Ensuring Integrity

Better Work’s staff of locally recruited enterprise advisors are trained both to conduct assessments and to provide advisory services. As part of their training and responsibilities, they learn to conduct their duties based on a strict ethical code of integrity, transparency, diplomacy and respect in line with the highest standards of the United Nations. These principles, which apply to all roles undertaken by Bettter Work advisors, are reinforced not only through the training course completed by each advisor, but also in the processes of assessing and reporting on factory performance and compliance with labour standards.

ASSURING QUALITY AT THE FACTORY VISIT

• Advisors undergo rigorous training prior to taking on a role assessing enterprises (approximately 45 days of training).
• Training includes a variety of topics, such as industrial relations and core labour standards, garment industry supply chain and production, and local unions’ role and work.
• Skills training includes interviewing and presentations, among others.
• Particular training and coaching is also provided on detecting non-compliance in areas such as underage workers, working hours, overtime, and payroll and salaries, where fraudulent or inadequate records are common.

• Compliance assessment questionnaire is preset and must be completed in full for each enterprise assessment. Written guidelines for answering each question are provided.

• Two advisors are present for each assessment. A new advisor will always be paired with a more experienced advisors.
• No two same advisors are paired on consecutive visits to a particular factory.
• Advisors conducting assessments for a particular factory will never be responsible for providing advisory services to that factory.

• Training on Better Work’s ethics policy and how to respond to corruption is holistically integrated and taught as part of every training module an advisor completes. These messages are regularly updated and reinforced through staff meetings and in-house training sessions.

• All advisors are required to sign the Better Work ethics policy, and adhere to its principles. Advisors also adhere to United Nations and International Labour Organization ethics policies.

• Factories are provided a memo in advance of first assessment visits to ensure they are clear about Better Work ethics policies. This document underscores that enterprise advisors can not receive any payments, in kind or not, under any circumstances for their service provision.

• Factory visits are always unannounced.

ASSURING QUALITY FOLLOWING THE FACTORY VISIT