With the increasing globalization of the economy, consumers' social consciousness and demand for social accountability have immense influence over businesses. The ongoing monitoring of a supply chain is an integral part of a corporate social responsibility program. ICS Social Compliance Audit is an objective and credible assessment of supply chain conditions, providing valuable guidance on preventive and corrective actions, reducing risk of legal sanctions, and preventing adverse public exposure.
Common areas depicted in social compliance program:
- Child labor
- Forced labor
- Health and safety
- Discrimination
- Disciplinary practices
- Working hours and compensation
Methodology
Pre-audit preparation
Pre-audit preparation gathers information for the actual visit as the extent of an audit can vary and will be influenced by the size, nature and complexity of the organization to be audited. Information needed forehand includes:
- The scope and objective of each audit to be conducted
- Media audit
- Supplier and factory profile information
- Production process
- Applicable country specific laws and standards
- Any language, cultural and social issues and characteristics to be addressed
- Concerns of interested parties
Opening and Closing Meeting with Factory Management
Auditors begin the audit process by explaining audit procedures to factory management to ensure full co-operation. Once the audit is completed, our auditors present factory management with their findings and provide guidance on a corrective action plan to address areas that require improvement.
Specifically, during the opening meeting ICS staff will:
- Show respect and courtesy to management
- Introduce each member of the ICS team
- Establish appropriate communication channels
- Review the scope and goals of the audit
- Provide management with a specific list of records that will be needed for review
- Request a factory floor plan
- Discuss the audit team's role as an objective verifier only
- Present and discuss the client Code of Conduct (COC) and/or standards
- Interview factory management about production processes
Generally the closing meeting includes:
- Acknowledgement of factory management cooperation
- Restatement of the purpose of the audit
- Presentation and review of a draft list of each non-conformity
- Discussion of recommended corrective action steps
Factory Tour
Our auditors tour the facility to observe and gain an understanding of the factory's operations, including a thorough check of health and safety conditions within the facility. Our staff will also observe employees for signs that might relate to other areas of compliance such as child labor, disciplinary practices etc. During factory tour, our auditors will select workers conducting onsite interview.
Worker interview
Interviews are conducted with randomly selected employees in a private and confidential setting. Specifically, our staff is expected to crosscheck information gathered from other information sources, detect potential areas of concern, and to assess the awareness level of the employees during each interview.
Document and records review
Documents and records review is done for a number of reason which includes gathering information regarding wages and benefits, hours of work, company policies, discrimination, health & safety, child labor, etc.
Cross check interviews, observation of facility and documentation
This section is the cross checking of information gathered during each part of the assessment. Without systematically comparing and crosschecking information gained from employee interviews, management, document & record review, and visual observation; important findings will be missed.
Reporting
The end product ICS provides our clients is the assessment report. Reporting is a key ingredient to guiding, sustaining and continually refining stakeholder engagement. Reports can help communicate opportunities and challenges in a way far superior to simply responding to information request. Therefore, it is extremely critical that all reports are accurate, clear, and on-time. ICS understands that even if the assessment is conducted perfectly, without a good report the information gathered is of little use.
