The influence of corporate culture on food safety
Food safety goes beyond production equipment; operators and the corporate culture in place play an equally important role. Internal struggles pose risks to your employees and, by extension, the products they manage.
How do you stay alert about social tensions on production lines? How do you deal with a negative social work environment? How do you prevent the situation from spiraling out of control?
Some of our members experienced the following situations:
- The consumer service receives several complaints about the same foreign body in a product. During the investigation, the HR department looks into the social work environment in production. Eventually, it turned out that a dissatisfied employee had sabotaged the products. To prevent further damage, the company issued a recall due to intentional contamination.
- A team lead reported that his locker was broken into during work hours. His backpack, containing his wallet and cellphone, was stolen. A week later, some hairnets ended up in the production line managed by this team lead, who became a victim of bullying. As a result of these actions, an entire production lot was unfit for sale.
- Two production workers wanted to prank their promoted colleague. They put small glass jars into bigger jars that were being filled with product further down the line. The small jars broke under the pressure and several products were contaminated with glass.
All of these situations are the result of a sour working environment. If you do not address social incidents, they can quickly grow into a crisis with recalls, reputational damage and lowered customer and consumer confidence as possible outcome.
What can we learn from these incidents?
Create risk awareness
Team leads should have a realistic picture of the potential problems and risks in the workplace. Open communication is a must, both between operators and between operators and managers. Appoint a confidential advisor and provide an anonymous hotline for wrongdoing. Visual material, such as posters and information signs, can function as a reminder of the agreements in place.
Do not ignore the situation.
Production leaders must assume their leadership role when misconduct is suspected. Rapid response is key. Talk to operators to get a full picture of the situation and better assess the risks. Encourage good behaviour and reward operators who report wrongdoing or possible product damage.
Have a proper employee exit procedure in place
When an employee is fired due to misconduct, you must handle it correctly. A well-thought-out procedure is essential, with sufficient interviews with the employee. An authorized person (HR employee, production manager, line manager ...) should report the news to all colleagues. This way you may reduce the risk of sabotage and retaliation.
How can we help you?
Would you like to use a third party for reporting misconduct? Use our anonymous central hotline. Contact us to get access to this service*.
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Learning points
First aid for consumer complaints
When receiving a sensitive consumer complaint, a swift response is key. Proper complaint management directly affects consumer confidence in your brand and products.
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