What do you do if your executives lack the essential skills for Quality Management success? (2024)

When executive leadership lacks the essential abilities, it can seriously impede an organization's capacity to attain quality excellence. In such circ*mstances, it is critical to create transparent, engaging, and inclusive collaboration and communication platforms that meet the company's unique quality management challenges and opportunities. These platforms should stimulate interaction, open communication, and prioritise quality improvement initiatives, which are motivated by a shared understanding and commitment to providing high-quality products or services. Organisations may reach their maximum potential and provide long-term, customer-centric solutions by eliminating executive skill gaps and cultivating a quality culture.

The first step is to assess the gap between the current and desired level of quality management skills and knowledge among your executives. I use various methods to evaluate the gap, such as surveys, interviews, audits, benchmarks, or self-assessments. The gap analysis should cover both technical and behavioral aspects of quality management, such as understanding customer requirements, applying quality management tools and techniques, leading quality management initiatives, promoting a quality management culture, and managing quality management performance.

Having worked in the garment industry for several years, I witnessed firsthand the challenges of implementing a robust Quality Management System (QMS) when executives lacked the necessary skills. Our company embarked on a program called the QMS Realignement Program to address this very issue. The program began with a comprehensive assessment. We conducted surveys and interviews with executives across departments like production, design, and quality control. This helped us identify specific areas where executives lacked the knowledge or application of ISO 9001 standards. For instance, some executives found data analysis for root cause analysis confusing, while others struggled to grasp the concept of preventive actions.

Trainingsprogramme sollten nicht nur Wissen vermitteln, sondern auch die Fähigkeit zur kritischen Analyse und zum strategischen Denken fördern. Ein Schwerpunkt sollte auf der Simulation realer Szenarien liegen, um Führungskräfte darauf vorzubereiten, Theorien in praktische, wirksame Maßnahmen umzusetzen. Dies steigert die Resilienz und Agilität Ihrer Führungsteams.

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Organize sessões de treinamento ou workshops para os executivos sobre os princípios e práticas da Gestão da Qualidade. Explique a importância da qualidade para o sucesso geral da organização e como ela pode impactar positivamente a satisfação do cliente, a eficiência operacional e a reputação da marca.

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The second step is to design and deliver suitable training and coaching programs to help your executives develop and enhance their quality management skills and knowledge. You can utilize various formats and modalities such as online courses, workshops, seminars, webinars, podcasts, or mentoring. Training and coaching programs should be tailored to the specific needs, interests, and learning styles of your executives, while also aligning with your organization's quality management goals and objectives.

The program emphasized continuous improvement. After each training session, feedback sessions were conducted to gauge understanding and identify areas for improvement in the training itself. Recognizing progress was crucial. We implemented a system where executives who successfully implemented QMS principles in their departments were acknowledged and rewarded. This boosted morale and encouraged further participation.

Feedbacksysteme sollten durch moderne AI-gestützte Tools ergänzt werden, die Echtzeitdaten und Leistungsindikatoren liefern. Dies ermöglicht eine objektivere Bewertung und fördert eine Kultur der kontinuierlichen Verbesserung. Anerkennung sollte nicht nur leistungsbezogen sein, sondern auch Innovationsgeist und proaktives Engagement honorieren.

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The fourth step is to facilitate collaboration and communication among your executives and other stakeholders in quality management, such as employees, clients, suppliers, partners, or regulators. You can utilize various collaboration and communication platforms and channels, such as meetings, forums, newsletters, blogs, social media, or dashboards. These platforms and channels should be transparent, interactive, inclusive, and engaging, while focusing on your organization's quality management issues and opportunities.

One of the biggest hurdles in our initial QMS implementation was a siloed work environment. The program addressed this by establishing regular cross-departmental meetings. These meetings not only fostered communication but also helped break down departmental barriers. Executives could discuss challenges, share best practices, and find collaborative solutions to quality issues.

Encoraje os executivos a liderar pelo exemplo e a promover uma cultura organizacional que valorize a qualidade em todos os níveis. Isso pode envolver reconhecer e recompensar o desempenho de qualidade, incentivar a colaboração entre as equipes e fornecer recursos adequados para aprimoramento contínuo.

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The program encouraged a culture of continuous improvement within the leadership team. Executives were empowered to suggest changes to existing processes to better align with QMS principles. For example, a suggestion from the design team led to the implementation of a new sample approval process, minimizing errors in production. This instilled a sense of ownership and innovation in the leadership, making them champions of the QMS.

Fördern Sie eine Kultur, in der Fehler als Lernmöglichkeiten gesehen werden und iterative Ansätze (wie Agile und Lean Management) zur Norm werden. Dies ermutigt Führungskräfte, Risiken intelligent zu managen und fördert eine schnellere Anpassung an neue Marktbedingungen.

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The sixth and final step is to assess and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your quality management skills development program for your executives, as well as your organization's quality management performance and results. You can use various measures and indicators to assess and improve, such as customer satisfaction, employee engagement, process quality, product quality, or financial performance. These assessment and improvement measures and indicators should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound), and aligned with quality management standards and your organization's and stakeholders' expectations.

The program wasn't a one-time fix. Regular audits were conducted to assess the effectiveness of the implemented QMS. These audits identified areas where further training or process adjustments were needed. Additionally, the program itself was reviewed periodically to adapt to changing needs and industry best practices.

Ajude os executivos a implementar sistemas e processos de Gestão da Qualidade em suas respectivas áreas de responsabilidade. Isso pode incluir a definição de metas e métricas de qualidade, o estabelecimento de procedimentos operacionais padrão e a introdução de ferramentas de monitoramento e melhoria contínua.

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Integrieren Sie ethische Überlegungen und Nachhaltigkeitspraktiken in Ihr QM-System. Dies beinhaltet die Bewertung von Lieferketten, die Minimierung von Umweltauswirkungen und die Förderung von fairer Arbeit. Solche Praktiken sind nicht nur ethisch wichtig, sondern stärken auch das Markenimage und die Kundenloyalität.

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