Case study: How ASE promotes employee communication and engagement
As a leading independent provider of semiconductor manufacturing services with a worldwide headcount of over 66,000 employees and sales and manufacturing facilities strategically located around the globe, including in Taiwan, China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Mexico, America and Europe, ASE respects employees’ opinions and provides various channels for employees to voice any comments or concerns they may have regarding their workplace. Tweet This!
This case study is based on the 2016 Corporate Sustainability Report by ASE published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
ASE is committed to respecting the rights of its employees and strives to provide a safe, comfortable, healthy and productive workplace, prioritising dialogue and two-way communication. In order to promote employee communication and engagement ASE took action to:
- provide two-way communication channels
- enter into collective agreements with labour unions
- collect and analyse employees’ feedback through surveys
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) ASE has identified;
- How ASE proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by ASE to promote employee communication and engagement
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2016 Corporate Sustainability Report ASE identified a range of material issues, such as regulatory compliance, employee health and safety, waste management, water resource management, training and talent development. Among these, promoting employee communication and engagement stands out as a key material issue for ASE.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups ASE engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Customers | · Customer quarterly business review meeting · Customer audits · Technical forums · Customer service platform |
| Employees
| · GM mailbox · Intranet website · Satisfaction survey on employees · Dedicated employee helpline |
| Shareholders
| · Annual financial reports · Quarterly earnings release · Annual shareholder meeting · Institutional investors’ conference |
| Suppliers | · Supplier questionnaire survey · Supplier on-site audits · Annual supplier forum · Supplier capacity-building activities |
| Government | · Communication meetings, conferences, forums or seminars held by government authorities · Proactive dialogue with government authorities · Reporting through government portal |
| Community | · ASE Charity Foundation · ASE Cultural and Educational Foundation · Employee volunteer activities · Community perception surveys and needs assessments |
| Industry Unions and Associations | · Organisational member conference · Technology forums held by industry unions/associations |
| Media | · Press releases · Spokesperson interviews · Company’s website |
| NGOs | · Communication meetings, forums, seminars or workshops held by NGOs · Company’s website · Volunteer activity cooperation with NGOs |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics ASE carried out a survey among its stakeholders, who completed a total of 866 questionnaires.
What actions were taken by ASE to promote employee communication and engagement?
In its 2016 Corporate Sustainability Report ASE reports that it took the following actions for promoting employee communication and engagement:
- Providing two-way communication channels
- ASE’s Human Resources Department provides various two-way communication channels for employees to voice any concerns they may have related to their workplace, including the following:
- Intranet
- E-mails Announcements
- Bulletin Boards
- On-Site TV News / Information
- General Manager Mailbox
- Plant Director Mailbox
- Employee Opinions Box
- Employee Symposium
- Topics Workshop
- Counselling Room
- Labour Meeting
- In addition to these channels, ASE emphasises and prioritises dialogues among managers and employees. Managers are expected to actively communicate with employees, and employees are encouraged to provide direct feedback to management through face-to-face dialogues, online surveys, informal gathering and learning course discussion.
- Entering into collective agreements with labour unions
- ASE has entered into collective agreements with the labour unions at ASE Kaohsiung of Taiwan, ASE Weihai/Suzhou/Wuxi of China, ASE Korea, ASE Japan, ASE Singapore and USI, unions that have been serving ASE employees for many years. In addition, to safeguard and improve employees’ rights and interests, ASE’s Shanghai Packaging and Testing Plant has established the “Shanghai Plant Employees’ Union”. At the end of 2016, the total number of union members was 28,876, accounting for approximately 43% of ASE Group’s total headcount. Union meetings are held once every quarter to communicate with employee representatives and resolve employee welfare issues.
- Collecting and analysing employees’ feedback through surveys
- ASE formulated the “ASE Group Employee Engagement Survey Implementation Guidelines” to systematically collect and analyse employees’ feedback and suggestions about ASE’s policies. ASE expects all facilities to follow the principles and implementation of the guidelines, focusing on: Corporate Culture, Work Environment, Training & Development, Leadership & Management, Employee Relations and Compensation and Benefits. ASE also carries out employee satisfaction surveys every two years and, in order to encourage employee involvement, in 2016 conducted a total of 320 communications with new employees, 341 symposiums with foreign employees and 263 communication sessions with general employees.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is:
Disclosure 402-1 Minimum notice periods regarding operational changes
Disclosure 402-1 Minimum notice periods regarding operational changes corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
- Business theme: Labor/management relations
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References:
1) This case study is based on published information by ASE, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:
http://database.globalreporting.org/
2) http://www.fbrh.co.uk/en/global-reporting-initiative-gri-g4-guidelines-download-page
3) https://g4.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx
4) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/
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