Never have companies had to make such drastic changes to every day operations, nor have workers faced such a unique set of challenges. With no recent historical precedent to COVID-19, factories and workers will have to cooperate to adjust how they work together successfully. Implementing change will be especially challenging and undoubtedly will be a process of trial and error. Success depends on listening and engaging workers in the decision-making process in the creation of the ‘new normal.’ Increasingly, Labor Solutions’ clients are turning to surveys to better understand workers’ experiences and to engage them in policy creation and evaluation. Collecting worker feedback helps not only to inform decisions and change but helps “workers to feel respected and heard when they receive our outreach seeking their opinions”, said a human resources director at Dongguan Pouchen, a footwear factory in China. Labor Solutions has designed a survey to specifically address COVID-19. Use our off-the-shelf survey or work with our team of statisticians to customize one for your workforce. The COVID survey sets out to determine: The physical safety of workers and their families The emotional wellbeing and leading causes of stress for workers Workers’ understanding of their access to care Workers’  trust in management Workers’ understanding and feelings about their physical safety at work Workers’ overall sense of engagement in the workplace Surveys provide timely feedback from workers, allowing companies to quickly implement changes before issues snowball and become impossible to manage. A human resource manager at an apparel factory argued that there is no such thing as a “bad survey result”; every result is an opportunity to learn. When critical feedback is received in a survey, “then it means something is not working with this new policy and we will need to take a deeper look and adjust what we are currently doing.” One facility that was deemed essential was the addition of living facilities on-site for workers. After a few weeks of cohabitation, management conducted a survey and found that workers missed their families, were frustrated with their roommates, and ultimately needed more time alone. Management worked on allowing for additional time off, this helped with social distancing and helped address the needs of workers. In several workplaces, WOVO surveys helped to determine that workers had lost trust in their management because of the COVID-19 response. We also found that because they lost trust, they did not feel safe and were concerned about their job security. The Labor Solutions team was able to work with each management team to craft a response and outreach plan to workers. For some workplaces this meant being honest and open about declining orders and pledging to continue to be transparent with workers about the state of the company. For others, this meant implementing new COVID-19 safety measures, and in some cases, this included adding free transport to work and housing options for workers. These are difficult times. Outreach from management to factory groups will have to be ongoing. Conducting surveys in a structured scheduled manner helps you track changes overtime and to continue to collaborate with workers to determine what the new normal looks like for your company.

Background Like many good employers, those managing Factory Five believe that communication between their employees and the management team is critical for success. They know that employee engagement is correlated with employee productivity and overall company performance. That is why they set up “input boxes” located in their facility’s restrooms, as well as a hotline to call, and encouraged employees to communicate directly with their department’s manager if they had questions or grievances. But although Factory Five had taken these measures, managers only collected around 60 questions and grievances through their input boxes and 21 from their hotline in the span of a year. This seemed like a small number for a factory with a workforce of over 16,000. Labor Solutions was called upon to help improve communication. Outcome When we came in to help Factory Five, we understood the challenges the company faced collecting, understanding, and responding to employee grievances and questions. After learning of its benefits, Factory Five decided to implement communication technology used in the WOVO platform. This platform ensures anonymity and provides a more convenient method of communication between employees and management through text messages. Upon implementation, Factory Five saw an extreme boost in employees’ willingness to communicate. They received a total of 1417 messages, 344 of which were labeled as grievances, in only the first quarter. This is equivalent to almost a 7,000% annual increase in communication compared with the previous results. Managers said that their employees were more engaged, and less hesitant to provide feedback because their messages were anonymous. Employers also took advantage of the broadcasting feature that enabled them to reach their workforce with announcements through text messages. Previously, they had broadcasted messages using flyers or audio announcements. Not only was communication streamlined, but grievance and question management as well. We calculated that Factory Five took an average of 5 days to close a single case, a huge improvement from their monthly basis resolution. On average, we see a 90% reduction in response time to workers’ questions and complaints. Through the platform’s case management feature, Factory Five was also able to measure the frequency of certain question and grievance case types, allowing managers to broadcast information to reduce the need for employees to ask additional questions. This increase in efficiency of communication enabled them to create a stronger work culture and improve engagement.

The economic impacts of COVID have been especially hard for the world's poorest. Factory workers globally have faced lay-offs, cuts in wages and hours and confusion about safety protocols and laws. A recent paper by Cornell and the International Labor Organization (ILO), provides some of the first data on impact of the pandemic on garment workers thus far; "The typical worker lost out on at least two to four weeks of work with only three in five workers being called back to the factory. Among those still employed in the second quarter of 2020, declines in earnings and delays in wage payments were also common." The paper also found that, women have been disproportionality affected by the crisis. In Asia and the Pacific, the garment industry is the largest employer of women. The challenges faced by factory in workers in general, combined with child care closures and increased gender-based violence has put women at greater risk than ever, and threatens to reverse "previous gains achieved towards closing some gender gaps." Governments' constantly shifting COVID policies and economic relief packages have caused additional confusion and anxiety amongst employers and workers. In most countries, it is still unclear if the government economic support will be sufficient. The paper calls for stakeholders throughout the supply chain to step up their efforts and to work to develop a more resilient and sustainable post-COVID-19 future for the garment industry. Labor Solutions partnered with Better Work and several other organizations to develop and release atun, a free mobile app designed to support factory workers impacted by COVID. Consider supporting atun today.

Around the world, companies can face steep fines for breaking laws that govern their industries. Non-compliance is not only expensive, it can jeopardize a company’s long-term future. However, compliance trainings can educate employees on the relevant laws and policies that apply to their job responsibilities and what to do when those rules are broken.  By implementing a comprehensive compliance training program, organizations can help protect themselves from potential risks and establish cultures of transparency and excellence. eLearning enables companies to effectively and efficiently deliver these compliance trainings to workers on a mass scale. Not only can employers distribute e-learning trainings quickly, they can also track training progress and completion. In addition, studies show knowledge retention rates are high with e-learning. For employees, e-learning offers convenience. Employees can fit e-learning compliance trainings into their schedules, rather than adjusting according to set training times and locations. Furthermore, employees have the freedom to complete e-learning trainings on their smart phones, laptops or desktop computers, instead of traveling to a designated location. Compliance Training Solutions from Labor Solutions Labor Solutions offers a suite of compliance trainings in an e-learning format, with additional trainings in professional development and personal wellbeing. Labor Solutions can also create customized trainings for organizations to address specific compliance program needs. Below is a list of e-learning compliance trainings currently available from Labor Solutions: Working and Living Conditions Trainings: Harassment & Abuse Working Hours Wages & Benefits Discrimination Dormitories Workplace Safety Trainings: Fire Safety Equipment & Machine Safety Chemical Safety Worker Support Systems Trainings: Grievance Handling Freedom of Association Illegal Labor Practices Trainings: Underage Labor Forced Labor Unauthorized Sub-contracting For more information about corporate compliance e-learning trainings, including customized training options, contact info@laborsolutions.tech.