Recently, Shelly Hague, a LinkedIn connection, shared an article on Marco Pierre White's restaurant, which made me smile. It demonstrated what I call: the audit consistency dilemma. Within a few days of each other, two auditors, from two organisations, with two different standards rated Marco's restaurant. The result: a 4 star and a 1 star rating! What's going on? Well unfortunately, like beauty, hygiene will always be in the eye of the beholder!
So, what does it feel like for a food business, to deal with this level of inconsistency!?
Well, imagine you are the owner of a house. It's a nice house and you like it. You've spent a lot of time and energy fixing up the defects and improving the place. You have been living in the house for many years and are very aware of all its good and bad points. Unfortunately, with a growing family, the house is getting too small and you reluctantly decide to put it up for sale.
The real estate agent is a clever guy with some novel approaches. He tells you that he will be very transparent and open with the feedback from the viewers, all in the name of improvement, so you understand "what the market wants". You agree to this approach and hold some open days.
Following the viewings the real estate agent has this to say: "Well, I asked them to be picky, so this is the viewing feedback: one couple doesn't like the kitchen lay-out and another one is worried about the bathroom fittings. A third couple has noted evidence of a small roof leak (you know and it has been fixed) and the next one feels the house needs a paint. Several couples have commented on the "flow" and finally the last couple didn't like the wallpaper.
You are stunned! How is it possible that your house has that many defects!? OK, it may not meet all their standards but excuse me; they are not the ones living in the house every day!
Far fetched!? I'm not so sure, because an audit is like an "open home" and these days, some food businesses are audited every month by different people with different masters against different standards. It's not that these people are wrong, but the fact is, they all have different opinions, backgrounds, biasses and perspectives (we are human after all).
No wonder, food businesses (like Marco's) are up in arms and crying out for more audit consistency and ideally want every audit to be the same!
And it is exactly the pursuit for more consistency, where I believe we will also lose the most audit value, because to me:
The key business benefit from an audit is not whether you comply with some standard; the key benefit is that a fresh pair of experienced eyes is looking at your operation and may identify improvements and risks you no longer see!
So maybe, the challenge for the global food safety community (audit body and manufacturer alike) is not to make audits more consistent, but embrace diversity and make auditor inconsistency work for them!?
Personally, I would expect a food business to "stand behind their system" and challenge me if they do not agree with my observation (it's your wallpaper!). I do not have to live in your "house"; have to work within your budget or deal with your day to day challenges. All I can ask is that you are open to suggestions from an experienced professional with a fresh perspective ("who knows what the market wants").
Good auditors are aware of their limitations and will try to see the manufacturer point of view before handing out that non-conformance. Good auditors know that there is a lot of "grey" between black and white and that the word "audit" originates from the Latin "audire", which means to hear/listen rather than tell/instruct.
One of my favourite sayings is: "understand before being understood"! No surprise than, that the best food safety and quality auditors I have come across, all had previous experience in the food industry and been on the receiving end of audits, as "nothing improves your understanding more, than walking in the shoes of the other party".
Good food safety & quality auditors have a lot to offer a food business! They have a fresh perspective, exposure to other food plants and systems and an in-depth knowledge of the standards.
So to me, embracing auditor diversity, rather than seeking auditor consistency, will be the bigger benefit to your business.
~ Jack
This article is reproduced with permission from the author.
About the Author
After a variety of leadership roles in the food industry, Jack van der Sanden travelled the world to assess food safety controls in food manufacturing and distribution. All this experience, knowledge and passion enables him to review and strengthen food safety and quality systems in the global food supply chain; a kind of "Food Safety Architect". Contact him at jack.vds@xtra.co.nz
