GoodCorporation - Setting the Standard for Responsible Business

INTERVIEW

Thank you for your interest in the GoodCorporation assessment and for taking part in our up-coming interview with you.

Your honest and constructive feedback is a crucial part of the assessment process. The aim is to make sure that the organisation being assessed is working in a fair and transparent way overall. We are interviewing you to understand your views about how the organisation actually works on the ground. There are no ‘right’ answers to the questions, we simply want to know how things really work and whether you feel that the organisation operates fairly and responsibly.

Your answers will be added together with a number of others to give us a rounded view of how the organisation is working overall. Your responses to GoodCorporation are in complete confidence and will be presented to the organisation in an aggregated form that cannot be directly attributed to you. If there is a case where an answer is directly attributable to you, we will not share the information with the organisation unless you give us express permission to do so.

Your interview could be in one of three forms. We may interview you face-to-face, by phone or by an electronic survey.

If you have any concerns about the interview, please do not hesitate to contact us directly. Most of our interviews are with employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders and NGO/community groups. We have set out below some examples for the key stakeholder groups the types of questions that we might typically ask in our interview.

Employees
Customers
Suppliers
Shareholders
Community

Employees
The interview seeks to assess the extent to which the employer meets the GoodCorporation Standard, and may cover some or all of the following points:

whether the organisation provide clear and fair terms of employment
whether it provides clean, healthy and safe working conditions
whether it treats your grievances seriously
whether disciplinary matters are dealt with fairly and appropriately
whether it provides equal opportunities to all employees and potential employees
whether it has fair processes for setting pay, and
whether the appraisal systems are working well

If the interview is face-to-face it will last 40-50 minutes. It will also allow you to speak about any other concerns that you might have about how the way your employer works. You might also be asked to respond to an electronic survey covering some of the same questions. This will typically take about 10 minutes to complete. You will however be given the option to speak to an assessor if you have a specific concern that is not covered by the electronic survey or where you would be more comfortable speaking to us directly.

Suppliers
The interview seeks to assess the extent to which the customer organisation meets the GoodCorporation Standard, and may cover some or all of the following points:

whether its contracts are fair
how it deals with supplier feedback or complaints
whether it pays on time
adherence to policies on giving or accepting gifts
whether it takes adequate steps to protect suppliers’ data and intellectual property
clear communication on health, safety and environmental policies

The interview is generally conducted by telephone and lasts 10–15 minutes, or by electronic survey which takes between 5-10 minutes. The discussion is confidential. While the overall findings will be reported to the organisation’s management, your comments will not be attributed to you unless specifically requested.

Customers
The interview seeks to assess the extent to which the supplier organisation meets the GoodCorporation Standard, and may cover some or all of the following points:

whether contracts are fair
whether advertising, promotions and sales practices are fair
whether the organisation delivers the services it promises
how it deals with customer complaints
whether it takes adequate steps to protect customers’ data and intellectual property.

The interview is generally conducted by telephone or electronic survey. It lasts between 10-25 minutes. The discussion is completely confidential. While the overall findings will be reported to the organisation’s management, your comments will not be attributed to you unless specifically requested.

Shareholders
The interview seeks to assess the extent to which the organisation works in a fair and transparent way with its shareholders. The interview with GoodCorporation will typically cover:

the organisation’s accountability to its shareholders, including the regularity and timeliness of financial performance reviews and the extent to which verifications or inspections of accounts meet shareholder expectations
communication of issues that are relevant to understanding the future prospects of the company management of financial and non-financial risks, and procedures to safeguard assets against loss or fraud
information provided to shareholders on the way in which their funds have been used
the way in which information is disclosed or communicated to different shareholders

Community organisation
The interview seeks to assess the extent to which the organisation is a responsible community citizen, makes a positive contribution to the community, minimises any negative impacts and protects the environment. The exact content of the interview will depend on the interviewee, but may cover some or all of the following points:

commitment and sensitivity to the local community
support for or involvement in projects that benefit communities
openness to dialogue and how the organisation deals with feedback or complaints
impact on the environment and how the organisation tries to manage this

The interview is generally conducted by telephone or face-to-face. By phone it lasts between 20-40 minutes. Face-to-face interviews last about 50 minutes. The discussion is completely confidential. While the overall findings will be reported to the organisation’s management, your comments will not be attributed to you unless specifically requested.