We are a low risk confectionery manufacturer with a little over 100 full time employees and 40-60 temporary employees. We have been operating for over 100 years but have been slowly loosing customers over the past few years because we are not certified to a GFSI standard. Around 9 months ago senior management decided to go for SQF certification and chose me to become the SQF practitioner. The original goal was to be fully implemented and certified in early 2015, I can already tell that we will not meet that deadline. If we do not become certified, it is likely that our company will not last another decade. The company president is getting old and probably going to retire sometime in the next 3 years. About 1/3 of our employees have been with the company for over 20 years and many of them have never had another job. A few of our employees have been with the company for over 40 years.
It is up to me to implement all of the prerequisite programs for SQF, unfortunately I am not getting the resources or support needed to accomplish this. I have tried to explain the situation to management to make them understand that we do not stand a chance of becoming certified if they are not truly committed to the requirements of SQF.
Does anyone have any advice for me? How can I, as an hourly employee, get senior management to be truly committed.
I am aware that I am in a position to be the fall guy if we do not become certified. In my opinion, if I give up now we will not become certified and we will eventually go out of business, If I continue to try my best and fail we will eventually go out of business but I will have gained experience to hopefully apply towards my next employment opportunity.
I would like to know if my opinion on the situation sounds logical, and if others have had similar experiences and could give me advice it would be much appreciated.
My main fear is that I have completely miss judged the situation and the consequences of sticking it out to the end. Would I be better off finding a new job ASAP? I know its a decision that is ultimately up to me, so maybe just a few words of encouragement (or job offer) will put my mind at ease.
Keep Calm and Chive On