What are the best ways to overcome resistance to quality improvement processes?

First thing to put right, is that it is not actually resistance to change, it is resistance to an improvement process that 99% of the time is derived and imposed by a “Quality Professional” without contextual alignment to the area, process or people that will be adopting it. Early adoption requires intent, awareness and need, and a process that everyone can work to and follow. There fore don’t impose a process, let the team develop the process based on intent, purpose, deliverables and accountability. Key word Team.

Resistance to quality improvement processes can be a common challenge within organizations. However, addressing this resistance is crucial to achieving long-term success. My POV, Start with small, achievable improvements that can be implemented relatively quickly. These "quick wins" demonstrate the value of the quality improvement process. Celebrate them !! Engage in open and transparent communication with all stakeholders. Use multiple communication channels, meetings, emails, workshops to ensure the message reaches everyone, means building basic culture of good habits and then touch big areas!! Remember that resistance to change is natural, and it may take time for some individuals and teams to fully embrace quality improvement process.

While conveying the importance of Quality Improvements, it is important to go into the shoes of the listeners. One needs to share the relevant examples and how a particular improvement will help in the PQDCSME parameters. One of the examples on how I utilised this method is by converting the Quality Improvements into Cost and then sharing how much Cost of Poor Quality can be reduced after implementing the Quality Improvement. Also, it is necessary for any organisation to develop a Quality culture where every member should be aligned towards the best quality product and the same must be driven by the leadership.

1) Relate quality to COPQ 2) Relate quality to productivity 3)Relate Quality to customer experience 4) Related quality to improved reliability and durability.

Quality improvement processes doesn't work effectively if it is not top driven. Hence most of the resistance can be handled if it embedded as a cultural driven by top management. It is not just solving small problems here and there. It is a structured program to identify the top opportunities which has maximum impact on customers. As resources are always scarce so those needs to be utilized intelligently. A top down approach enables to consolidate quality issues from all the areas and make a funnel to prioritize those which will have maximum impact on the customer. Also it helps to communicate repeatedly within the organisation to keep customer focus. This helps to reduce the resistance significantly.

Communicate directly with key stakeholders. Present current results/data that supports why the change in process is needed, while simultaneously casing the results of change is not made.

The most important 3 points to overcome - Do what what matter to them -To success build QM with them for them keeping there point of view. - To have a practical approach not the textbooks one. Ground in different from what we see in textbooks.

Q&A sessions with stakeholders also build trust and allow them to get specific information they want. Mini trainings or lunch and learns also help stakeholders get comfortable with the change before it is implemented, alleviating resistance.

Getting to the root cause is always a good step in solving quality non-conformances. Assuming the resistance without proper investigations, will lead to reoccurring issues that can negatively impact the finances of the company. Mostly the heads / CEOs of the company need to buy in on the "Why". Why is Quality maintenance important.

Quality consciousness is the key towards the success of any organization. It builds goodwill of the products and confidence among the customers and stackholders. Human resources, capital expenditures and operational expenditures are in my view are the major resisting factors for Quality improvement. Although considering the business aspect of organization they can be planned in terms of short term and long term goals rather than ignoring improvement of quality.

One of my favorite feedback methods is the “consider…so that” method. Ask stakeholder to provide their feedback in a way that ensures enough the context is understood. 1. Start the feedback with “Consider…” - this is the what. 2. The add “so that…” - this is the why. And a bonus to really be heard: provide a possible alternative or solution that shows how your feedback could be implemented.

Would you like to wake up tomorrow morning and have me great you with brand new instructions for how to do your morning routine? No! Of course not. It's the same situation at work when we make changes. If we want people to "buy in" to our changes they need to be a part of the change. I won't do a kaizen event without the process owner and the people that actually do the process as participants. They are the ones with the BEST ideas in how to improve the process. It's my job to expose the genius in all of them to find those great ideas through process improvement activities (kaizen is just one example).

It is important to understand "the law of inertia of habits" (Adamiecki) and the fundamentals of both: 1. How individuals adopt new ways of thinking 2. How groups adopt new ways of thinking, and Regarding the latter: both the "model line" (described by others here) and the "harmonization" approach have stood the test of time. With "harmonization," leadership initially avoids changing ?????? people perform tasks and instead changes only ???????? they perform the tasks, iterating toward "ideal," similar to role of the conductor of a symphony orchestra. Output often doubles or quadruples overnight without anybody working any harder, but working as a team. Job methods are improved later after trust is built with leadership and one another.

Involve them from the beginning since early involvement helps build a sense of ownership and commitment. Recognize and value the expertise of employees who are closest to the processes being improved. Their insights and practical knowledge are invaluable. Create an open and transparent communication culture where employees feel comfortable expressing their thoughts, concerns, and ideas.

Giving the employees access to skill-building workshops and professional development opportunities gives them the confidence to take on quality improvement initiatives. Employees are encouraged to explore new ideas and pioneer innovative solutions when organizations fully embrace the cultivation of a continuous learning culture. The leadership team's active participation serves as a shining example, demonstrating their commitment to fostering employee involvement and empowerment.

Be careful when linking processes with personal or professional goals or values of the employee, don't give promises hard to be realized, otherwise you'll lose credibility.

Align with the goals and objectives and clearly communicate that upfront. This is part of the open and clear communication to proactively ward off resistance to the change.

Pour aligner les processus d’amélioration continue sur les objectifs et les valeurs, il faut qu’au préalable, ces derniers aient été clairement définis. Des critères de réussite devront être liés aux objectifs dans l'évaluation des processus. Une communication régulière sur la manière dont les efforts d'amélioration continue contribuent aux objectifs stratégiques et aux valeurs de l’entité permettront d’attester cet alignement.

Ensure that performance metrics are aligned to organizational goals and do not encourage behavior that is counter to those goals. If employees are evaluated based on metrics that are not aligned with organizational goals, they may focus on activities that don't contribute to the overall success of the company. Along other things, this misalignment can lead to wasted resources and efforts on tasks that do not drive the organization forward. For example, in a service environment, customer service representatives incentivized to minimize call times can lead to rushed interactions with customers. This could result in unresolved issues, frustrated customers, and a negative impact on overall satisfaction.

Some people may argue that aligning quality improvement processes with the goals and values of the organization and employees is not always possible or practical. For example, in some industries, such as manufacturing, there may be strong regulatory requirements that dictate how products must be produced. In other cases, the goals and values of the organization may be in conflict with the needs of employees. For example, a company may have a goal of increasing profits, while employees may be more concerned with job security. Involve employees in the process and Use data to drive decision-making are the key to improve the quality metrics.

Quality processes never reach the nirvana of perfection. Opportunities to improve will always arise either through changes in regulations or standards, nonconformance a or audit findings, or potential for efficiency gains.

Promoting teams and networks that foster sharing, learning, and innovation in quality improvement is crucial. Additionally, encouraging cross-functional collaboration helps strengthen these processes, leading to a culture that firmly supports ongoing quality enhancement through trust and collaboration.

Si on prend l’exemple de la machine à café où où des membres d'équipes différentes se retrouvent pour discuter librement. Ces conversations informelles peuvent donner naissance à des idées novatrices et solutions collaboratives. De petites équipes peuvent alors se former spontanément pour travailler ensemble, sans forcément être calées sur la structure hiérarchique. Ici, la machine à café représente un espace de discussion où chacun se sent à l'aise de partager ses perspectives en apprenant les uns des autres. Ces interactions décontractées jouent un r?le clé dans la création d'une culture de l’amélioration continue où l'innovation et la collaboration sont encouragées au quotidien.

Humor and food are potent tools in building trust during healthcare quality improvement. In one instance, we hosted a "Process Improvement Olympics" with playful challenges related to a new patient flow system. Laughter brought teams together. Then, we organized potluck lunches, where sharing meals fostered collaboration. By combining humor and food, we made quality improvement a shared experience, bringing everyone to the table, both figuratively and literally.

Transparency: Be transparent about the process, progress, and results. Openly share data and outcomes to build trust. Remember that resistance to change is natural. Don’t shame individuals because they are experiencing it. It’s essential to address it proactively to ensure the success of quality improvement initiatives. Tailor these strategies to your specific organizational context and challenges.

One thing to remember: You should be fair with everyone. Everyone involved in the change should win at least something from the improvenents and the changes. If someone doesn't gain anything then you have to invent something for him/her.

My experience has proven practically that sharing the plan of implementation from the start and the involvement of teams in the development and design of the system drastically reduces any form of resistance. The key is top management leading by example and deploying the strategic objective effectively with sincere commitment and allocation of needed resources.

Ensure that top leadership actively supports and participates in quality improvement initiatives. When leaders model commitment to improvement, it encourages others to follow suit.