How can Quality regain its Independence?
Abstract
Organisations are getting very competitive to stay afloat and survive since the 2008 downturn in the economy. They are in a frantic race to reduce costs and maximize profits. Every penny spent is scrutinized to minimize cost.
Spend on Quality has not escaped this scrutiny and has been constantly threatened with reduction. Of course, the consequences are noticeable and impacting on the deliverable Quality teams can achieve.
While very few organisations are mature enough to recognize the value add from strengthening their quality teams, many others have slashed their budgets and side lined the quality function
It is no secret that in such climate, the focus becomes either the minimum outcome from a quality management system of obtaining the ISO certification or simply focusing on the minimum Quality Controls. The other agonizing trend is slotting Quality in operational departments losing them their independence. The result is that senior management are shielded from independent advice offered by the Quality teams
This minimalist approach is being seen as loss of independence and loss of value add. The only way this is going to change is by offering direct access to the quality advice directly to the leadership. This can only be offered either by direct employee reporting or getting this service externally
Introduction
Many Leaders wonder why they need Quality Management System after rolling out an ERP system. There is logic in this argument had they invested in ERP systems that address their business needs end to end. Most only implement core solutions for purchasing and finance. The rest is left untouched or undefined leaving gaps. Then when it comes to addressing needs of a properly implemented management system to an international standard, things start to become confusing. Organisations and their leadership are beginning to lose patience and look for solutions.
The answer lies with the independent advice on the best practice approach on how to integrate Management Systems including ERP while coaching leadership towards embracing Quality.This way, the advice they receive is independent, tailorable and can even be performed remotely, saving on overheads, while at the same time adding value.
This will raise some eyebrows. The mere suggestion of external advice will ring alarm bells of “Consultants”, a dirty word for many. Consultants are by now familiar with the image they now have. Many are also not sensitive to the perception by organisations that they are left with a report gathering dust from previous efforts. But it doesn’t have to be this way
The Problem
We need to agree a common denominator for what is needed by organisations and what is on offer to support the leadership teams by such advisers.
With offerings ranging from a certificate hanging on a wall with nothing to show for it in terms of improvement, all the way to comprehensive Total Quality Management at Six Sigma and Service Excellence level. No wonder clients cannot understand what to expect. There are plenty of choices on offer each with their own flavour of Quality ranging from academic approach to those who are veterans at what they do. Client’s needs are rarely understood nor have they been clearly communicated. This makes the possibility of clear value adding deliverable much less likely. There is also evidence that some are happy to offer six-sigma solutions to an organisation and spend a lot of time working on it, before implementing basic business processes or having some basic measures (KPIs) in place. The client should be openly and honestly coached.
We must coach clients to set off on a route for achieving a value-adding Management Systems for their organisation. A management System that will generate tangible Improvements. It is for this community to be able to put the case for Value Adding Systems as opposed to the certificates on the walls which is the aspiration of many organisations.
The costs of achieving and maintaining such systems will not be seen as money well spent, specially with crippling bureaucracy detected by organisations from paper intensive systems. Having a certificate on the wall while the quality is deteriorating does not raise confidence in Quality. It demotes and side-lines it which only serves to aggravate an already badly perceived reputation.
The Value Adding Advice
Very few advisors see the results of their recommendations to an organisation.Most would agree that advisers tend to have a role to play at some stage. In many cases when an organisation is under pressure from its customers to achieve an ISO 9001 in very short time scales or to win an order from a customer.
While many have been good at doing various jobs in their respective fields, not all can be suitable for such assignments.This makes it even harder for clients to select the right help or appreciate the competencies they will get. So it is hard to judge the “Success or Failure” criteria in the eyes of organisations. They only feel the pain after it’s too late.
How do we expect someone who has not embarked on a journey of Quality to distinguish between what offerings they will get. Quality expertise varies in Quality Control, Quality Assurance, documentation control, Surveillance, Internal Audits, External Third Party Audits, Six Sigma, Lean Six Sigma and so on.
It is very important to be clear on what the client is expecting from us. That way, we can promote specialized services to deliver to those clients.
Independent advisors do play a vital role but rarely do they come across as value adding in this activity. The focus needs to shift from short term advice to long term relationship that builds confidence with the client through achieved value add.
This can only be achieved if and when we start emphasizing the independence of these advisers. Independence that has been successfully tested and operated by companies for many years in other functions such as IT, Accounting, Customer Service, maintenance, procurement and many more. It is called outsourcing. Why can't “Quality advice” and “Quality Management” as a whole be outsourced? They can.
Conclusions and Recommendations
The world is changing and companies are changing as a result. Quality specialists need to change too in order to embrace new ways of working. Quality specialists have a big role to play in the current and future market trends also need to champion this change.
Customer requirements, tastes and Expectations are more demanding. Deliverable from Quality specialists are falling due to the cost pressures. Until and unless something we cannot foresee happens, there are no signs on the horizon that things will improve. Specialists with a wealth of experience to handle such change need to adapt to new ways of working.
Quality is about change which is what we constantly expect from others. So we should embrace it first to build confidence in Quality. The future is Quality. The future of Quality is by Outsourcing it. The future is QMSrs
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