Designing Worker Technology That Works at Scale: How WOVO Builds Access, Trust, and Voice

Executive Summary

• WOVO is a worker engagement platform used by 3.8 million workers globally to raise grievances, participate in surveys, and access digital learning.

• The platform is designed for low-literacy, low-trust, and high-risk environments, where traditional HR tools often fail.

• Accessibility is treated as core infrastructure, not a feature—through visual design, simplified security, WCAG 2.0 standards, and human-led deployment where needed.

• When technology alone is insufficient, Labor Solutions supports workers on the ground, ensuring informed consent, trust, and reliable participation.

• Worker technology only works when workers can actually use it—safely, confidently, and on their own terms.

Today, 3.8 million workers use Labor Solutions’ worker technology platform, WOVO, to raise concerns, participate in surveys, access learning, and engage with workplace systems that often fail to reach them through traditional human resource tools.

As WOVO has scaled, one principle has remained constant: access must come before complexity. Technology cannot support worker voice if workers cannot use it safely, intuitively, and confidently—especially in low-literacy, low-trust, and high-risk environments.

We design WOVO not as a one-time product update, but as an evolving system for worker engagement at scale.

What WOVO Does—and Who It’s Built For

WOVO is a worker engagement platform designed for real-world labor contexts, including supply chains and workplaces where:

• Literacy and language access vary widely

• Trust in employers or formal grievance mechanisms may be low

• Anonymity and safety are essential

• Smartphones are common, but formal digital training is not

  
  

Through WOVO, workers can:

• Submit grievances safely and anonymously

• Participate in surveys and feedback mechanisms

• Access training and eLearning content

• Engage with systems designed to support worker voice and remedy

These realities shape every product and design decision we make.

Why Worker-First Product Design Matters

Most workplace technology is designed primarily for employers, auditors, or compliance teams, with workers treated as data sources rather than primary users.

Labor Solutions takes a different approach.

Our tools are designed exclusively around worker and supplier engagement, which fundamentally changes how product decisions are made. When workers are the primary users—not a secondary audience—accessibility, trust, and safety are no longer optional features. They become non-negotiable design requirements.

This focus is why WOVO is built to function in low-literacy and high-risk contexts, why anonymity and informed consent are central to the experience, and why design decisions are tested against real-world worker behavior rather than theoretical usability standards.

Product design looks very different when worker voice is the goal—not just data collection.

Don’t Assume Low Literacy Means No Access to Technology

Research shows many workers who struggle with reading are active smartphone users. They regularly watch and share videos on platforms like Facebook or YouTube and are often highly comfortable with numbers, icons, and visual interfaces.

Designing for inclusion means recognizing these realities rather than relying on assumptions. At Labor Solutions, we aim to build tools that serve everyone without simplifying experiences in ways that feel patronizing or exclusionary. Respectful design acknowledges workers’ existing skills and adapts technology to match how people already interact with their devices.

Inclusive product design is not about lowering expectations—it’s about aligning systems with real user behavior.

We aim to build an inclusive product that serves everyone without belittling.

Designing Through Iteration, Not Assumption

The WOVO team follows an iterative, feedback-driven design process grounded in how workers actually interact with technology—not how we assume they should.

As the platform grew from early deployments to millions of users, our focus has been on expanding access while simplifying experience, ensuring WOVO remains intuitive even as functionality grows.

At this scale, design decisions are no longer theoretical. They directly influence how millions of workers understand information, share experiences, and seek remedy.

Accessibility as Core Infrastructure

WOVO serves workers globally, across wide variation in literacy, language, and digital familiarity.

UI that relies too heavily on texts further alienates vulnerable illiterate populations and restricts access to valuable information and opportunities. Rather than treating accessibility as a compliance requirement, we treat it as core infrastructure.

The goal is not to create separate experiences for different users, but to design shared systems that work across contexts.

Visual Orientation + User Confidence

When text cannot be relied upon, orientation becomes critical.  Without visual guidance, illiterate workers’ sense of orientation and navigation relies entirely on memory.

Across the WOVO app, visual indicators show:

• When to navigate to other pages and how they got there

• What next steps the user needs to take and how many more

• What completion of a task looks like

These cues are used throughout key workflows, including registration, grievance submission, surveys, and eLearning modules—building clarity, confidence, and completion.

Communicating Visually

To support both literate and illiterate users, key workflows within WOVO rely on:

• Clear, universally recognizable icons

• Visual cues that reinforce meaning without relying on text

• Simple, guided flows that reduce cognitive load

  
  

For example, registration uses visual representations to help users understand what is happening and what is required, regardless of reading ability.

Expanding Accessibility Through WCAG 2.0 and Audio Support

As WOVO continues to scale, accessibility must evolve.

Our eLearning modules are compliant with WCAG 2.0 standards, making them compatible with text-to-speech and other assistive technologies available and already relied upon by many workers struggling with literacy. Content can be accessed through listening, visuals, and guided interaction—not text alone.

Reducing Cognitive Overload

One of the most impactful design decisions we made was also the simplest: removing what wasn’t necessary.

We intentionally:

• Eliminated redundant text

• Kept instructions concise

• Designed each screen to ask for only one clear task

  
  

For workers navigating unfamiliar systems or sensitive issues, less information often leads to better outcomes.

Rethinking Security for Real Users

Research shows when systems require complex passwords or security protocols usability often suffers. Long combinations of letters, numbers, and symbols increase the likelihood that users will forget their credentials—particularly in low-literacy contexts.

Based on these insights, WOVO uses:

• Security questions answered numerically (such as dates)

• A simple 6-digit PIN instead of complex passwords

This reduces forgotten credentials, avoids easily guessable passwords, and aligns security with real user behavior.

Personalization Without Compromising Anonymity

Trust is foundational to worker voice.

To balance engagement, safety, and anonymity, WOVO includes:

• Avatars that allow users to personalize their account without revealing identity

• Illustrated security questions that rely on recognition rather than written responses

These features help workers feel ownership over their experience while maintaining the anonymity required for grievance and feedback mechanisms.

Technology With Human Backstops

Designing for accessibility also means recognizing when technology alone is not enough.

Survey and engagement methods are selected based on worker needs and access—not assumed digital readiness. In some contexts, workers engage through mobile devices or QR codes. In others—particularly agricultural and migrant worker settings—human-led, in-person deployment is essential.

Labor Solutions staff or trained local deployment leaders support workers directly, explaining what the engagement is, why it matters, and how anonymity is protected. Informed consent is actively ensured, not assumed.

Engagement takes place in locations workers already trust—such as community hubs or health centers—and participation is monitored in real time so access gaps can be addressed. Outcomes are shared with partners to reinforce accountability.

When literacy or access is limited, workers need more support—not more automation. For this reason, we do not rely on IVR in high-risk or low-literacy contexts, where it consistently leads to confusion and unreliable data.

Read more about how we implement and deploy in Low Literacy and High-Risk Contexts.

Designing Worker Voice at Scale Is Ongoing Work

Today, WOVO supports 3.8 million workers, reinforcing a simple truth: inclusive design is not static.

As the platform continues to evolve, Labor Solutions remains committed to designing systems that reflect real-world worker behavior, build trust into grievance mechanisms, and expand access to voice and remedy.

Worker technology only works when workers can actually use it.

If you’re interested in inclusive design or worker engagement systems at scale, we’d love to continue the conversation at info@laborsolutions.tech.

Learn More About WOVO