How To Create A Quality Management System

Successful organizations have figured out that customer satisfaction has a direct impact on the bottom line.

Creating an environment that supports a quality culture requires a structured, systematic process.

Following are steps to implementing a quality management system that will help to bring the process full circle.

Let's begin by defining the word quality.

Quality Defined:

"A subjective term for which each person has his or her own definition. In technical usage, quality can have two meanings: (1) the characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs and (2) a product or service free of deficiencies."
American Society for Quality (ASQ)

A Quality Management System is "The organizational structure, processes, procedures, and resources needed to implement, maintain, and continually improve the management of quality." –
American Society for Quality (ASQ)

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management approach to long-term success through customer satisfaction.

TQM focuses on the development of products and services that meet the needs and exceed the expectationsof key customer groups.

This is accomplished by creating an integrated "system" that is process-centered, has total employee involvement, and is completely customer focused.

Creating a culture that is customer-focused, and collecting and studying data that supports efforts for the customer are critical components to the system.

Steps to Creating a Total Quality Management System

1. Clarify Vision, Mission, and Values

Employees need to know how what they do is tied to organizational strategy and objectives.

All employees need to understand where the organization is headed (its vision), what it hopes to accomplish (mission), and the operational principles (values) that will steer its priorities and decision making.

Develop a process to educate employees during new employee orientation and communicate the mission, vision, and values as a first step.

2. Identify Critical Success Factors (CSF)

Critical success factors help an organization focus on those things that help it meet objectives and move a little closer to achieving its mission.

These performance-based measures provide a gauge for determining how well the organization is meeting objectives.

Some example CSF:

Financial Performance

Customer Satisfaction

Process Improvement

Market Share

Employee Satisfaction

Product Quality

3. Develop Measures and Metrics to Track CSF Data

Once critical success factors are identified, there need to be measurements put in place to monitor and track progress.

This can be done through a reporting process that is used to collect specified data and share information with senior leaders.

For example, if a goal is to increase customer satisfaction survey scores, there should be a goal and a measure to demonstrate the achievement of the goal.

4. Identify Key Customer Group

Every organization has customers. Those that understand who the key customer groups are can create products and services based on customer requirements.

The mistake a lot of organizations make is not acknowledging employees as a key customer group.

Example Key Customer Groups:

Employees

Customers

Suppliers

Vendors

Volunteers

5. Solicit Customer Feedback

The only way for an organization to know how well they are meeting customer requirements is by simply asking the question.

Create a structured process to solicit feedback from each customer group in an effort to identify what is important to them.

Organizations often make the mistake of thinking they know what is important to customers and ask the wrong survey questions.

This type of feedback is obtained through customer focus groups.

6. Develop a Survey Tool

Next, develop a customer satisfaction survey tool that is based on finding out what is important to customers.

For example, customers might care more about quality than cost but if you are developing a product and trying to keep the cost down and skimping on the quality, you are creating a product that might not meet the needs of the customer.

7. Survey Each Customer Group

Create a customized survey for each customer group. This survey will help to establish baseline data on the customers' perception of current practice.

Now you will have a starting point for improvements and will be able to demonstrate progress as improvement plans are implemented.

8. Develop Improvement Plan

Once the baseline is established you should develop an improvement plan based on customer feedback from each group.

Improvement plans should be written in SMART goals format with assignments to specific staff for follow-through.

Goals May Include Some of the Following:

Process improvement initiatives: such as customer call hold times

Leadership Development: Walk-the-Talk

Management Training/Development: How to manage employees in a quality environment

Staff Training/Development: Customer Service

Performance Management: Setting expectations, creating job descriptions that support the vision, and holding staff accountable.

9. Resurvey

After a period of time (12-18 months), resurvey key customers to see if scores have improved.

Customer needs and expectations change over time so being in-tune to changing needs and expectations is critical to long-term success.

10. Monitor CSF

It is important to monitor CSF monthly to ensure there is consistent progress toward goals.

This also allows for course correction should priorities and objectives change during the review period.

11. Incorporate Satisfaction Data into Marketing Plans

Once you've achieved some positive results with your satisfaction data, use it as a marketing tool!

A lot of successful organizations miss the boat by not letting others know what they do well.

Customers want to know how an organization's internal processes work, especially if those processes help to deliver an outstanding product or service!

12. Technology

Make sure technology is user-friendly and supports targeted improvements.

For example, a website should be easy to navigate as well as easy to find (SEO) and the content should be easy to understand.

Final Thoughts

Make sure employees understand the vision as well as their role in supporting it.

Look for ways to ensure that all internal processes are standardized and that employees receive the training to understand the standardization.

Successful quality initiatives require ongoing Senior Leadership sponsorship and support through structure, process, and staff transitions. Designated resources are also critical in supporting these endeavors.

If you are interested in learning more about quality management, I highly recommend a book called The Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence Handbook, Fourth Edition.