The Culture of Food Safety: Transforming from “Have to” to “Want to”

The Culture of Food Safety is not so different than that of Continuous Improvement.  In continuous improvement programs, successful organizations look not only at the processes and technologies that drive their organization, but at how the processes and technologies are used, implemented, and sustained by their employees.  You’ve heard so many talks about employee engagement over the years but it basically comes down to shifting from a culture of “having to do something” versus “wanting to do something”.

Think back to Edward Deming’s “System of Profound Knowledge”.  He stated that the first step was transformation of the individual.  “The individual, transformed, will perceive new meaning to his life, to events, to numbers, to interactions between people.”  He also stated, “What an organization needs is not just good people; it needs people that are improving with education”; education meaning knowledge, insight, and the ability to do something with it.

Relate this to Food Safety.  From the smallest task such as washing hands, to events such as calibrating a metal detector, sanitation or performing CIP activities, the critical factor is the employee.  Is the employee engaged in what they are doing?  Do they understand why they are doing it?  Do they understand the issues and outcomes should they not do it right?  Are they empowered to make suggestions or changes to improve the process?  Are they fully engaged with their hearts, heads and hands?

Let’s look at a recent example within a food company that I have been engaged with for the last 18 months.  We began a journey of continuous improvement on their manufacturing lines.  Together, we evaluated their technology.  We evaluated their processes and brought clarity to the critical few.  The majority of our time was spent on engaging their workforce.  There was an instance where, per process, calibration of a metal detector was to occur on a regular basis.  Previously, this activity rarely occurred.  As the organization began to shift their culture from “have to” to “want to” we saw that the metal detector was calibrated regularly, but more importantly, with care.  Clean in place became another area for which the culture of “want to” became imperative.

In a 2010 GFSI newsletter article, the Vice President of Food Safety at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Frank Yiannas, said, “The word “accountability” generally implies that there are checks and balances being measured to make sure certain desired outcomes or behaviors are being achieved.  And, in organizations with strong food safety cultures, this is certainly true.”  He goes on to state that, “In organizations with enlightened safety cultures, they’ve figured out a way to transcend or go beyond accountability…in other words, food safety is a responsibility… employees do the right thing, not because the manager is holding them accountable, but because they know it’s right, it’s a responsibility, and they care.”

From the production line worker to the boardroom, the organization that empowers employees will affect positive change.  From the line worker who can clearly see the effect they have in their day to day operation, to the shift manager who can clearly see variances from shift to shift, with a culture of “want to”, they will be able to determine areas of best practice and areas for training.  When employees become fully engaged, the organization will begin to see the transformation from “have to” to “want to”.

What we routinely see in an engaged workforce with a culture of “want to” is pride in a job well done, internal competition to do it the best, and an overall responsibility within every employee.

Rob Bansek, Business Solutions Architect can be reached at rbansek@sightbridge.com