QDVC frequently conducted anonymous surveys of workers to assess their well-being and the effectiveness of the measures in place. Administered by the company’s CSR Department, the surveys provided a channel for workers to openly share both positive and negative feedback about QDVC’s practices. Several action plans were implemented by management after analysing survey results. The latest survey, from the end of 2022, garnered responses from 151 out of 300 workers. Most considered that QDVC performed well overall in terms of QHSE and CSR (71%) and were satisfied with how QDVC managed the Covid-19 pandemic (93%). A majority were satisfied with their current job (88%), stated that their professional and personal lives were well balanced (82%), would recommend QDVC to a friend (89%) and planned to stay on longer with QDVC (76%).
Preventing social risks and illegal work in subcontractingThe issues faced by VINCI are not limited to regions outside of France. Tensions in the building and civil engineering markets, together with issues relating to labour flows in Europe, have led the Group to strengthen its duty of vigilance with regard to preventing workforce-related risks and illegal work in its supply chain, beginning with France. In 2018, VINCI launched several pilot projects in construction businesses in the Greater Paris area. These measures were then implemented at VINCI Construction throughout the rest of France before being gradually rolled out in a broader mix of business activities. The measures are regularly presented to the members of the European Works Council and the Group Works Council, and several Group companies in Europe and elsewhere have begun to show interest in taking a similar approach.
The methodology followed involves three phases:
In all, in France, several hundred participants in the chain of operations contributed their input to the assessments. Each regional division was asked to develop a responsible subcontracting policy, tailored to its business activities, organisation, local issues and the region’s socio-economic situation, and build an action plan covering the entire subcontracting process, from the initial decision to subcontract, to selecting the subcontractor and assessing their performance after completion of the work.
To support these efforts, a solution was developed to help maintain a database of reliable subcontractors. Works managers can use it to assess the subcontractors employed at their worksites against a shared set of criteria, which incorporates social risks. Assessments entered by other departments can also facilitate the initial selection of a subcontractor. This data sharing enables VINCI companies to take a more consistent approach to their work with subcontractors, quickly issue warnings in the event of a risk or non-compliance and provide support as needed.
At the same time, control processes were redesigned. Social audits of subcontractors at worksites have been carried out since 2019. The audit procedure has been adapted to different types of worksite – for example, major projects conducted as joint operations, smaller worksites fully controlled by VINCI, or worksites in the launch or finalisation phase. During these audits, particular attention is given to aspects involving the onboarding and management of subcontractors’ workers, such as employment contracts, payment of wages, and compliance with obligations in respect of working time, workplace health and safety and employee representation. The audits serve to detect potential non-compliance, constructively help subcontractors improve their practices, provide feedback to fine-tune prevention initiatives and update, as applicable, the risk map or the vetting of partner companies. Follow-up audits are performed to ensure that action plans are being carried out and continue to provide support to operational teams, who are demonstrating growing knowledge of these issues.
To strengthen in-house skills in this area, in 2021, VINCI developed in-house training in conducting social audits of subcontractors and service providers. The Group’s goal is to continuously monitor subcontractors associated with higher risks, while also expanding social auditing practices. These custom training sessions presented the workforce-related issues involved in subcontracting and the corresponding duty of vigilance of Group companies. Trainees were provided with a comprehensive guide to the methodology and a toolkit including an auditing scorecard and an interview scorecard for interviews with employees of subcontractors. The sessions ended with a module on interviewing techniques, along with case studies and role-playing activities. By the end of 2024, more than 200 internal auditors had been trained. They included directors and managers in purchasing, human resources, legal and health and safety as well as operational directors. Follow-up sessions are held twice a year to provide support with social auditing, share lessons learned from various internal audits, or work collectively on an approach to solve a particular problem. The responsible subcontracting auditing scorecard used was aligned with European regulations, in preparation for its rollout in Group companies in Europe, and translated into English, Spanish, German and Portuguese.
VINCI also provides support for major projects. For example, social risk mapping, an assessment of existing tools and a social audit were all carried out for the Athletes’ Village as part of the Universeine project for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The audit examined the subcontracting management systems of four Group companies (from VINCI Construction France and VINCI Energies France), as well as four of their subcontractors. No major non-compliance was identified in the project’s scope. Several improvement areas were highlighted, leading to the development of an action plan which enabled all moderate and minor non-compliance to be quickly corrected. Likewise, the labour inspection authorities examining the project did not find any major non-compliance.
The methodology and its results were shared with professional organisations as well as certain customers and programme managers with which VINCI companies work in France.
