Confidential voices heard by employers
Good World Solutions' Labor Link initiative uses mobile phone surveys to empower workers and improve supply chains.
Companies support supply chain transparency
4M+ data points collected through Laborlink
400+ factories and communities across 30+ industries from retail to farming use Laborlink to improve supply chains
16+ countries have Laborlink in use
1M+ workers reached via Labor Link worldwide
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 also supported partnerships between 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 percent of workers reported increased savings, and 97 percent had improved perceptions of their employers.
“Mobile can give workers a voice and give companies real-time data that is actionable about their global workforce”
Heather Franzese, Co-Founder and former Executive Director, Good World Solutions
Achieving financial sustainability
In August 2017, Labor Link was acquired by Elevate -- a global company that works to improve sustainability, supply chain performance, and transparency by conducting 12,000 assessments and audits each year across 110 countries. Elevate has integrated Labor Link into their factory audits. Elevate’s advisory risk assessment and analytics services, combined with their worker engagement and training programs, are an excellent complement to Labor Link -– giving companies the ability to combine supply chain audit and Labor Link results and then translate those into meaningful action. This partnership will enable Labor Link to accelerate scale at a more rapid pace, ensure financial sustainability, and extend their capacity to engage and empower workers.