Agrifood sector needs rapid response group
The agrifood sector needs to establish a rapid-response crisis management group to protect the reputation of New
Zealand’s food products, says a communication expert from Massey University.
Dr Chris Galloway says the agrifood sector is “worth literally billions of dollars to the New Zealand economy” and the
best way to minimise the impact of the next crisis is with a rapid and coordinated response between industry and
government.
“In a situation like the Fonterra botulism scare you really need coordinated messaging and responses to avoid confusion
and to show that you are on top of the situation,” Dr Galloway says.
“Agrifood – and New Zealand’s reputation for quality and safety – is too important to the wider economy for government
to take a hands-off approach. Our reputation allows us to charge a premium in overseas markets, such as China. If that
reputation is damaged it has a direct dollar consequence – and not just on the individual companies concerned.”
Dr Galloway says industry and government agencies like the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) do a good job, but past
crises have shown coordination gaps in terms of messaging and the timing of announcements. He says the first step is to
identify key stakeholders and do joint scenario planning.
“One of the things that really speeds things up in a crisis is pre-authorising people to make certain decisions without
having to go up the organisational food chain. If you have a crisis management group that has run some scenarios and can
agree on a response, they will deal with a live contamination threat much more efficiently – and that can really
minimise reputational damage.”
Dr Galloway will discuss his ideas at the latest Big Issues in Business seminar, hosted by the Massey Business School.
The event’s theme is ‘Safe food, safe business’ and Dr Galloway will be joined by MPI director-general Martyn Dunne and
Jo Finer, director group regulatory, global brands and nutrition at Fonterra.
The three speakers will discuss strategies for managing reputational risk in the agrifood sector, including identifying
potential threats, proactively managing risks and repairing a reputation after it’s been damaged.
Dr Galloway also believes a rapid-response team that meets regularly could share market intelligence about potential
threats.
“Organisations individually scan for risks in their operating environment – but let’s have a way of bringing those
insights together to help anticipate risks and formulate coordinated responses. We are too small a country, and the
agrifood sector is too important, for national interest not to take priority over individual company interests.”
Event details:
Theme:Safe food, safe business – Strategies for agrifood enterprises’ reputation risk management
Date: Thursday 4 June, 2015
Time:6.00pm-7.30pm
Venue: Sport & Rugby Institute, Albany Drive, Massey University, Palmerston North
Speakers:Dr Christopher Galloway, crisis communications expert; Martyn Dunne, director-general, Ministry for Primary Industries; Jo Finer, director group regulatory, global brands and nutrition, Fonterra. Speaker presentations will be followed by a Q session.
To register:Visit http://bit.ly/bibs-food-safety
This event is part of the Massey Business School ‘Big Issues in Business’ series.
For more information visit http://massey.ac.nz/bibs
ENDS