July 3, 2021

To our stakeholders:

I am pleased to confirm that Beauty Connection Spa reaffirms its support of the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-Corruption.

In this annual Communication on Progress, we describe our actions to continually improve the integration of the Global Compact and its principles into our business strategy, culture and daily operations. We also commit to share this information with our stakeholders using our primary channels of communication.

Sincerely yours,

Kawthar Makahlah

Founder/CEO

Beauty Connection Spa (BCS) is built on the strong belief of women empowerment, rights of women as well as basic human rights for all, no matter which race, culture or colour. We believe in equal rights for all. We strongly support and practice the fulfilment of basic human rights and needs of the employees. Beauty connection spa not only supports but also encourages to nourish human personality, be it physical or mental, by promoting the basic rights to speech, education, cultural practices and importance of education. We do not tolerate or support any violations to the human rights, be it by us or any other body.

We are always working on providing a safe and healthy work environment for all our employees and subordinates, from the top of the chain to the service providers. Beauty connection spa does not, at any level, ignore the importance of human rights. We have no tolerance towards any abuse, harassment, the practice of violence in any way that can affect the mental and physical health of the working staff or the workplace environment. We practice a completely transparent approach when it comes to providing information to the employees regarding their rights, company policies, rules, and norms. Here at BCS, we reassure that all our employees are aware of the corporate laws, governmental laws, and regulations for bribery, corruption, and theft. We also make sure that they are well familiar with their duties and obligations towards the business and society in general. And we encourage and support them to take the needful response against any such act or suspicion even. Beauty connection spa understands the importance of employee empowerment, cumulative decision making and working as a team. We have, since our foundation, adopted the policy of domestic liberation, individualism and an open-ended style of management. This has helped us in building a strong bond with our employees and has also helped in their work-related attitude.

Our strong belief is that the performance of an individual is directly related to that person’s belongingness, satisfaction, and happiness in the workplace. To get the employee, perform to their best, we work hard in providing them an environment of such a kind, where they not only feel motivated to work but also know their value and responsibility towards the business. Beauty connection spa is always on the path of providing high quality customer service, and that is only provided through the hard work of the employee. We also have incentive-based services, which encourages the employees to work more and better. We work collaboratively and in-harmony to run the smooth cycle of the system. Being a customer service industry, we need to maintain a smooth chain from top to bottom, and that can only be done if all the all people involved knows that there is equality, fairness and equitable treatment for all and that their initiatives are being responded and rewarded as well.

As mentioned earlier, Beauty Connection Spa was established on the principle of women empowerment and women supporting women. Almost 95% of our employees are female. We have the mixed range of employees from young fresh graduates, single mother, widows, orphans, people of determination and even uneducated women. We provide them with Visa, training and fulfil their other needs to help them get settled in the new city. We hire members of the same family as well to help them remain close their family while work to earn for a better life.

To have a smooth process and make sure that the company policies are being observed correctly, specifically related to labour risks, rights, and any violation, we give proper training for at least 6 months, to our employees. Even if it is for any managerial position or the service provider at the end, we make sure that before the actual professional work is started, they are fully aware of the policies and norms. As at Beauty Connection Spa, we do hire people, who are fresh graduates or not properly trained or skilled, to give them a chance to earn better for better living, but we also make sure that they are properly polished and trained to their fullest capabilities and with the best expertise of their work. And to motivate them to do so, we start providing them their full declared salary starting from the very first day, even during their training period. So that while they are being trained and learning skills, they are also getting paid, this not only brings the employee at ease but also help them to learn more and share more. Apart from this, we also make sure that the employees are satisfied with the company policies and conditions. To do so, we appreciate the staff to take part in making the policies. We enjoy brainstorming with our employees and encourage them to give their feedback and reviews regarding any new policies and give their suggestions for the company practices. In that way, our policies are crafted with the help of all the employees and help us work in a harmony as a team. This also helps in making the employee feel their worth and acceptance towards the company. Beauty Connection Spa allows the staff 3 months maternity leave which is far more than the constitutional requirement. Women staff who do not drive, have been provided with transport. This style of management makes them feel more involved towards the company. We adopt this liberated style of management for making policies, planning and new changes that need to be brought in.

Beauty Connection Spa follows the norms of a learning organisation. We let our employees take part in workshops and training. We organise in-house, local and international training for them as well. We let the staff, who are now more experienced in their expertise, give training to the new employees that are being hired, this not only helps the newly hired employee to learn but also helps in boosting the confidence of the old staff, and giving them a sense of accomplishment. We also, from time to time, send our senior staffs to our training institute, to share their expertise with the outside world. We appreciate and applaud every or any accomplishment by our staff, be it a certificate or an award. We yearly take parts in events and exhibitions to keep our employees up to date and enhance their learning for their preferred skill. We strongly believe that our employees are our most valued assets. At beauty connection spa we want to give your employees, especially our female staff, an opportunity to become financially independent and strong and grow professionally and personally at the same time.

When it comes to environmental protection we take matters seriously. We manufacture almost all our products ourselves. Our sister company Be Connected International, is a beauty and salon manufacturing and trading companies. We use our own products in beauty connection spa to maintain the quality of the service, to ensure the best results and to be sure of what ingredients are being used and how they are being tested on. We maintain a strict policy of careful disposal and regular recycling as well. We work in close contact at every step to maintain a healthy and hygienic environment not just for our customers but also for the employees working there. This is what makes us stand out among the competitors and makes it possible for us to provide a luxury experience for our customers while maintaining a healthy environment for our staffs as well.

As we follow a strict policy of maintaining a healthy and hygienic environment, we follow a “one time use only” policy. We work as a warehouse. We have people always ready in our kit rooms and storage rooms, to dispose and recycle the products as soon as possible. We work in a continuity to maintain this practice and reducing the consumption of scared resources like electricity and water. In the initial training period for our employee, we make sure that they are aware of the flow of system. We give them proper classes and training regarding the use of products, about the proper way to be used to dispose the used products and utensils, about how to maintain their personal hygiene, about how-to disinfectant and sterilise their tools. We are using 100% disposables and non-woven products for all the services Our staffs are provided with proper guidance regarding the use of separate kits (like towels, spatulas, threads etc.) for each individual customer, also we give strict instruction about not to use the same utensil or product twice on the customer. We have supervisors assigned to each of our department specifically, whose main job is to keep regular checks for all the above-mentioned hygiene policies and to correct and guide the staff at any moment of the day. We also practice a daily morning briefing section, where the supervisors remind the staff regarding the policies and strict non-tolerance regarding the environmental issues. We work as a team in providing the best quality of luxury services and experience from top to bottom of the chain.

Each day we strive harder and harder to provide the best quality service. Even if we have reached our goal we keep on moving forward and working hard to maintain that. Beauty connection spa has always been known for providing the A class services and deluxe experience. To maintain that status, we work hard from the top management to the staffs, to practice the norms of maintaining an extremely hygienic atmosphere. We have a strict timetable of maintenance checks and we also have high-quality surprise check every week to be sure that the policies are being followed regularly.

At beauty connection spa, before even hiring a new employee, we run a background check through our trusted human resources team to be sure of the personality traits and behaviour of the person. After we hire the employee, we have our HR team sit with them and give a detailed explanation and briefing regarding the stern policies regarding anti-corruption, bribery, theft and/or any act that violates the governmental, cultural and environmental norms. While crafting the policies and regulations for the company regarding these matters, we encourage our employees to brainstorm together and take part in the formation of them as well, so that we know that they are aware of them and make sure to practice them. We maintain a clear transparent rule when it comes to providing information regarding the decision making inside the company. And if ever we see any violation of them, we do not hesitate to take strict measures against it.

The members of the staff have been given an opportunity to free legal services should they desire.
At Beauty connection spa, in addition to the regular salary, we practice a commission-based system for the working staff. We give them 30% commission on sale of products. This initiative is taken by the top management so that the level of motivation to perform increases and so that the employee can become financially independent. The top management has linked this monetary measure with the performance measure and it has helped increase the level of activity of each individual employee, because in this way they are highly motivated become they are not only fully aware of this reward system, but they have seen their colleagues who perform better earn better as well. This commission-based policy has favoured in positively influencing the mind of the staff so much that most of them are making more commissions now than their basic salaries even. But we also make sure that the standards of the company regarding the quality of work and the maintenance of the high standards of customer services and luxury spa experience are not being compromised. We keep on regularly monitoring the performance of all the employees in terms of quality and quantity both. And as we follow a very quick and smart customer feedback system, which the employees are also in aware of, they not only starve to provide quantity but also work hard to maintain the excellent quality of work as well. All our employees have been introduced to the laws and regulation of the United Arab Emirates labour policies regarding the implementation of the labour laws and their violations. Moreover, in terms of third-party coalition, we make sure that we have a monitoring and reporting requirements for agents and partners representing our business. We also provide free legal services for the employees, who are in favour if seeking it. We make sure that there is transparency regarding the policies to not only just our employees but also to our collaborators and partners. Our CEO herself take vivid participation in monitoring the regulation of the designed system in-depth.

With all the implemented actions to deliver convenience and tranquillity to our subordinates and partners, our business is seen to have a successful operation in the past years. Beauty Connection Spa is well-assured that all employees are familiar with the relevant bribery and corruption laws, their roles in the business, their responsibilities and the appropriate response to any suspicion of corrupt activities.
The importance of implementation of the before described polices and the violation as well has been maintained well following the past years, considering the smooth running of the operations and maintenance of the status. We make sure through regular interventions, contingency planning, brainstorming and working as one to bring the bar of performance as high as we can. We monitor everyone related to the company to follow the principals religiously. Beauty connection spa makes sure that all our employees are fully in knowledge of the laws related to corrupt and unlawful activities, and as a part of the company's we make sure that if ever they feel there is any abuse of any such kind, it is their responsibility to come forward, following the proper protocol. The entire management works together to make the company anti-corruption zone and makes sure the correct practice of laws is certain.