Tag: continuous improvement

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:

1. 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.

Managing teams is a core leadership subject within the CMQ/OE certification body of knowledge.  As a CMQ/OE and Education Chair of the local ASQ section in Tampa, Pro QC’s Communications Director recently instructed a webinar related to Leading Teams Effectively.  Similar training was also recently conducted for our team in China.  At Pro QC, we understand the benefits of effective teams as it relates to the delivery of value-added quality services that reduce our clients’ risks and cost.

With experience managing teams across 38 countries, our takeaways for managing effectively include:

The Right People – Selecting team members that have the right experience, skills and attitudes is critical.

Navigating Team Stages – Understand the five team development stages of forming, storming, norming and performing.  Leadership within each stage ensures smooth transitions and maximizes productivity throughout the process.

Approach to Problem Solving – Understand the team problem solving steps, but more specifically ensure that each team member is knowledgeable regarding quality tools that can be incorporated throughout the process. The Quality Toolbox is an invaluable resource here.