For those not directly involved, quality management systems can seem a bit mysterious. However, it's crucial to explain to your staff – even those completely unfamiliar with the subject – what you aim to achieve through this process, in order to successfully involve them in the project.
Without a basic understanding of the advantages that quality offers and how to achieve them, many people may struggle to see the entire process as a profit generator rather than simply an expense.
That's why it's important to proactively make people understand that designing quality within an organization is very important for its well-being. To present and promote the intention of adopting a quality management system in your company, it's good to follow these simple steps:
- Illustrate in detail the future image of how you would like the company to become thanks to the introduction of quality. You could start with the benefits obtained by a company operating in your same sector that has decided to implement quality, obtaining tangible results, and then explain in broad terms how the project will work. You might think it's not necessary for people to know how you intend to proceed, but that would be a serious mistake because a system built by people who have not been involved in the project can report serious shortcomings that, in the long run, will be felt. Designing and building it well from the outset is the fastest way to proceed and also costs less;
- Explain that one of the advantages of quality is the continuous improvement of profit margins because it helps from the first day of its implementation to prevent costly problems and to recruit better customers in new markets. Among other things, you only start competing on your own terms when you get the most quality, at the lowest cost and with the best timing;
- After generating expectation and even a little enthusiasm for what your organization could become, bring the conversation back to today's reality for what concerns the company and the sector as a whole. This work should be done not to point fingers or to blame other people for the situation but to look together at the big picture and identify the current challenges. Some of the areas you could focus on include common quality problems that are constantly repeated; the narrow market for skilled labor, the difficulty of attracting good suppliers, the unproductive time that is lost for the various problems that occur, etc.;
- Highlight how the external factors you have just illustrated have a direct impact on the company and can constitute obstacles to the implementation of a Quality System. Cite specific examples such as the current profit margin, an order lost due to competition, a dissatisfied customer; a project late; too many warranty interventions. At this point, you will have prepared the ground for a solution that will help to address all these challenges. Remember that it may be unpleasant for people to see listed the times they have failed, which is why it is important to keep the focus mainly on the external factors that are creating all these problems;
- At this point, you will have described both a future of quality and a reality full of challenges. You can go ahead in different ways: making no changes because it is believed that improvement is not possible; continuing with the current approach but trying to work better or try a new approach. This is the opportunity you have decided to take to bridge the gap between vision and reality;
- Describe the best practices you intend to use to implement a coordinated system of management control, systematic problem prevention and performance measurement;
- The last important step is the one that will lead you to build consensus. Although you may not have yet discussed the specific details of which tools and tactics to use, you will have prepared the ground for these discussions. Remember that the goal is not to convince them to buy a specific solution but to clarify that a new approach is necessary if you want to remain competitive.