Some of our inquiries at Pro QC come from organizations reaching out for reactive assistance that addresses current, significant quality issues. Once the immediate issue is addressed, ongoing quality efforts lose their luster until the next debacle. It can be a viscous cycle in which clients are faced with difficult decisions regarding accountability to stakeholders. Reactive solutions are also often more costly. But, quality is a journey. It’s a journey. Here are a few lessons learned as an organization offering over three decades of experience in the industry: A successful journey starts and ends with the right leadership. The organization’s leadership must support quality and ongoing efforts for improvements. And, that support must be communicated from the top, down in order for everyone to understand the importance of quality as a factor in decision making. Identify and regularly review targeted (applicable) data that provides corporate-wide incentives supporting quality performance. Think about how current incentives and KPIs used to evaluate performance affect overall quality. Celebrate achievements and identify opportunities from failures. Organizations as a whole must reward accomplishments and successful goal completion. In addition, the corporate culture should accept results that don’t meet expectations so that those examples are not repeated and are rather learned from. Stay focused on the long-term. It’s easy to get wrapped up in short-term solutions, but consider long-term solutions that will likely reduce overall time and resources required. Keep going! A journey doesn’t stop, nor should it. The essence of quality is continuous improvement, so think PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) to ensure you stay focused on the process and those short and long-term improvements. What are the lessons learned in your personal quality journey?
