Watch our first webinar in the series, where we are joined by a panel of experts giving their insights and advice with real life industry examples on how you can create and retain an engaged hygiene team.
Webinar 1 – Hygiene Team Engagement & Retention
In the first of our Culture in Hygiene webinar series, Foodclean’s Lars Turner is joined by Alex Carlyon, Director at Klipspringer, and Phil May, Technical Support Manager for Greencore. They share their thoughts and ideas regarding hygiene team engagement and retention.
Hygiene teams are an immensely import cog in the factory machine and at the end of the day, if it’s not clean, a food manufacturing facility can’t produce. That’s why it’s so important to have an engaged hygiene workforce, as this will ensure that the job is done properly, plus employee retention is maximised in what can be a very challenging and volatile labour market.
Across the food and beverage industry, hygiene teams perform a crucial role in keeping factories clean, compliant and risk-free. At the heart of this is a culture which puts food safety and hygiene first, while operating efficiently and maximising the production window.
‘Creating a leading hygiene culture’
Business Development, FoodClean by QJS
Director, Klipspringer Ltd
TSM – Hygiene, Greencore
FoodClean is an established provider of unique hygiene solutions within the food industry, helping manufacturers maximise production whilst minimising waste.
From hygiene equipment to visual management, Klipspringer is the dependable partner of choice for food safety compliance, and a leader in supporting hygiene teams across the UK & Ireland.
Greencore Group plc is a leading manufacturer of convenience foods, supplying chilled, frozen and ambient products to retail and food service customers across the UK.
Our specialists began by discussing how hygiene culture is a live organism. If you leave it, it will either die or go bad. However, when nurtured in the correct way, it will become self-sustaining and can be the secret to the success of your food manufacturing business. Like the bloodstream, culture affects every department of a company and impacts how each one performs. If the blood is bad, all of the organs will be contaminated. It starts at the top and it very quickly filters down.
Some key points covered here included:
It doesn’t matter how big or small your organisation, or how big or small the team, culture does spread, for good or for bad.
As leaders, team managers and supervisors, we are seen as an example by the rest of the team.
Great culture equals great results. Good culture achieves team buy-in, passion, accountability, productivity and efficiency.
Why does culture go bad? It can be due to neglect, a poor working environment, low engagement, lack of training, breakdown in trust, putting yourself ahead of the team, bad-fit recruits, and a combination of over-promising and under-delivering.
Phil May of Greencore touched on how it’s important for everyone to follow the same rules when on site, regardless of who they are and the reason they’re there. Whether it’s someone famous or a member of the team sweeping the floors, it doesn’t matter. The culture should be the same for everyone.
Lars Turner then went on to discuss how management teams can protect their hygiene operatives through the right kind of PPE and protective clothing. It’s crucial to remember that every member of staff requires the right workwear – it not only needs to be fit for purpose but also comfortable to wear.
“First impressions count,” stated Lars. “It’s the first thing the hygiene team will come into contact with. It’s essential to get it right. It’s good to have something that’s theirs, that they can be invested in and look after. They rely on having the gear that they trust.”
When buying PPE, you should always take an operator-first rather than a cost-first approach. This will ensure that comfort is key and saves your business time and money in the long run – if the gear is specifically chosen to fulfil the needs of your cleaning teams, they’re more likely to look after it.
A common misconception is that wetsuits are appropriate for the protection of hygiene staff. However, it’s essential to know the difference between wetsuits versus chemical suits to make sure the needs of your hygiene staff are met.
“A well-protected, looked after team is a happy, effective and loyal one. This helps with labour retention,” explained Lars. “Every site is under pressure to reduce its environmental impact. With costs on the rise, it’s more important than ever. Consider disposable versus re-usable suits. Re-usable suits save money and have a positive financial impact.”
It’s here that we loop back to how hygiene culture can be affected by key decisions, such as the equipment we choose for our cleaning teams. Again, an operator-first approach to the purchasing of equipment is crucial, as ‘operator-owned’ equipment increases its lifespan and leads to higher motivation. Rather than trying to find a one-size-fits-all solution, consider giving people their own toolbox that matches their needs. This philosophy leads to a sense of value and feeling valued, as well as higher comfort and a reduction in injury.
“Buying premium kit isn’t always about buying higher grade materials,” Lars clarified. “It’s about the features of that kit. Easier to pull triggers, for example, or higher flexibility in hoses can make shifts a better place to be. Constant feedback and communication with your hygiene teams will find those areas.”
In addition, everything you give your hygiene teams should be trackable and traceable, allow them to manage their equipment, ensure it’s not going missing, and that it’s not being appropriated by others.
“Having the right kit at the right place at the right time is key for productivity. It increases the effectiveness, and more importantly, the safety of the hygiene staff. There’ll also be a significant reduction in your hygiene window, meaning you’ll save money in the long run as your staff are able to work faster and more effectively.”
Lars Turner at FoodClean then discussed how to develop a culture of support and encourage the challenging of the status quo.
“Set up a structured review or continuous improvement schedule and put the dates in the diary,” explainedLars. “Ask yourself ‘what should we start doing that we’re not?’, ‘What should we hold onto that’s important to us and what we’re doing well’, and ‘What should we stop doing that isn’t adding value or is against what we believe our business should be doing.’ This is useful for everyone from the shopfloor through to your management teams.”
Lars added that you should always welcome and reward feedback – after all, the best improvements often come from unexpected sources. If something isn’t working as it should, use ‘Root Cause Analysis’ or the ‘Five Whys’ to pinpoint the issue. In other words, if something isn’t working, ask why, then move on to the next why, and so on. You should then get to the root of the problem.
“Involve a cross-functional team who can implement change,” explained Lars. “Have people in the room who are truly invested in the process, from hygiene to QA and technical, engineering, and someone like a general manager or a board member. Unannounced audits are powerful. It’s an opportunity to showcase what you do. Don’t see it as a threat, see it as a chance to get external feedback.”
You can watch the full webinar via the link below. If you enjoyed this discussion and would like to find out more about how FoodClean can support your food manufacturing facility, please get in touch with one of the FoodClean team to arrange a phone call / on-site visit or even better a face-to-face meeting and tour at the new FoodClean Experience Centre in Lincoln.
