Building Bridges to Employee Well-Being

Read the branded version of the case study here.

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Founded in 1993, Broadway Precision Plastic Mold has factories in China, Thailand, the US, and Mexico, employing more than 4,000 members of staff. The company has forged long-standing relationships with global brands like the LEGO Group and Dyson by delivering high-quality mold design and manufacturing services. However, adapting to a changing global business environment has not been without challenges.

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Recognizing the importance of social responsibility, Broadway began working with the Ethical Supply Chain Program (ESCP) in 2014. Since then, the company has made significant strides in refining its operational standards, meeting robust compliance and sustainability benchmarks, and elevating its workforce management practices.

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Certification: building a stronger foundation for sustainable growth

Only after successfully passing ESCP’s industry-leading social compliance audits is a supplier awarded ESCP certification, accepted by 98% of global brands and retailers. For Broadway, this provides both assurance and evidence that its factories meet industry standards and the responsible sourcing requirements of its customers, it also removes the need for multiple audits, significantly reducing costs.  

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However, more than that, the company sees its partnership with ESCP as a tool to drive continuous improvement and innovation across its global operations. “ESCP isn’t merely an auditor but a connected partner,” says Broadway CEO Jesse Zhou. “Certification serves as a valuable business card when dealing with customers, but ESCP also helps us to improve our productivity and efficiency. By identifying gaps in our management practices, they’ve enabled us to reduce our risks and maintain high standards of operation. From supervisors and managers to the senior management team, we have become better equipped to maintain and develop good practices, and learn from past mistakes.  

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“Some issues that come up are very easy for us to fix, but others are far more challenging, which is where ESCP’s expertise is so valuable. They focus on how to protect our people and our business, and in doing so they help us to build a very good relationship between the company and our employees.”

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Family-Friendly Factory 

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In 2019, Broadway joined the increasing number of companies signing up for ESCP’s Family-Friendly Factory program (FFF). This initiative supports workers with family and caring responsibilities, empowers suppliers to create their own family-friendly policies, and provides facilities that promote a positive family-work balance.

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The program recognises that working parents face multiple, inter-related challenges, the most common of which include not being able to spend sufficient time with their children, high childcare costs, and reliance on informal childcare infrastructure such as grandparents. “We’ve had a lot of guidance on how to improve employees’ well-being,” says Bill Huang, HR Director. “This has led to us creating new policies to support pregnant and breastfeeding workers, as well as establishing activities that promote meaningful engagement with workers on an ongoing basis.”

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Childcare spaces 

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Ask Bill what he’s most proud of, and he points to the creation of a safe space for children to learn and play onsite while their parents are at work. Called ‘Happy Summer Holiday’, the program is free to employees and sees professional teachers hired to run activities over the summer weeks, designed to build children’s trust, self-assurance, and social skills.

“Over the past few years, more than 200 children have participated in the program at our Shenzhen factory,” he says with a big smile on his face. “It’s truly remarkable to see how these children develop during this short learning experience, becoming more confident and outgoing. ESCP provided us with comprehensive guidance and support.”

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As well as maintaining production schedules and reducing absenteeism – “Before, many employees were taking leave over summer, or requesting an hour or two off work to care for their children,” Bill recalls –the program has contributed to a supportive environment that fosters loyalty.But the Broadway team took some convincing before the project could get off the ground! 

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“I remember being nervous at the thought of bringing children into the factory grounds,” says Bill. “The outside space here is confined, with buildings very close to each other; and there are all the vehicles and large numbers of people coming and going; and then the machines... How on earth would we ensure the safety of children coming onsite? And even if we could, how would we make sure that the children would be happy during the classes? Our workers come from all over, with people speaking with many different accents – I was worried the children would really struggle to communicate with each other as a result.

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“You know what the ESCP team said? ‘Don’t worry, we will teach you step by step.’ And they did, in a very detailed way: from how to set up the pathway for children leading from the factory gate to the childcare room, to hiring the teachers, to the curriculum design, right through to the program evaluation.” 

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Like all our Family-Friendly Factory support, the childcare initiative at Broadway follows UNICEF policy guidance and expert advice, guaranteeing the highest level of care for workers’ families, while also being practical to implement.

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Parental training

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Broadway has also introduced parent training sessions, teaching employees how to better communicate with their children, especially incases where families live apart. Delivered in the workplace, such sessions enable workers – and particularly migrant parents – to master scientifically proven communication methods and understand their child’s psychological needs, helping their child to grow healthily and happily.  

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‘Workers are happier now’
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The company is in no doubt that these changes have led to stronger connections between workers and management, with employees feeling that their voices are heard and their needs are prioritized. “Workers are happier now,” says Bill. “They feel the company genuinely cares about them and their families – that it’s not only a factory where you go to earn money, but a place where you can also be part of a community that has shared values and is actively seeking to improve people’s lives.”

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This is reflected in statistics that show the average tenure of Broadway’s frontline workers now exceeds five years and the average monthly turnover rate across all factories is down to 7%, (from 12% in 2019), compared to before the factory joined the FFF program. Bill also notes that being aFamily-Friendly Factory is a selling point for recruiting new talent, while the well-being initiatives have also created a ripple effect in the community, inspiring other local businesses to adopt similar practices.

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With so many elements to the support, how would he sum up the impact that ESCP membership has? Bill pauses for a moment, then says: “When you’re by a river and there's no bridge, then you know you could die because there's no way across. ESCP provides that bridge across the water, so you can get to the place you want to be.”

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