I believe this is an important role for the leaders of the design team. Holding everyone accountable to a high standard of outcome is a must. Direct communication and feedback pays dividends. I personally like to use the phrase “we need to push this one harder”. We all need critical feedback to improve results at times. It’s also a great time to gather input from the broader team when the execution needs to be elevated.

The most important measures to ensure the quality and consistency of a growing creative team are to hire well, test against the team, and be flexible. The advice I always give to new hiring managers is to require a certain minimum high level of talent/skill as you qualify a pool of diverse applicants, then choose the ones that show the most character in interviews. If the focus is all on talent and money, you end up with divas and higher chaos factors. Focus on character and do your best to avoid bias (body shape, intro/extroversion, gender, race, culture, etc.), and you get a team that wants to work together, feels the success of others, feels pride in excellence, and has a base for innovation and adaptation.

To maintain quality in industrial design when the team is divided, it is important to set clear goals and have open communication. Prototyping can help test ideas, and assigning a decision-maker avoids delays. Align all approaches with user requirements and project objectives. Use data or past experiences to support discussions, and if possible, work on multiple solutions side by side to compare results. Regular reviews and proper documentation help keep everyone aligned and ensure quality is not compromised.