CSR Partner: Good World Solutions
Confidential voices heard by employers
Without anonymity, workers in developing countries are reluctant to give input about conditions. But employers need feedback and transparency in order to make the right changes. Good World Solutions is using confidential surveys delivered on mobile phones to give voice to workers and help employers create socially responsible supply chains.
Sharing is better than silence
In developing countries, almost 90 percent of people have a mobile phone. With Cisco support, Good World Solutions developed a multi-purpose mobile platform, Laborlink, which facilitates communications between workers and employers. Laborlink is helping companies transform workplace conditions and the lives of workers.
- Using mobile apps or their telephone keypads, workers can report anonymously on working conditions and job satisfaction
- Laborlink provides a reliable, cost-effective way for employers to disseminate information on safety, training, policies and processes, health and hygiene, financial literacy, and more
- Laborlink translates worker voices into actionable analytics. Employers can make more informed decisions on what changes to make to address worker concerns
- In a side-by-side comparison, responses to sensitive questions were eight times higher with confidential Laborlink surveys than call centers and in-person interviews
- Laborlink is a being used by more than 1M workers in 16 countries by companies across multiple industries and brands
Partnerships deepen Laborlink’s role
Cisco is fostering partnerships with Good World Solutions and other non-profits. This effort goes beyond replicating the success of Laborlink—it also deepens its effectiveness in tackling specific issues. An example is Business for Social Responsibility’s (BSR) HERfinance program, which educates low-income women factory workers about financial products and services.
- The pilot used Laborlink to reach 10,000 workers in 10 garment and footwear factors in India: 81% percent of workers reported that the factories were better places to work since HERfinance began
- BSR replicated HERfinance and Laborlink in five other countries reaching over 80,000 factory workers; 91% of workers reported increased savings, and 97% had improved perceptions of their employers
Companies support supply chain transparency
4 million data points collected through Laborlink
30+ industries from retail to farming use Laborlink to improve supply chains
16 countries have Laborlink in use
“Mobile can give workers a voice and give companies real-time data that is actionable about their global workforce.”
Heather Franzese, Good World Solutions Executive Director and Co-Founder
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