Governance
Credibility is built into the process.
WWEC is committed to identifying, managing and documenting conflicts of interest in certification activities. Personnel involved in assessment, review or certification decisions must disclose relevant conflicts and must not participate where impartiality could reasonably be compromised.
Governance framework
Governance Framework
Womenians Workplace Excellence Council™ operates within a defined governance framework designed to support accountability, impartiality, consistency, transparency and continual improvement.
The governance framework establishes responsibilities for the ownership, development, operation, review and continual improvement of the WWEC Workplace Excellence System™ and applicable certification activities.
Governance arrangements are designed to ensure that certification activities are conducted according to defined requirements and that certification decisions are made independently of the assessment activities for the organisation concerned.
WWEC governance arrangements are subject to documented review and may be revised through controlled change processes.
What it includes
The governance framework includes:
Scheme governance and ownership
Certification governance
Impartiality and conflict-of-interest controls
Competence and responsibility of personnel
Stakeholder participation
Document and change control
Complaints and appeals
Monitoring, internal review and management review
Certification decision controls
Continual improvement
Independence & impartiality
Separation of duties, documented at every stage.
Decision independence
Certification decisions are made by authorised personnel independent of the assessment activity for the relevant organisation.
Declared interests
Conflicts of interest are disclosed, recorded and managed before assessment begins.
No consulting overlap
Consulting support and certification decisions are kept apart.
Not purchasable
Certification outcomes cannot be purchased, negotiated or sponsored.
Documented trail
Evidence, findings and decisions are documented and retained under the records schedule.
Independent appeals
Appeals are handled through an impartial review process independent of the original decision.
Governance in practice
Controls that hold under scrutiny.
Impartiality, confidentiality and separation of duties are maintained through documented controls applied at every stage of the certification scheme.
Impartiality controls
Commercial interests shall not determine assessment conclusions.
WWEC assessment activities are performed objectively under documented impartiality controls. The following controls apply to every assessment, review and certification decision.
Assessor competence
Assessors are appointed on the basis of demonstrated competence and availability against the requirements of the applicable scheme.
Conflict-of-interest declaration
A conflict-of-interest declaration is required before assignment, with reassignment where a material conflict exists.
Separation of assessment and decision
Assessment is separated from the certification decision where required by the scheme, so no single individual both assesses and decides.
Documented technical review
A documented technical review is performed where required before a certification decision is issued.
Controlled access to confidential evidence
Access to confidential evidence is controlled, logged and limited to personnel with a defined role in the assessment.
No preferential treatment
There is no preferential treatment and no alteration of findings for commercial reasons, at any stage.
Complaints and appeals
Complaints and appeals are handled through defined procedures, reviewed independently of the original decision.
Assessor monitoring
Assessor performance is monitored through calibration, quality review and periodic reassessment of competence.
Decisions, complaints & appeals
Every decision can be traced, questioned and reviewed.
Assess
Technical review
Decision
Certify
Surveillance
Appeal or renew
- Certification decisions are made only by authorised decision roles, on the basis of documented assessment findings.
- A complaint may be raised by any interested party about WWEC activities, assessor conduct or a certified organisation's use of the mark.
- An appeal may be raised by an applicant or certified organisation against a certification, suspension or withdrawal decision.
- Appeals are reviewed by personnel who were not involved in the original assessment or decision.
- Outcomes, rationale and any corrective action are recorded and communicated to the party concerned.
- Findings from complaints, appeals and quality reviews feed back into scheme, methodology and assessor development.
WWEC is a private certification scheme. Certification, suspension and withdrawal decisions are made under the applicable WWEC Certification Scheme and do not constitute a legal, regulatory or statutory compliance determination.
Assessors
Qualified people. Consistent assessment.
Assessor competence, requirements, the assessor pathway, code of conduct, conflict-of-interest declarations and ongoing calibration are maintained on the For Assessors page.
Operating Structure
Initiative and commercial operation.
WWEC is an initiative of Womenians Empowerment Foundation and is co-powered and commercially operated by Question Digital+ — a division of Question Techs Private Limited.