You might not think that it’s important but it’s absolutely crucial to select an effective food safety auditing partner. If you want to achieve both long-term and short-term success, this is the key. The right partner for you will vary based on your goals, needs, and other supporting programs you have in place.
A quick guide to selecting the best partner and program for your brand.
3 Green Flags in A Food Safety Audit Partner
The best partners and programs will share the following traits:
Engagement at Its Peak
The best auditing partner will always strive to engage with stakeholders across all levels. From location-level employees to franchisees and corporations. Moreover, this became crucial when it comes to your partner’s location-level auditing experience. What does this mean? It simply means that the auditors should spend more time walking managers through the audit than staring at a clipboard.
They need to step by step walk the managers through this:
- What standards do employees need to follow
- If there is anything that needs improvement, identifying it is the best plan to fix it.
- How each person adds value to your locations
The engagement has more to do with just communicating. A more engaging audit experience can help your locations achieve many things. If any location requires a positive shift, building trust with the people working so hard for it is vital.
Data Driver Decision-Making
Data has so much to do with the decision-making of the company. Moreover, the audit company can use it to accurately picture performance. Hence, they will also offer an implementation plan with it. Continue writing from here. write in the same human tone as I used above.
A good audit partner will not just hand you a stack of reports; they will help you understand what the data means for your business. Similarly, they should be able to identify areas of improvement. Furthermore, it’s not enough to identify problems; the right partner will help you solve them effectively.
A Focus on the Big Picture
Firstly, the audit partner should have technical expertise. Moreover, industry expertise is helpful to integrate with other existing programs and infrastructure.
Secondly, over time you will learn a lot of things from the food safety program, and you will also learn to make changes where it is needed. Similarly, as you learn more, your program should be capable of evolving accordingly.
Red Flags to Beware of in a Food Safety Audit Partner
Firstly, if the food safety audit company has their attention more towards the price as a selling point, that’s a red flag. Moreover, the partner’s full attention should be on you. If they are heavily focused on pricing, that means they are more interested in making money for themselves than in helping you grow.
Additionally, compliance has dominated the traditional way of thinking for decades. Moreover, the potential partner should be spending more time to help you organically improve performance over time. Instead, if they are talking about helping you score well with the health department, you need to let them go.
When it comes to safeguarding your food business, selecting the right audit partner is paramount. At RRCS, we understand the critical nature of food safety. Our experienced team is dedicated to helping you ace your food safety audit. With a proven track record and a commitment to excellence, RRCS is your trusted partner on the path to ensuring the highest standards of food safety. Explore our blog for key considerations, and let’s elevate your food business together.
