Creating a tool for improving grievance mechanisms for AIM-Progress members

Overview

AIM-Progress is a consortium of consumer-goods manufacturers that promotes responsible sourcing practices among its members. They tasked twentyfifty with updating their guidance on building and improving grievance mechanisms.

With our key success factor to support human flourishing in global supply chains, we were delighted to take the project on. We believe people can only live up to their potential when their right to dignity in work is respected. Grievance mechanisms, which allow people to feel safe and able to communicate concerns about their working environment, are central to this.

The challenge

AIM-Progress had developed a maturity framework for guiding businesses on where and how they could improve their grievance mechanisms, but it lacked detail and therefore workability. They asked twentyfifty to update it, develop best practice guidance, and build a self-assessment tool for their members.

Our approach

First, we assessed the existing maturity framework by consulting with the AIM-Progress Advisory Board, and gathering feedback from Shift, the International Labour Organisation and Oxfam. Then, drawing also on a literature review and our specialist knowledge, we drafted an updated version.

To further refine, we solicited feedback on the draft from the public via LinkedIn, and from AIM-Progress members and external stakeholders such as the Ethical Trading Initiative. That feedback guided the second version of the grievance mechanism maturity framework, along with accompanying guidance and a self-assessment tool.

We piloted this version with three AIM-Progress members and presented it to AIM-Progress’s Grievance Mechanism Internal Working Group. Based on their notes we made some final tweaks.

Finally, we ran a training webinar, so everyone knew how to use the new framework and associated tools.

Results

AIM-Progress has now published a comprehensive and practicable grievance mechanism maturity framework, along with guidance on how to use it. Importantly, the final product is publicly available and can be used by small companies and very large ones, and from those just starting up grievance processes to those that are ready to be industry leaders.