happen in global supply chains. When we can convince factories our tools add value to their business, and are not just top-down directives from buyers, we shift management practices and ensure human rights are embedded in the business, not just a show for visitors and auditors. We move from compliance to active risk management, and this benefits everyone, particularly workers.
Read how one manufacturer Gildan in South America used Labor Solutions' WOVO Tool for Grievance + Human Rights Due Diligence + Compliance.
Raissa, Associate Client Advisor, choose this case study because she often hears clients ask 'how did others implement,' and thinks this is a great example of what success can look like;
"This case study shows concrete evidence of how WOVO can create change and be helpful to factory management, to improve their grievance mechanisms, operations and work environment. "
We love hearing client success stories and try to publish as many as possible. Please reach out to your client advisor if you want to share yours.
Thanks again to all our clients who have made our tools come to life in their workplaces. We believe our tools help and often catalyze change but know that real change happens because of hard working individuals using the data from our tools to connect and engage with workers.
Read the many more that we did not share here, on our Case Studies tab.
About Labor Solutions
Labor Solutions, an impact-focused business, leverages technology to connect, engage and educate workers to build resilient supply chains. Over a million and a half workers in 25 countries have access to Labor Solutions’ worker engagement platform, WOVO.