Labor Solutions leverages data and technology to improve workplace conditions around the globe. It creates digital tools that help employers connect with workers, set goals, drive sustainable change, see increased retention, and reduce risks in the workplace. As a social enterprise, the organization provides a variety of services. Clients throughout the supply chain can purchase Labor Solutions’ tools - available on personalized dashboards, mobile applications, and other user-friendly platforms - to improve communication among employers, stakeholders, and workers. They can also enlist the support of Labor Solutions’ customized advisory services that work with clients to address worker-related challenges across supply chains. Its programs support workers, employers, brands and retailers, and auditors by streamlining information sharing and access to information on the rights of workers. Collaborating with NGOs and multi-stakeholder groups, Labor Solutions also creates technology to help amplify their impact and expand their reach.

COVID-19 Response

To mitigate the pandemic’s economic effects on factory workers in emerging markets, Labor Solutions designed atun, a free mobile application that provides users with access to critical tools and information in Indonesia, India, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Operating as a nonprofit, the app offers critical coronavirus information, weekly updates from atun’s collaborators, eLearning material to help with upskilling and well-being, support for parents whose children are out of school, and community resource referrals. Labor Solution provides funding, technical support, and overall project management to atun in collaboration with a consortium of partners.

Theory of Change

Using technology to increase transparency and communication throughout supply chains can improve working conditions and increase knowledge of labor rights, while also bolstering productivity.

Activities

Labor Solutions offers a combination of technology and services. The organization’s digital tools provide anonymity and transparency to workplace communication, eLearning opportunities for workers with personal and professional training content, worker surveys tailored to complex supply chains, and human resource tools. Clients and their employees can access these tools on Labor Solutions’ single online dashboard called WOVO or on platforms like WhatsApp, SMS, and WeChat. The organization offers client-facing support in over a dozen languages as well. These include assistance with implementing digital tools; advising on topics from research and needs assessments to strategy consulting; focus group discussions with employees; survey design; and eLearning content design. Throughout its programs, Labor Solutions pairs technology and capacity building to address human rights issues related to workplace infrastructure, including women’s empowerment and leadership, migrant worker rights, and inclusion of workers’ voices in business decisions.

Results

Labor Solutions has improved supply chains around the globe through its broad network and program expertise. Since it was created in 2013, the organization has reached 1.5 million workers across 23 countries in 24 languages. Its WOVO dashboard has been used 9 times more than traditional workplace communication methods. 90% of workers who use WOVO have reported positive life changes, while 94% have reported health improvements. Moreover, companies using WOVO reduced safety accidents by 80% by educating workers and providing more effective tools for conveying issues to employers. Companies also described lower turnover rates, higher retention, lower absenteeism, and more efficient responses to COVID-19 and other crises.