While it may not always be possible to include direct employers in the survey process, we encourage brands to do so if possible. Worker Surveys are more meaningful if supplier facilities are part of the process. As the employer, supplier facilities are responsible for providing workers a positive work environment. Follow up to worker surveys is just as important as collecting worker feedback and direct employers are best equipped to do this.
When a brand collects worker feedback without the supplier facility engaged, it misses an opportunity to leverage capacity and empower for change.
Imagine if you and your co-workers had spent the last three months lodging complaints about the factory sponsored bus, and then your employer launches, what they call an “Employee Engagement Survey” and doesn’t ask about the bus. This oversight would lead you to believe your employer doesn’t care about what you have to say and result in you being less interested in responding to the survey.
While better understanding transportation issues may not be your brand's objective for the survey, by not addressing the daily concerns of workers, it is impossible to build the trust necessary to uncover more concerning challenges.
When suppliers are engaged in the survey process, the whole process is more efficient and effective:
Employer knowledge and experience in the field will help you create the right questions.
Suppliers are more willing to support survey deployment, helping to promote the survey among workers and assist with onsite deployment
When the right questions are asked, and management promotes a surveys more workers respond and are more likely to be honest with their feedback.
Suppliers feel ownership and are more likely to act upon the data from the surveys they own.
The Worker Engagement Dashboard (WED) was built with this in mind. With the WED Survey Tools:
Brands create surveys and assign to their suppliers.
Suppliers can add their own questions or combine questions from two different brands without changing the brand's core questions or the reporting structure.
From their dashboard suppliers decide to how to distribute and promote the survey
Data is reported back to selected stakeholders in their selected format, allowing for easy comparison of data sets.
The WED survey tool underlines Labor Solutions' commitment to creating sustainable long term solutions that lead to capacity building and ownership.
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Founded in 2013, Labor Solutions leverages technology and data to improve the lives of workers. Our tools and services are created using user-centric & inclusive design to engage and connect with the entire value chain of stakeholders. We foster social infrastructures to support sustainable and valuable change in workplaces.