Footwear and clothing manufacturers in Vietnam are riding a wave of economic opportunity, attributed to a profitable trade agreement with the European Union and increased manufacturing costs in China. In April the country’s Ministry of Industry and Trade reported that textile, garment and footwear exports had risen 7.1 percent year-on-year. However, there is another opportunity impacting the industry as well. Race to the Top, a collaborative initiative coordinated by IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative, is successfully promoting large scale improvements to sustainable manufacturing in the country. A unique partnership involving the Vietnamese apparel and footwear industry, global consumer brands, the Vietnamese government and public partners, Race to the Top intends to reshape manufacturing practices starting in Vietnam, but then extending across the globe. Labor Solutions has recently been selected to join Race to the Top as technical experts for worker engagement efforts. As part of the project, Labor Solutions will equip participating factories with WOVO, a mobile phone-based communication platform that promotes worker wellbeing using two-way confidential communication and e-learning. WOVO also features advanced online analytics that can track employee engagement trends and other actionable data. Race to the Top uses a pilot program framework to showcase a business rationale for adopting environmental and social sustainability practices. As part of the pilot programs, factory workers, union representatives, supervisors and management participate in trainings and coaching to develop skills and implement practices that improve both sustainability and profitability. Initial outcomes have been impressive, demonstrated by the following: An average decline in monthly worker turnover from 10 percent to 6 percent. An average 14 percent increase in right first time (RFT) Lasting effects, as 85 percent of workers recognized program benefits two years later “The factories in our pilot programs are successfully demonstrating that a combination of productivity and worker engagement training can improve both working conditions and profitability,” shares Sibbe Krol, Senior Program Manager at IDH. “We are finding that the sustainability measures being implemented are leading to reductions in worker turnover and optimized production. That is a win-win for workers and management.” For more information about Race to the Top, visit racetothetop.info or contact Sibbe Krol at Krol@idhtrade.org. To learn more about WOVO, contact Labor Solutions at info@laborsolutions.tech.

Facing significant disruptions to existing supply chains, workers and managers are turning to technology solutions to communicate as factories shut down and social distancing measures are enforced. In these uncertain and stressful economic times, workers are asking more questions to their management than ever. From January +  February to March + April , we have seen utilization rates of WOVO increase tremendously across the region: Vietnam – 120% increase in messages sent by workers Indonesia – 100% increase Cambodia – 173% increase China – 129% increase In turn, management also increased outreach to workers: 80% increase in the number of broadcast messages sent globally by managers to workers from January+  February to March + April 50% increase in the number of newsletters sent globally by managers to workers from January +  February to March + April Managers using WOVO during the COVID-19 outbreak report that they are happy to have access to a digital technology that allows them to keep in touch with workers even when those workers are staying at home.  For  For factories laying off or indefinitely furloughing workers, WOVO will be key to getting workers back on the line when government restrictions ease and orders continue. Does your company or workplace have a corporate communications tool in place? A recent McKinsey & Company report on COVID-19 says that adopting a two-way communication system with workers is critical during a crisis. The study says that these systems act as a clear source of truth, provide workers with confidential reporting mechanisms, and help employers have a clearer understanding of what is going from the perspective of workers. Reach out so we can help you set up WOVO – and other tools we developing in response to COVID-19 disruptions – in your facility quickly.

Labor Solutions’ set of services is designed to shift the relationship between brands and suppliers from one of compliance to one of capacity building and ownership. Often, worker voice programs and helplines developed with a compliance mindset are designed as a ‘gotcha’ mechanism based on an undercurrent of distrust. As a result, suppliers suppress any challenges that might get them into ‘trouble,’ and do not promote helplines to workers, making them largely ineffective. Entering the industry with an employee well-being background, we recognized the conflict this presented and set out to design something fundamentally different. We wanted to create tools that could empower direct employers and provide data sets that spark change-oriented collaboration and action. Rather than focusing on whether there is a problem, we developed tools that measure whether the problem was handled well. This increases communication and reduces risks. When we designed WOVO, a key feature was its ability to facilitate two-way, anonymous communication between employers and workers. WOVO equips the employer to manage and respond to employees’ questions and suggestions. Additionally, it generates reports and provides data that can be useful for oversight. WOVO goes beyond the capabilities of a third-party helpline by not only capturing worker’s needs, but also giving management the resources it needs to respond to workers’ concerns and help minimize future risk. This can empower facilities, encourage their promotion of WOVO and result in increased participation by workers. In some instances, WOVO has received more than ten times as many cases as the third-party grievance line. We also find that with WOVO, cases are generally solved faster, and often small issues are managed before they become critical. For some facilities, responding directly to workers in real time and managing complaints can be challenging. That’s why we provide complementary client advisory services with all of our tools. However, we know that sometimes our standard advisory services aren’t enough, and facilities need more support. To address these concerns, we are introducing Enhanced Advisory Services, a new service from Labor Solutions, designed to provide additional support to specific facilities and to help buyers sort the underprepared facilities from the negligent. Because no workplace is perfect, Enhanced Advisory Services emphasizes progress over perfection. What’s included: 10 additional advisory services hours Guided self-needs assessment and target setting Additional oversight and support How it Works: Facilities with Enhanced Advisory Services will start with a guided self-assessment that identifies what standards they want to use for evaluation and any areas that they recognize need improvement. Based on the results of the self-assessment, the Labor Solutions team will work with facilities to set targets for improvement. Targets might pertain to speed of response to workers, number of worker committee meetings, utilization of tools and worker pulse scores, for example. Each quarter, the Labor Solutions team will review utilization rates, messages from workers, and responses from managers.  This insight will be shared with the facility by the account manager during quarterly meetings. We will hold the facility accountable to its own targets and, if needed, provide specific feedback for how the facility can improve. This could include ideas for expediting response speed, using empathy, optimizing management processes, and/or identifying better ways to use the data. To ensure that facilities maximize the utility of their service(s) and see real results, we will also convene a tri-party meeting among us, the buyer, and the facility in the event we observe no improvement or effort from the facility after three quarters. This allows the Labor Solutions team to have a one-on-one relationship with facilities and gives them time to make improvements without fear of being penalized, while still ensuring accountability. This incentivizes capacity-building and improvement. Facilities can also always supplement with additional Labor Solutions trainings focused on communication, worker dialogue, and grievance mechanisms. We recognize that supplier ownership comes with challenges, particularly for brands with limited resources or for facilities with a checkered past. Real change isn’t easy. With WOVO + Enhanced Advisory Services, facilities will receive the additional guided support they need to learn how to better initiate change from within. To learn more about our Enhanced Advisory Services service email us at info@laborsolutions.tech Hashtag #compliance #uncategorized

Feeling disconnected from factories and workers? With coronavirus the risk of human rights violations has increased. Emergency contingency plans often do not include provisions for protecting human rights. When demand is high, and the supply of workers is low risk mount. Increasingly organizations like ICTI are releasing guidelines for protecting human rights during COVID-19. But, the spread of CONVID-19 has also resulted in many factories prohibiting external visitors. With no outside personnel allowed onsite, new measures need to be taken to ensure protocols are being followed and human rights protected. Just because you can’t go onsite, doesn’t mean you can’t get keep your finger on the pulse of your workforce. Labor Solutions has a host of mobile- phone based remote services  designed to help provide oversight from afar. Can’t go onsite for an audit? Surveys can. Get direct feedback and real time data from front-line workers through SMS or remote survey deployment cards. We send surveys directly to workers phones, regardless where they are. Use our standard or customized surveys to collect data quickly. In addition to our standard surveys we’ve recently released a new survey to address the specific challenges presented by coronavirus: Social Compliance During an Emergency Survey, indicators include: Compensation Health and Safety Freedom of Movement Working Hours Recruitment and Hiring Worker Engagement Worker Emotional Well-being Within this survey we have added additional questions to better understand issues particularly relevant during an emergency, like ensuring access to personal safety equipment specific to an epidemic, like soap, hand sanitizer and spacing of workstations. Survey deployment and implementation can be done as quickly as one week. Critical onsite trainings postponed? Deliver information en masse through our mobile phone eLearning application. In addition to our standard professional and personal development e-learning courses, we’ve recently released several courses to provide workers with clear information about the coronavirus and other tips like managing stress during an emergency. WOVO E-learning is available for workers to access directly from their mobile phones. We’ve also launched a free app, atun with BSR HERproject and School to School International to support workers who have been laid offed. Worried about rumors and fake news spreading throughout the workforce? McKinsey & Company’s report on CONVID-19  says adopting a two-way communication system with workers is critical during a crisis. The report says these systems act as a clear source of truth, provide workers with confidential reporting mechanism and help employers have a clearer understanding of what is going. WOVO allows for two-way messaging, broadcast messaging and more. Broadcast messaging ensures all workers receive clear messages and critical information at the same time. See our other posts about coronavirus here and here. Hashtag #uncategorized

Updated April 13, 2021 The New Conversations Project released an update to their series in the Sourcing Journal on the effectiveness and accuracy of audits. In a must read, five-part series on the effectiveness of auditing and private regulation, the team behind Cornell's New Conversation Project argues that audits and their resulting corrective action plans have been largely ineffective. The research, which spanned 40,000 factory labor audits over time in 12 countries and 12 industries, shows " the average number of violations found in labor audits was almost unchanged between 2011 and 2018 across all countries and industries." At Labor Solutions, we think its critical to engage suppliers and workers, rather than police and penalize. Time and time again, we enter into facilities where management bare scars from audits gone bad, overbearing clients and costly slip ups or misunderstanding. "Our biggest challenge when implementing within a factory, is convincing everyone in the value chain that transparency is good and will reap benefits for all," notes Bijie LI, Head of Client Advisory Service. "Receiving a grievance should be perceived as good. Only in a workplace of trust are grievances brought forward. People, particularly those who are vulnerable, don't complain if they don't believe their feedback will go unnoticed and not create change. We want to hear from workers it's a good thing! But this is a hard mindset to change. Management at every level have spent the last few decades in fear, and as a result have suppressed complaints and worker feedback." Read more: Three Decades of Promises: Data Shows an Industry Slow to Improve Rewarding the Middle: Rewarding Compliance in the Supply Chain Does Private Regulation Work, Probably Not

Good Business Lab is a non-profit, labor innovation start-up that designs, tests and scales worker well-being interventions. They recently shared the results of their pilot using WOVO in two Indian apparel facilities. Good Business Lab conducted a randomized control trial, supported by The Children’s Place, that involved two garment factories in India employing approximately 7,500 workers. Workers were randomly assigned to the trial’s treatment group or control group. The treatment group was given access to WOVO and received encouragement via training and SMS reminders to use WOVO. The control group was also given access to WOVO, but did not receive any encouragement to use it. The data showed that absenteeism rates of workers in the treatment group was lower. These results reflect what the Labor Solutions team consistently finds – companies that encourage the utilization of worker well-being tools via education and ongoing promotion reap maximum benefits. Stay tuned. More research results to be released soon.

Worker voice tools can help minimize organizational risk by giving workers a confidential process for alerting leadership to their concerns. A study by the Fair Wear Foundation and Care International found that when clear complaint procedures were in place, female factory workers reported significantly lower levels of abuse, 25% compared with 58.7%. Worker voice tools can also have a significant impact on employee engagement and turnover. In a trial conducted at a large garment factory in India, researchers found that enabling worker voice reduced employee turnover by 20%. Gallup researchers found that engaged workers not only outperform unengaged workers, but also experience decreased turnover, absenteeism, safety incidents, and quality defects. Leading brands, in an effort to promote worker safety and wellbeing, are helping their supply chain factories recognize the value of worker voice tools. For example, Nike requires its strategic suppliers every year to conduct employee wellbeing surveys. While Nike develops the survey and has it administered by Labor Solutions, factory management has ownership of the survey format, as well as determines when to conduct the survey. After the survey, rather than telling factories what changes to make, Nike requires them to conduct focus groups to develop action plans based on the feedback received. At adidas, they use a different, but equally effective, approach to empower its suppliers. Factories that work with adidas are required to implement WOVO, Labor Solutions’ two-way communication platform that allows workers to anonymously voice concerns to management. While adidas provides oversight and may offer suggestions, the factories are responsible for monitoring and responding to the feedback they receive. While Nike and adidas are implementing worker voice tools differently, both are using a positive, collaborative approach, rather than a solely punitive one, to encourage adoption. As a result, factories are more likely to buy-in to the process. Having employees buy-in to the worker voice program is also important for the program’s success. Employees must trust they will not be penalized for offering feedback and believe that their feedback can make a difference. When a worker voice program is experiencing success, you can see the following cycle in place: Workers offer feedback Managers implement productive change based on feedback Organization benefits Trust in process grows Return to step one Based on Labor Solutions’ experience, here are some more important steps for building an effective worker voice program: Have a plan in place. Determine what worker voice tools will be used to collect employee feedback. Who will be responsible for responding to feedback? Set clear expectations on how the worker voice program should be implemented and highlight the value suppliers will receive for their participation. Make sure worker voice tools are accessible to workers. For example if a compliance line is one of your tools, it’s important workers have private access to a telephone. Ensure that the feedback tools are truly anonymous for workers. If workers feel they could be identified or penalized for giving feedback, they will not utilize the tools. Clearly communicate why the worker voice tool is being put in place, how it can be accessed and what will be done with the information collected. Just knowing that a worker feedback tool is available can have a positive impact on worker wellbeing. Always follow up with workers in a quick, respectful and effective manner. Even if the decision is to not make a change based on the feedback, let the employee know the input was valuable. Be willing to take the necessary steps to make changes when needed. Only then, when productive change is made, can the organization benefit from the feedback. An effective worker voice program depends on having the right tools and the right processes in place. For more information about developing an effective worker voice program, contact info@laborsolutions.tech.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts have increased dramatically over the last ten years. In fact, 90% of the world’s largest companies now file sustainability reports outlining their economic, environmental and social impact. As part of their sustainability programs, and in an effort to go “beyond compliance,” companies are also developing guidelines to ensure the factories that make up their supply chain are integrating new worker voice, worker empowerment, and worker wellbeing solutions. Gap Inc., Nike and adidas are noteworthy examples of leading brands that are helping factories in their supply chains operate in accordance with social responsibility and human rights principles. Nike expands worker voice and wellbeing resources. Nike developed its Sourcing and Manufacturing Standards Index (SMSI) to score factories based on a broad range of sustainability measures, including labor management and social compliance. By the end of fiscal year 2020, Nike aims to source only from those factories that have achieved SMSI bronze status or above. Nike is providing a variety of support and resources to help suppliers meet and exceed SMSI standards. WOVO, a mobile phone-based technology platform, is being utilized by factories in Nike’s global supply chain to help address issues around worker engagement and wellbeing. Developed by Labor Solutions, WOVO is a third-party worker wellbeing solution that is operated and implemented directly by the factory. WOVO gives factory workers direct access to local human resource representatives via anonymous two-way SMS communication. In addition to letting workers confidentially ask questions and report concerns, the platform also gives managers a way to respond while maintaining workers’ anonymity. This ensures full confidentiality on both sides, which leads to increased worker/management trust. In addition, Nike has access to WOVO’s high level reports to maintain oversight while also providing useful supply chain data that informs decision making. Nike is also using the platform to conduct worker engagement and worker wellbeing surveys, which are required for all strategic suppliers. WOVO can be used to launch trainings (ex. compliance, EHS, sexual harassment) and track worker completion and scores.  Workers also have access to professional and personal training opportunities through WOVO, including over 65 wellbeing programs covering topics such as women’s health and maternity, mental health, smoking cessation, finances and family issues Nike reported in its 2016-17 Sustainability Report that factories consistently experienced less absenteeism, reduced turnover and cost savings when workers had access to wellbeing services. In one pilot program, Nike saw a 33% decrease in turnover when workers had access to WOVO. Gap Inc. invests in workforce engagement. Gap Inc. developed its Workforce Engagement Program to measure and improve worker engagement efforts within their supply chain. Gap Inc. is aiming for all of its strategic suppliers to achieve a sustainability rating of green or yellow by 2020. In order to measure and identify areas for improvement, Gap Inc. worked with the non-profit Verité to collect feedback from supply chain workers on key topics such as supervisor relationships, grievance mechanisms, and training opportunities. In response to workers’ feedback, Gap Inc. worked with factories to tailor solutions that addressed workers’ concerns. This included partnering with Labor Solutions to provide access to WOVO’s anonymous two-way communication feature, as well as digital pay stubs, and mobile-based trainings. Gap Inc. is also finding that improving worker wellbeing can lead to positive business results including increases in productivity, improvements in retention and lower absenteeism. Workplace Standards developed by adidas. Like Nike and Gap, adidas developed its Workplace Standards to address important health and safety matters. Factories are regularly audited for compliance to the Workplace Standards and are given Key Performance Indicator (KPI) scores of 1-5, with 5 being the highest. By 2020, adidas expects 80% of its strategic suppliers to reach a social compliance level of 4 or better, according to its 2018 Annual Report.  Additionally, adidas is requiring all of its strategic suppliers have WOVO in place by 2020. “Clients see WOVO playing an important role in improving access to worker voice, as well as the foundation for adding additional worker wellbeing services including eLearning training, access to digital pay slips and more,” explains Elena Fanjul-Debnam, Head of Labor Solutions. “They are also interested in the data WOVO provides regarding facility usage.”

Imagine having any information you want at your fingertips. That is increasingly becoming a reality, one mobile application at a time. Electronic learning (e-Learning), especially via mobile devices, has made education accessible and affordable to more people than ever before, and it continues to be the wave of the future. The benefits of e-Learning over in-person courses or training sessions are numerous. For example, e-Learning is: Cost-effective. Without printed materials, live instructors, or facilities, the cost of ‘knowledge sharing’ via e-Learning can stay quite low. Convenient. Consumers of e-Learning can fit it into their schedule, rather than having to be physically present somewhere or some time that isn’t ideal for them. Individualized. Learners may not always understand what is taught to them in an in-person environment. They may need more time to absorb concepts or be too shy to ask clarifying questions. E-learning can be stopped, replayed, and reviewed as many times as needed by each individual to cater to his or her own pace. Time-efficient. We all have busy schedules, but we also have down-time – sometimes unexpectedly. Since e-Learning doesn’t need to be completed all at once, it suits those who strive to make good use of their down-time. It also often requires less of a time commitment overall compared to in-person sessions. Unifying. In-person educational options risk alienating people who may feel too embarrassed, too amateur, or otherwise unfit to participate. E-Learning provides equal access to people of all ages and backgrounds who are interested in enhancing themselves personally or professionally, and it can even offer anonymity. Labor Solutions recognizes that e-Learning can be beneficial to workers around the world, especially those who endure long workdays primarily in factory environments and tend to live in areas lacking in support for professional and personal growth. Through its WOVO mobile application, Labor Solutions offers e-Learning with a wide array of courses and topics encompassing both personal wellbeing and professional development.  Personal wellbeing topics address emotional, physical, and financial wellbeing, as well as caregiving. Some of our recently added topics include handling emotions, pregnancy, and financial planning. Professional development topics address compliance-related issues such as workplace safety, discrimination, and harassment; as well as topics related to interpersonal skills and stress management in the workplace. Most recently, we have created topics for fire safety, harassment and abuse, and grievance mechanisms. We even provide content for company managers to learn best practices for managing others, such as being a good leader, leading communication, and empowering employees. Data related to topic completion and quiz results is automatically captured for both personal and professional courses. While data for compliance-oriented topics can be shared at a per-employee level, we only share aggregate data for non-compliance oriented topics to protect the privacy of workers. It’s worth noting that our e-Learning curriculum offers a high degree of flexibility, which allows us to accommodate clients’ unique needs. Depending on how involved clients want to be in topic creation, they can have full or partial control over the content shared with their workers or managers.  This is especially useful for clients who want to design their own unique onboarding programs tailored to workers and managers in their workplaces. E-Learning comes at no cost to the worker, as the WOVO mobile application is typically paid for by a worker’s company, or else another entity within or related to the company’s supply chain. Workers can access cloud-based content as long as they have internet access, and they can stop and start their movement through topics as they please. Understanding that workers have varying levels of literacy and tech-savviness, we have designed topics to take no more than eight to twelve minutes to complete, and to incorporate images and videos while limiting text. To ensure learning objectives are achieved, we have interactive checkpoint questions and topic-based quizzes, and we provide fun e-badges to incentivize topic completion. WOVO e-Learning ‘meets workers where they are,’ catering to their circumstances rather than requiring them to take part in more time-consuming or otherwise inconvenient on-site trainings. We find that giving workers’ some control over their learning experience improves opportunities for real and lasting change, because they have chosen the topic and initiated the course. WOVO e-Learning aims to minimize workers’ barriers to accessing educational content and maximize the impact of the curriculum we create. For more information, contact info@laborsolutions.tech.

In today’s fast-paced, ever-evolving business environment, the need to upskill and retrain employees is greater than ever. According to a survey by Pricewaterhouse Coopers, three-fourths of corporate CEOS see the availability of key skills as the biggest threat to their business. IBM’s C-Suite Study uncovered similar concerns after surveying executives in more than 20 industries. In that study, more than 65% of global leaders cited talent and leadership shortages as their most pressing business challenge. However, IBM also found there were significant benefits to investing in a skilled workforce, including: 16% increase in customer satisfaction 10% increase in productivity 22% faster rollout of projects Overall, 75-80% of managers surveyed by IBM believed effective training was critical to project success and meeting project deadlines. Earlier this year, AT&T announced it was investing $1 billion dollars to retrain nearly half its workforce, by 2020. Other companies are following suit, recognizing that in this tight job market, developing their current workforce is an effective way to position themselves for future growth. In addition to addressing the skills gap, organizations are finding that expanding training opportunities is having a positive impact on employee retention efforts as well. Career development and meaningful work are key drivers of employee satisfaction, particularly among millennials. In fact, employees who feel they cannot achieve their career goals at their current organization are 12 times more likely to consider leaving than employees who feel their employers are providing career growth opportunities. Organizations are leaning heavily on e-learning platforms to addresses their urgent training needs. E-learning is flexible and efficient, giving employees the freedom to fit training into their schedules. And E-learning allows employers to easily customize trainings to meet changing organizational needs. Most importantly, e-learning is incredibly effective. Technology company Aura-Interactiva collected several studies that demonstrate the benefits of e-learning including: Retention rates for e-learning are high, generally falling in the 25-60% range. Participants learn nearly 5x more material with e-learning, without increasing time spent in training. E-learning typically requires 40-60% less time than a traditional classroom setting. The World Economic Forum’s 2018 Future of Jobs Report said that by 2022, due to the speed of innovation and new technology, no less than 54% of all employees will require significant re- and upskilling. Organizations slow to adopt new methods for workforce development will certainly be at a disadvantage well before then. E-learning is a key feature of WOVO, a mobile and web-based worker wellbeing platform recently launched by Labor Solutions. WOVO’s e-learning modules engage employees with interactive lessons and completion badges. In addition, employers are able to track worker progress and scores. For more information about WOVO, click HERE.