Kristian Moeller, Managing Director of appellando, recently traveled to the Seville region with Nancy Daiss as training specialist to visit farms that were invited to register with the appellando system.

The objective was to support and refine the onboarding process and address any issues the farms might have had. They also took the time to answer any open questions from the farmers. Kristian and Nancy visited several farms, all of which were open to see them and showed their facilities. The aim was to support and refine the implementation process and discuss any concerns and answering questions the farms may have. Kristian and Nancy visited several farms, all of which were open to showing their facilities and engaging in constructive dialog.

The next steps are now straight forward:
Once a producer receives an invitation via his direct supplier / trader to a retail customer to join appellando, the company should contact the appellando office immediately to arrange a meeting. This meeting can happen online or on-site. Our spanish contact person will explain the system in detail, the different choices of helplines, and how to proceed in case a company has already a helpline implemented according to Spanish ley 02/2023, and respond to all questions. appellando will also assist producers throughout the entire onpoarding phase. It is beneficial to have a principal contact at the farm to serve as an approachable person.

The appellando onboarding checklist and a Q&A document will guide as well.

The initial step involves determining the extent of system participation, taking into account the number of workers at a farm or in the packhouse, as well as their presence throughout the season.

Once the company has registered with the helpline provider, employees can be nominated for worker training. An easy online process is finalized by signing a system participation agreement with the helpline provider.

This agreement protects the produce’s data and reputation, making the appellando Rules of Procedure applicable. They aim at resolving any conflict locally without unnecessary escalation to customers and media, provided the company finds an amicable solution with the person raising an issue. The operator of the appellando helpline provider is trained in finding a local solution.

Before employees learn when and how to contact the company or the external hotline, they receive an online training consisting of several modules via their mobile device. This training concept has already been tested in the Morocco project described above.

The invitation to the training is sent via a personalized WhatsApp link. Employees then have 15 minutes to participate in the training modules once a week for four weeks. For ease of use, the content has been optimized for different device types.

The employer, e.g. a farmer, can view the training progress on a dashboard and, if necessary, provide additional incentives for completing the training.

While this happens, our team will get in touch and arrange a one-hour online training for the management and farm supervisors so that they become aware of the new knowledge of their field workers.

Once the first employees have completed the training, they can also contact the helpline via the same WhatsApp number and request for support.

In parallel, the different contact options to the helpline are published by the company. The standard appellando poster features a company-specific QR code. This code allows the hotline to immediately identify the company the caller is coming from.

To avoid dublication for comanies, appellando has established harmonized processes in case a company has already a helpline implemented according to Spanish Whistleblower legislation.