4 STORIES
FROM 4 MANUFACTURERS
In Apparel - Footwear - Electronic - Furniture Industries
Apparel
Manufacturer
- Long-term supplier for international brands
- Significantly investing in ESG private & public commitments
- Leading in due diligence by third parties & internal audits
- Proactively adopting new RBC & CSR initiatives
Electronic
Manufacturer
- Long-term supplier for international brands
- Significantly investing in ESG certification & best practices
- Leading in due diligence by third parties & internal audits
- Proactively adopting new RBC & CSR initiatives
Furniture
Manufacturer
- Long-term supplier for international brands
- Significantly investing in ESG certification & best practices
- Transparently providing due diligence results & remedies
- Proactively adopting new RBC & CSR initiatives
SHARED EXPECTATIONS FROM
RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS CONDUCTS (RBC)
All 4 manufacturers shared the same RBC expectations
What employees expect
-
Increased Employee Belief in RBC outcomes that lead to Long-term Job Security, Income/Right Protection & Career Development;
-
Increased Employee Belief in RBC outcomes that lead to Strengthened Employee-Employer Relation
-
Increased Employee-Employer Consensus about Employers' RBC goals
What employers expect
-
Increased Employer/Leader/Manager Consensus in RBC outcomes that lead to a resilient organization that is free of high-cost risks, conflicts & crisis
-
Increased Employee-Employer Consensus about Employers' RBC Goals
-
Increased Clients & Communities' RBC Buy-in based on Positive Employee Feedbacks on RBC outcomes
SHARED CHALLENGES
FACED BY 4 MANUFACTURERS
All 4 manufacturers faced the same RBC challenges
CHALLENGE
No.1
Incoherent (inter)national standard interpretation
CHALLENGE
No.2
Incoherent (inter)national RBC/CSR benchmarks
CHALLENGE
No.3
Overlapped
due diligence measures
CHALLENGE
No.4
Unmeasurable & costly efforts lead to short-term inconsistent investments
SHARED SOLUTION PACKAGES
To help all 4 Manufacturers overachieve RBC goals & gain organizational resilience
KEY CHALLENGES
-
Manufacturer No.1's Code of Conduct (CoC) was lengthy, incoherent & hard to interpret for the majority of Persons-in-charge from Compliance, Human Resource Management, ESG Teams, as well as Non-PIC (Finance, Operation, Quality Control)
-
Compulsory CoC Training requirements were met in quantity yet not in quality. 90% of production workers & 50% of supervisors were unsure about key standards;
-
Relevant OD/HR (Organisational Development/Human Resource) policies & regulations were not on par with the CoC & local laws
KEY SOLUTIONS
- Code of Conduct was redesigned in infographics for the whole workforce's better interpretation & compliance (the target group was production workers)
- The relationship & coherence between CoC & other relevant OD/HR policies were captured in infographics for cost-effective discussions, training & decision-making
- Training about CoC & relevant policies was delivered in comics & infographics
Manufacturer.01
More coherent RBC policy Frameworks & Toolsets
Use design thinking to explain incoherence & suggest changes in RBC policy frameworks
-
05 Policy Incoherence explained in 4P (Problem/Procedure/People/Policy)
-
05 RBC Policy Incoherence root causes analyzed in RCCC (Risk - Conflict - Change - Crisis) management formula
-
25 Changes in Policy Coherence suggested across Employment Life Cycle (from hiring to firing)
Manufacturer.02
Integrated
multi-layer
Organizational Learning Platform
Adopt technology & design thinking to provide a 24/7 learning platform for all layers of personnel
-
25-area RBC Policy Knowledge Library provided in an integrated learning platform for all layers of personnel with 24/7 access & special member permissions for confidentiality & security
-
3 Separate & inclusive web pages for 3 personnel layers to fill the policy knowledge gap among the layers
-
Communication & capacity-building tools in form of Q&A, cheatsheets, crash courses, online challenges, etc. are provided on each webpage for participants in the 3 layers to be on the same page about RBC
KEY CHALLENGES
-
Manufacturer No.2 failed to meet the worker training requirements by their clients during periodic due diligence in areas of International labor standards & national labor laws;
-
High-season production pressures & low training quality challenged Manufacturer No.2 in meeting training and other due diligence requirements;
-
Blue-collar & white-collar workers and even managers only got to learn policies, laws, and regulations when conflicts arise in relevance to their legitimate rights & economic benefits;
KEY SOLUTIONS
- The online learning platform offered an integrated knowledge library in 4P policy framework for consistent online/offline in-house learning & education;
- The learning platform was customized to be in line with Manufacturer No.2's culture/DNA
- The platform is learner-centric & encompassed the whole employment life cycle
Manufacturer.03
More sustainable Due diligence based on Conflict/change management
Invest in In-house conflict
& change management to drive more measurable & sustainable due diligence
KEY CHALLENGES
-
Manufacturer No.3 invested in annual due diligence efforts. However, ESG audit results vary year to year, even subject to different auditors;
-
Leaders agreed that 70% of the suggested remedies were quick-fix, sometimes window-dressing & unable to address the systematic problems or root causes;
-
Compliance & Training Teams have been investing in a great number of beyond due diligence initiatives yet the outcomes are generally unmeasurable, resulting in their failures to persuade the leadership to continuously invest;
KEY SOLUTIONS
- Leaders & PICs trained to agree on the ultimate goal to invest in measurable & sustainable "bey due diligence" efforts that directly benefit both employees/employers;
- Leaders & PICs reached consensus about Integrated internal conflict/change management might lead to 4P (Problem/People/Procedure/Policy) improvement;
- Data on integrated conflict/change management suggested 4P issues, their root causes & the solutions to systematically resolve that positively affect all due diligence
-
30 Key Due Diligence Problems (P1) identified & 20 quickly resolved;
-
15 Key People Management (P2) issues identified & 10 resolved systematically;
-
9 Key Procedural Issues (P3) identified correctly & 5 improved systematically;
-
3 Key Policies in Organisational Development & Human Resource Management (OD/HR) revised & designed in frameworks/infographics;
Manufacturer.04
RBC Goal Consensus on Organisational Model Canvas
Reach Goal Consensus on RBC Cost/Fund/Impact on Organisational Model Canvas
-
The concept of RBC Goal Consensus on Org. Model Canvas introduced to leaders & Persons-in-charge
-
RBC Cost/Fund/Impact presented on 9-building-block Org. Model Canvas;
-
All layers of personnel trained & agreed on RBC Cost/Fund/Impact Goals on Org. Model Canvas (on the platform);
-
Three-year RBC Strategies made/agreed on Org. Model Canvas
KEY CHALLENGES
-
Manufacturer No.4 invested heavily in due diligence & beyond due diligence in the past years. However Covid19-hit financial pressures made them revisit the annual investment;
-
ESG teams found it hard to explain all the relevant costs & benefits to top leaders as most of ESG impacts are unmeasurable;
-
The biggest challenge they faced was how the ESG cost/benefit affects corporate branding/values & how to make all relevant personnel understand the relationship;
KEY SOLUTIONS
- WE@WORK's concept of RBC Goal Consensus on Organisational Business Canvas introduced to the top leaders of Manufacturer No.4;
- RBC Goal Consensus on Org. Model Canvas must be reached among top leaders and then among the rest of the organisation;
- Exclusive webpage on Weatwork.co platform designed for each layer of personnel & each relevant department to study & customize their Goal Consensus on Org Model Canvas;
- Three-year strategies developed & owned by responsible departments & teams within the timeframe defined by the top leaders;
TESTIMONIALS
"If Manufacturers can measure their due diligence efforts, they will invest more sustainably & more proactively"
"Nothing is more direct as benefits for workers
than the investment into the relationship
between them & their employers.."
"Cost of disagreement & conflict about
RBC makes due diligence so expensive.."
"4 levels of Policy Coherence - Learning
Organization - Due Diligence Strategies -
Goal Consensus on Org. Model Canvas
simply explains all RBC efforts."
"The measurement of RBC efforts should be the combination among Cost Structure, Grant/Funding & Branding/Reputation of the organization"
"I agree that a healthy relationship should
only be based on the most important factors such
as communication, commitments & contributions
(3C) from both sides ... but they must be
measurable"
"That is amazing the Canvas can explain
everything in One Page, no matter how
complicated & cross-cutting the RBC issues are"
WE@WORK (2015) & later WEATWORK (2017) have been our dedication & commitment to align employees' goals & those of employers. These platforms also promote the organizational learning cultures within each organization.
We believe that this award-winning tool will raise the bar in RBC success in a practical & convergent way that leads to organisational resilience.
Ha Dang - MPS Cornell'09 - WE@WORK/WEATWORK author
LUND UNIVERSITY AWARD
2017 Technology for Good