Organisational Report

Baiada consistently gathers and analyzes safety risk information about all parts of its operations. For example, it is currently examining “the factors that influence the understanding and behaviours of people throughout the food chain, from our agricultural operations, through to distribution, retail and finally consumption.” The data gathered will be used to develop a programme to enhance understanding among stakeholders, right through the entire food safety chain and enhance the safety of the poultry products. The company also engages with experts and consultants to “help identify and plug gaps in our systems”. Baiada is also changing the way it carries out its governance responsibilities, particularly in relation to legal and regulatory compliance. Now that this has been more formalized, it leads to achieving results in a more structured and systematic manner.” This includes development of an effective corporate risk register, risk reviews and testing the effectiveness of those controls. The system will be based on the risk management standards, which it is hoping to achieve in 2017. One of the core features of Baiada’s approach is assessing the performance of each part of the business, helping the different groups manage their safety risks and agreeing with the board the actions that are needed to uphold standards and further enhance resilience. Baiada discusses, “on a very regular basis, in structured and formal meetings with all key players, the need for the business to be resilient, the need for various managers and staff in different areas to make other areas aware of the issues that they’re facing, so that we can adapt to any possible risk or change that may affect another area.” Baiada is continuing to make more informed decisions about the safety outcomes that “we and the industry should aim to deliver to better manage the risks across the sector.” It monitors “what the industry is doing in Australia, how we are performing within that industry, what’s occurring to the other players, what the market is doing, and adjusting the strategy… as well as learning from what happens within other organizations. For example, “there was a recent incident in a competitor’s processing plant in another state, so we immediately sent out a directive to all our relevant people to ask them to check the same system that caused the competitor’s issue. We were looking at the overall system anyway, but the extra checks highlighted a few other areas where we can make improvements.” Elaine says that the key to Organizational Resilience is “getting the right people in the right roles. I think that’s just such a key to any organization’s success.” She continues, “I just know that our people are the key to the success of this business, right from our executive management down to the senior management and the people on the shopfloor.” The key is, “start them off right, train them properly, reward them appropriately and hold them accountable”. She suggests that one of the keys to success at Baiada was the ability to grow and “remain big, but still keep that small business feel that we’ve always had.”

“For Infosys, it is not so much about mitigation but more about preparedness”

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Organizational Resilience | BSI and Cranfield School of Management