Owners are not on board

I work for a relatively small company.....which was moved to a new located and I am the new HACCP coordinator. The job at the old location was done a bit here and a bit there so there was no understanding of how big a job it is.  My issue is that there is no buy in or cooperation from the owners about why things are required to be done they way they need to be.  All I hear is bitch bitch bitch about what CFIA is making them do, instead of accepting this is the way it is.

 

 

HELP!!!!! how do I do my job with my hands in handcuffs?

 

HELP!!!!! how do I do my job with my hands in handcuffs?

 

This sounds like a job for Magenta! <teasing, of course>

I suspect you know the answer, scampi, it won't get easier if your owners/managers aren't on board. There is no slide show, no presentation, no speech that will make them want to do the right thing. MAYBE if you knew what they had issues with, you could address them one by one, but if they aren't willing to see the 'light', very little can make them.

I have faced this same situation several times.  In one case I left the company after 11 months, because they just could not do it right, there was inadequate support and it was not a matter of if they hurt someone but when.  In another case, I kept doing what I could as safety was not issue; documentation and systems was the issue...eventually a big customer forced the issue.  It was still a difficult situation as they were still very unhappy about it which still made it difficult.  If they are not going to change then maybe you will want to, or perhaps with some time they will adapt. 

First off do they understand why things are supposed to be done this way. Owners are business people they look at the dollars and see Haccp as an expense taking money directly out of their pocket. If they do not understand why its important then its hard for them to support it.

 

So maybe do some training with them explain what this haccp stuff is about why its important. give them a dumbed down view of it they don't need to be experts that's your job they just have to understand the "why" behind it.

 

Look into the MONEY side of things, explain that obviously your customers want all their suppliers to supply safe products, and this is the marketing part where they can say oh ya haccp is great ever since we installed that magnet in product receiving our equipment breakage and down time went from x hours/quarter to z hours/quarter. that continuous improvement is really great stuff.

 

You can show the owners we had x amount of complaints in these areas if we did these things we can remove those complaints and our customers would do more business, we had x amount of breakdowns, we had x amount of product loss, we had 15 nc's in an audit we failed that cost you 5 grand regardless of failing, if we did this haccp stuff look at all the MONEY you could have saved (or not wasted however they want to look at it".

 

Hey boss, XL Foods went bankrupt with a zillion dollar recall all because the sanitary welds were not sanitary, that's all it took lets not be those guys.

 

That's how I go about it, if they are not on board after that, I would start looking for a new job.

 

Its one thing to have managers/supervisors/ workers not buy in, but when the people who own the company do not believe in what you do especially when food products are made then problems will happen.

Setanta, you are right, was just hoping for a magic solution! I have started looking unfortunately.   I think the owners need to learn the hard way.....like a big ole CAR that I am not involved in. 

Did I mention I have zero patience for stupidity....and you can't fix anything by locking yourself in your office hoping it will all go away!!!!

I'm sorry scampi! 

Dear scampi,

 

I'm sorry too.

 

Sadly, I fear yr experience may well be nearer the norm rather than the opposite, I have heard the phrase "just a means to an end" so many times. Business trumps Safety. :crybaby:

 

Rgds / Charles.C

Scampi you are in a change process and resistance is a normal response to change - especially if it costs money.

 

It's psychology, culture change and it is very difficult...that's why we get recurring topics on this subject.

 

If you recognize this then you can look at breaking the resistance to change.

 

To overcome resistance to change, make sure that the following criteria are met (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2005):

• Benefit: Whatever it is that is changing, that change should have a clear relative advantage for those being asked to change; it should be seen as “a better way.”
• Compatibility: The change should be as compatible as possible with the existing values and experiences of the people being asked to change.
• Complexity: The change should be no more complex than necessary; it must be as easy as possible for people to understand and use.
• Triability: The change should be something that people can try on a step-by-step basis and make adjustments as things progress.

There are 6 methods for dealing with resistance to change (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2005):

1. Education & Communication: educate people about a change before it is implemented; help them understand the logic behind the change.
2. Participation & Involvement: allow people to help design and implement the changes (e.g., ideas, task forces, committees).
3. Facilitation & Support: provide help (emotional & material resources) for people having trouble adjusting to the change.
4. Negotiation & Agreement: offers incentives to those who resist change.
5. Manipulation & Cooptation: attempts to influence others.
6. Explicit & Implicit Coercion: use of authority to get people to accept change.

I hate to say but I was in the exact situation in my last role. It didn't get better. I went home stressed and emotional each day and it was not worth the cost to my mental health. Sometimes all people care about is getting the product out the door as cheaply as possible, anything that contradicts this is just a waste of time and money.

 

I hope you find something better soon  :smile:

Scampi,

 

I feel your pain.  I have been at my company 11 months, we are on the second push out date for desk audit with 11 weeks to meet that deadline....which is not gong to happen.

 

I have tried every day for 11 months to impress upon the management team the crucial role SQF certification is playing in the future of this business.  I am meeting with our 2nd VP of Sales tomorrow and I sent him my talking points that he needs to bring to the management team.  The bottom line is they have not given SQF the daily priority required to achieve successful certification and our food customers will be gone along with the ability to replace them with new food customers.  So the 2 production/scheduling meetings that every manager has to be in every day that take precedence over SQF will pretty much dwindle down to no meetings because there will be very little left to product and ship. 

 

I have no regrets on my part.  I have written, re-written, jumped through hoops and gone above and beyond to bring this to the forefront.  I have had to send 3 requests for the same information to managers who don't even respond.  Can't get blood from a stone, so I have stopped asking for donations.  Time to move on. 

Good for you!!!!!!

 

I moved on too.....new commodity, new location, new people-----who are ALL haccp trained, WOOHOO!!!!!!

Indeed - unless you are very invested in the company's vision or product, sometimes it's better for your own sanity to move on! Best of luck!

Scampi,

 

I feel your pain.  I have been at my company 11 months, we are on the second push out date for desk audit with 11 weeks to meet that deadline....which is not gong to happen.

 

I have tried every day for 11 months to impress upon the management team the crucial role SQF certification is playing in the future of this business.  I am meeting with our 2nd VP of Sales tomorrow and I sent him my talking points that he needs to bring to the management team.  The bottom line is they have not given SQF the daily priority required to achieve successful certification and our food customers will be gone along with the ability to replace them with new food customers.  So the 2 production/scheduling meetings that every manager has to be in every day that take precedence over SQF will pretty much dwindle down to no meetings because there will be very little left to product and ship. 

 

I have no regrets on my part.  I have written, re-written, jumped through hoops and gone above and beyond to bring this to the forefront.  I have had to send 3 requests for the same information to managers who don't even respond.  Can't get blood from a stone, so I have stopped asking for donations.  Time to move on. 

 

Wish I could do the same.

However, there's not many job opportunities around my parts. So I keep looking and applying for most everything that's out there (and relatively close to my current work field). But it's slim pickings.

An old thread but still relevant today.

 

In my opinion, until the accreditation places senior management commitment solely with Company owners, MD's or Directors, the situation for managers will never improve. 

However if that were to happen, I'm sure it is known the membership would fall dramatically.