Development Compliance Plans: Safety with Food Handling - Assignment Example

Assignment 3: Compliance Plans Contents Abstract 2 a)Selected compliance systems 2 Safety with food handling, preparation, storage, using cooking implements 2 Working obligations 3 b) Personnel requirements 4 Safety with food handling, preparation, storage, using cooking implements 4 Working Obligations 4 c) Training needed 5 Staff Training and Development Program and compliance monitoring and risk unit 5 d. Documentation required 6 e). Handling Breaches 8 f. Action Plans 9 The process of developing the staff training and development will take 10 weeks. It will involve. 9 Set up the compliance and evaluation unit (10-week activity) 9 f). Gannt charts 10 Conclusion 14 References 15 Development Compliance Plans Abstract This paper explores the processes of developing compliance plans for two selected compliance areas, namely safety with food handling, preparation, storage, using cooking implements and working obligations. Further the personnel requirement involved in the developing the plan are explored, other areas examined include the kind of training needed and the documentation required. The paper further discusses how breaches are handled by the club and the action plans for developing the compliance plans. Other issues explored include the cost and financial aspects of the two proposed plans, the impacts of these compliance plans and the monitoring and review process for the plans. a) Selected compliance systems Safety with food handling, preparation, storage, using cooking implements RSL Club needs to ensure that its employees involved in the processes of handling and preparing food have the competency in food safety and hygiene matters. To ensure compliance with this requirement, RSL Club should come up with a compliance plan that will ensure the relevant staff aware of safety with food handling, preparation, storage and using cooking implements. Staff training, networking and professional development programs that ensure employees are sufficiently trained to meet its policies such as responsible food service, as well as legislative requirements for handling of food is suggested for RSL Club. The plan set out will be aimed at teaching the current employees new skills on handling the members satisfactorily, exposing them to the state and federal regulations and statutes, enabling them to put into practice the clubs established policies and procedures, as well as giving them an opportunity to implement and get feedback on certain styles and techniques in their service delivery. RSL Club can do the training to newly recruited staff or the old staff. It should be strictly aimed at bettering the clubs service delivery level. Within the training, the significance of adhering to the club’s policy should be underscored, as well as the risk the organizations and individuals are exposed by failing to comply (Baca et al 2007). It should also set out standards of behavior expected from the club members and. The code of conduct should also promote values expected from the members who may encourage carrying their own food or beverages (Stuter n.d.). Working obligations RSL Club needs to come up with a compliance plan that ensures adherence to all federal and state legislations as well as industry standards that set out working conditions for its employees. To ensure adherence to this, the organization needs an idyllic plan that ensures that the organization strictly observes workplace obligations, such as non-discrimination, equal opportunity and duty of care. A plan for developing a full-fledged compliance monitoring and risk unit is suggested for RSL Club. The unit will consist of a group of highly motivated consultants charged with the duty of coming up with a range of support services to asses, create and improve operational processes. The unit should work collaboratively with the club’s executive and management to assess the working conditions, as well as audit and assess the employees’ capabilities, performances and recommend rewards or promotions. This will ensure that the employees are highly motivated and that the organization complies with principles of Fair Work Act 2009, such as in avoiding unfair employee dismissals and paying its employees’ wages that are commensurate with their work experience and qualifications in compliance with the Act. b) Personnel requirements Safety with food handling, preparation, storage, using cooking implements To ensure that RSL complies with the requirements for safety in food handling, preparation, storage, using cooking implements, the organization should create an effective staff training and development plan. The human resource manager will be (the training coordinator) responsible for coordination of the training program, scheduling the program and locating outside consultants to train the staff members. The HR manager should ensure that the right environment and resources are mobilized to ensure success of the training program. Since RSL Club has a human resource unit, members of the unit may as well act as training coordinators for each of RSL Club’s departments. The RSL branch directors will be responsible for controlling the training program by overseeing the functions of the human resource department (Hrcouncil 2013). Working Obligations The plan for developing a compliance monitoring and risk unit consists of a strategic evaluation plan that assesses whether RSL Club meets the requirements for employee treatment at workplace and whether the conditions for work are humane. Overall, it serves the function of informing RSL’s club executives of the areas that need policy change and adjustment to meet the requirement. The unit will be composed of individuals within the organization who have vested interest in evaluation processes, and will include the CEO, club directors and other senior executives, program managers, departmental heads and the audit and evaluation committee. The CEO will head the unit. Overall, the unit should have up to 12 members. Of particular interest is the composition and role of the audit and evaluation committee. It will consist of the club directors and departmental managers. It will be responsible for ensuring that the unit is relevant as well as be held accountable for ensuring that the unit fulfills its obligations. It will serve to evaluate the strategic objective, the priorities and the corporate risks in the context of the departments (Brennan & Taylor 2006). c) Training needed Staff Training and Development Program and compliance monitoring and risk unit The staff training and development program will have integrated courses that ensure the employees are aware of the club’s policies and practices, the ethical standards, the state and federal statutes, all aimed at ensuring compliance with treatment and conditions for work and Safety with food handling, preparation, storage, using cooking implements. The course would include: i) Orientation program that ensures that all the members of staff, as well as the newly hired employees, are trained on ways to have skills to perform their duties effectively (Price 2007). ii) Effective training skills will encompass training the club’s employees on essential skills such as customer handling and culinary skills, as well as on cleanliness and hygiene to ensure that no regulations are violated. iii) The core management training will allow RSL Club’s senior executives to participate in a range of management training programs. Courses would be taught by the consultants that the human resource department sought. The courses may be through internet-based learning, and will be on risk and compliance management and action planning (Dymock 2003). iv) The courses will generally be taught in workshops as well as through certification processes, where performing staff shall be awarded certificates of merit. Indeed training and development is viewed as contributing to implementation of the industry’s policies and practices (Nickson 2007, 154-155). d. Documentation required Several documentations will be required for developing the Staff training, networking and professional development program and creation of compliance monitoring and risk unit. These include: Business operating guidelines: A guide to developing compliance and risk evaluation plan will provide RSL Club’s departments guidelines on how to develop and implement compliance and risk evaluation plan for the business. It should be developed by the club’s departmental executives, CEO, the board, a number of the staff, club directors. It will help in identifying the issues to be considered as well as offer criteria for reviewing the quality and the relevance of the evaluation plans. Other areas it will guide on include the guide for good practices for developing the evaluation plan. The guide will also help offer the criterion for monitoring the club’s commitment to departmental evaluation. The guide is purposed at providing an overview of the entire evaluation of the compliance and risks. It is intended to offer guidance on setting out an evaluation process with focus on the resources to mobilize, the people to involve, the timing and the extent of the program (Torrington, Hall & Taylor 2005). Copies of legislation: Copies of legislation needed include Fair Work Act 2009, Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), Registered Clubs Act 1976 Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code - Standard 3.2.2 and Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991. The documents will provide RSL Clubs with information on specific areas to develop training courses, or areas that the organization needs to comply with. The documents are necessary in developing the Staff training, networking and professional development program and creation of compliance monitoring and risk unit. For instance a copy of the Fair Work Act 2009, offers information on national employment standards such as the maximum weekly hours, set at 38 hours, which the employees are entitled to, parental leave and relevant entitlements, wages and salaries, annual leave, notice of work termination, unfair treatment, unfair dismissal, enterprise agreements and modern awards (Fair Work Ombudsman 2012). A copy of standards compliance programs: A copy of AS 3806:2006 (Australian Standard Compliance programs) will also be essential. AS 3806:2006 comprises a set of standards that set out the principles that organizations should follow while creating and implementing compliance programs. A copy of AS 3806:2006 will act as guiding principles that will be used in designing, developing and implementing the compliance and risk unit (CommitteeQR-014 2006; RSL 2013). e). Handling Breaches Once in awhile, the employees of RSL Club may breach their contracts or violate certain terms and policies, such as those outlined by RSL Club Policies and Procedures. However, the club is very tactical in handling such breaches in order to prevent future contraventions of administrative regulations, as well as reinforce its policies and procedures through disciplinary and corrective actions (Billikopf 2006). For instance, in handling employee breaches, RSL Club strives to avoid contravening Fair Work Act 2009, which outlaws unfair dismissals. Consequently, the organization’s corrective actions steps generally include, the first level warning, where the employee is given the first formal warning for violating the club’s rules and regulations, of failing to perform duties in an acceptable manner. However, it takes place after the employee is addressed by the department manager. The second level warning is issued when the employee persists with the practice that is in violation, and when the practice that is more severe than that that necessitated the first warning takes place. Thirdly, the employee may be suspended for a period as deemed necessary by the club directors and the HR department. If all the aforementioned disciplinary actions fail to resolve the issue, the employee is given notice for termination. f. Action Plans The process of developing the staff training and development will take 10 weeks. It will involve. i) Identifying training requirements - The training requirements must first be identified in order to allow the organization to understand why the training is necessary. The point is to organize the training through identifying the people that need to be trained, where the training should focus on, the scope of the courses and what needs to be taught. It will take place in the first week (week 1). ii) Selecting the candidates - There is a need to select particular individuals who will receive the training. The process will take place in the second week (week 2). iii) Delivery time and place - This aspect signifies where the training will be conducted, the two choices appropriate for RSL Club is on –the-job training and off-the-job training. The two will take place in the third to seventh week (week 3-7). iv) Role Playing – Role-playing will be used as a teaching aid to enable employees undergoing training to develop as well as shape skills and characters in friendly environments. It will take place in the eight week (week 8). v) Evaluation Period – All employees who have undergone the training will be assessed on what they have learnt. At the close of the training program, the employees will also be asked to review and rate the course. It will take place in the ninth week (week 9). vi) The wrap up - The training program is scheduled to end in the tenth week (week 10) (Ekot 2010). Set up the compliance and evaluation unit (10-week activity) i) Evaluation planning will help identify the areas of concern within the department that run the risk of non-evaluation. It will take place in the first week (Week 1). ii) Preliminary assessment of the organization and government objectives, priorities. (Week 2 & 3) iii) Develop the compliance and risk assessment guidelines (Week 4 to 6) iv) Establishing priority areas based on analysis of the organization and state objectives (Week 7) v) Establishing roles of the compliance and risk evaluation unit (Week 8) vi) Forwarding draft plan to the selected evaluation committee (Week 9) vii) Approving the compliance and evaluation unit (Week 10) f). Gannt charts Table 1 and 2 represent Staff training and development and compliance monitoring and risk unit development plan (McDonough 2011). Task Person(s) Responsible Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Identifying Training Requirements Evaluation Team Selecting candidates HR department Delivery time and place Role Playing Training officer Evaluation Period Evaluation team Wrap up HR Dept Final Report Due Table 1: Training Program (10 weeks) Table 2: Compliance and evaluation unit plan Task Person(s) Responsible Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Evaluation planning Evaluation unit Preliminary assessment Evaluation unit Develop Guidelines Evaluation unit Establish priority areas Evaluation unit Establish roles of unit Evaluation unit Present work-plan Evaluation unit Approval of unit Evaluation unit Final Report Due h. Financial aspects of the two proposed plans The planning process for the development of staff training, networking and professional development program as well as the creation of compliance monitoring and risk unit will be tied to the club’s annual budgeting processes. This will ensure that the resource requirements for implementing the two are available on time. Budgeting will requires extensive consultation with the financial department, the senior executives and the staff identified to participate in the budgeting process to identify the potential costs. The labor costs associated with the training and creation of compliance monitoring and risk unit will be considered and will incorporate the labor rates of the detailed staff. The detailed materials costs should as well be identified. At this point, any procurement plans will be referred to, including the costs of procuring equipment, materials and other resources. Any ongoing operating costs will as well be considered. If necessary for the project, the rates for the current operational costs related to the two programs will be included. Any other related costs will be included, including looking for possible expenses like training and hiring consultants. A contingency should as well be built through the assessment if the probability of surpassing such costs. At this stage, a percentile will be assigned that reflects on how much each unidentified factor will affect the training and the creation of compliance monitoring unit. Assessing the unidentified will also be considered, as it is crucial for an effective budget since it will help prevent possible crises that may occur. The estimate of the budget will as well have contingency included that ranges from 20 to 30 percent of the entire costs of the training and the creation of compliance monitoring unit. i) Impacts of compliance plans on customers, community Once the two compliance plans, namely developing an effective staff training and compliance monitoring and risk unit, are successfully in ensuring safety with food handling, preparation, storage, and for fair treatment and conditions for work respectively, they can have very substantial impacts on the stakeholders of the club, including the members and the communities, as well as the general public (Toffel & Delmas 2004). Through strict adherence to the compliance plans, RSL Club will be able to build a positive image to the public. Stakeholders’ positive perception of the club may further ensure increased profitability of the club as it will be able to attract large membership (Noguer & Houillier n.d.). Further, the public is able to build psychological confidence on the club. Compliance will also help build reputation of the club, thus acting as a powerful signal to the competitors (Bailey 2003). Favorable reputations have the potential to create more market share positions by increasing customer loyalty. This is because reputations are what the customers use in assessing the corporate image (Ferrell 2004). j. Monitoring and review process for the plans Once the twp compliance plans are implemented, there is the need to monitor and evaluate them, to ensure that they effectively meet their objectives. Basically, the monitoring and review process will involve collection and analysis of information considered as capable of helping measure the progress of both plans in ensuring safety with food handling, preparation, storage, as well as fair treatment and conditions for work (Burnes, Cooper & West 2003). RSL Club will develop a monitoring and development team, consisting of personnel from each personnel, specifically the departments’ designated supervisors. An integrated approach will be applied in both the compliance plans to ensure that, in addition to evaluating the adequacy and effectiveness of the plans their successes, cost-effectiveness and relevance are examined using suitable audit coverage. The evaluation will also be aimed at the effectiveness of both plans in minimizing the possibility of duplicating compliance efforts as well as improving the coordination between the evaluation functions (Clements 2010). The evaluation will only focus on using scientifically valid methods, such as using quasi experimental designs, after the 12 weeks of implementing the plans, to discover the level of improvement impacted on the organization. The evaluation team will afterwards create a report on the impacts, effectiveness and loose ends of both compliance plans. This is aimed at showing the progress as well as creating a sense of achievement for the plans. The reports will be stored to future references or comparative analysis. Conclusion Two compliance areas are identified, namely safety with food handling, preparation, storage, and working obligations. The compliance plan suggested for the first compliance are includes developing a plan for staff development and training, while that of the second area includes developing compliance monitoring and risk unit. Developing both compliance plans will require the collaboration of the senior executives, the CEO, the staff and to some extent the overall community. Once the compliance plans are set up, they will enable the enable organization to identify and amend deficiencies in complying with codes of conduct, regulations and establish processes that enable sustained improvement in service delivery (Bailey 2003). References Austlii. 2009a. Interactive Gambling Act 2001. 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