Shaw Bakers

Making People the Foundation of Food Safety Culture

Rules and regulation do not stop contamination. Our people do. In order to foster a sense of integrity and shape the culture, a people-first mentality is essential in mitigating non-conformance.

Empowering employees to make their own valuable decisions and choices creates an environment of collaboration and unyielding collaboration. A shared commitment prevents roadblocks and ensures everyone's opinion is a critical foundation in determining the next best steps to success. People first. Quality first. 

Engaging Employees in Shared Food Safety Responsibility

A robust food safety culture creates a collaborative environment shared across all company levels. From line staff to senior leadership, going beyond compliance and enabling assertiveness in employees is the foundation of a successful cross-functional business environment.

A robust sense of responsibility given to an employee will enlighten them to demonstrate whatever company principles and rules to adhere to, effectively streamlining the bond between them and their direct report.  Having a deeply rooted shared philosophy between staff is essential for a successful business. 

Turning Food Safety Procedures into Everyday Habits

By modeling safe and efficient Practices, it’s pertinent to help staff understand the importance and gravity of each procedure, and what it means for the business. You, as a leader, have the responsibility to instill passion in employees and drive a food safety culture across all corresponding departments and relevant stakeholders.

As a Food Safety professional of nearly 15 years in various industries from confectionery, airline catering and manufacturing plants, I always try to picture what would truly grasp my interest and then apply it to my training, whether they are interactive or class lead.

“From line staff to senior leadership, going beyond compliance and enabling assertiveness in employees is the foundation of a successful cross-functional business environment.”

As critical as food safety is in our daily lives, it’s very important not to lose yourself in the process and continue to be a leader backed by compassion and integrity and apply your own unique sense of style in how you convey your knowledge to others. 

Strengthening Employee Ownership through Training and Communication

By shifting the working environment from one that focuses only on adherence to rules to one that encourages employees to share in the company’s principles and vision, leaders can strengthen ownership. Training fosters an environment for collaborative creativity, enabling associates to create lasting mentorship opportunities in multiple work-related environments.

Communication is the key to having a streamlined approach and vision for company values. Communication that is effective is a critical work stream that strengthens any company’s process flow.

Being genuine in your approach to coaching and mentorship will gain you endless respect from your employees, guiding them to a successful path in their careers. And they will thank you for it.

I am a servant leader, and I will always strengthen the people around me so that the business culture revolves around respect and compassion for one another. Only then can you have the cadence and successful business necessary to succeed in the future. 

Advice for future food safety leaders

My personal advice would be to provide the same opportunity to everyone that you would expect yourself to receive from a leader.  Giving your employees the authority and power to react and decide is instrumental to the success of any business. Recognizing and leading paves the way to a culture of inclusivity that is based on pure human decision and integrity.