Serious question - how do you answer the question "What do you do?" when the person asking has no idea what quality is all about?

Example - The VP of a bank asked me recently "What do you do?" and I replied that I work with our ISO 9001 programs and procedures - bank VP did not know what that meant.

Now, when my 3 year old asks me what I do, I say "paperwork". But I'd never really answered the question for an educated person who just didn't know anything about manufacturing, quality, or quality standards. I explained that ISO was a system to ensure that we turn out quality product to our customers and that means I spend a lot of time with internal audits, procedures, quality manual information, etc. and I think I did okay. But it got me wondering what others say when asked.

P.S. -- had no clue where to post this but I am curious to see replies - please move it to whatever thread best suits this type of inquiry. Thank you.

Serious question - how do you answer the question "What do you do?" when the person asking has no idea what quality is all about?

Now, when my 3 year old asks me what I do, I say "paperwork".

When my daughter was young, I overheard her describing my job as "going to meetings". She is now 23 and working for a living. Three weeks into the job, she complained that she spent the whole day in meetings and what a waste it was. By the way, she is a licensed social worker for elderly care and Alzheimer patients so it is not just our profession that can struggle describing what we do. Maybe your child is more observant than you think.

Most people understand the concept of product quality and customer service so I try to describe the work that way rather than talking about statistics and ISO standards.

Bill Pflanz

Serious question - how do you answer the question "What do you do?" when the person asking has no idea what quality is all about?

Example - The VP of a bank asked me recently "What do you do?" and I replied that I work with our ISO 9001 programs and procedures - bank VP did not know what that meant.

Now, when my 3 year old asks me what I do, I say "paperwork". But I'd never really answered the question for an educated person who just didn't know anything about manufacturing, quality, or quality standards. I explained that ISO was a system to ensure that we turn out quality product to our customers and that means I spend a lot of time with internal audits, procedures, quality manual information, etc. and I think I did okay. But it got me wondering what others say when asked.

P.S. -- had no clue where to post this but I am curious to see replies - please move it to whatever thread best suits this type of inquiry. Thank you.Good question. Of course when people ask ME about Quality and my role, they are in for a long haul. I explain how Quality fits with ANY type of organization. I frequently quote from my ASQ Profile:


I believe an effective Quality Management System (QMS) is a profit center, NOT a ‘cost item.’
My entire career has been centered on the concept ‘Quality should be involved in every aspect of a company - including executive planning, administration, marketing, purchasing, design, production, shipping, and service.’
This concept holds true whether the company is a manufacturer or service company (banking, insurance, communications, transportation, construction, janitorial, etc.) The major emphasis is on pleasing or delighting the customer while maintaining or increasing organizational profitability. (In the case of non-profits, does the organization's performance delight both recipients and the contributors? If so, the organization will continue to thrive.)
I put more emphasis on ‘big picture’ and ‘company culture’ than on metrics. If all the members of the organization are indeed working together, metrics are a natural function of identifying areas to improve. If the organization is NOT working together, the imposition of metrics can be draconian and serve to divide the culture even more.
I have a special interest in Document Management and Control, especially concerning Configuration Management (ensuring only the most recent revised version is available for production and assuring backward and forward compatibility between versions or withdrawing non-compatible versions.)

If it's a banker, I talk about how the principles of Quality can be applied to banking. I rarely miss an opportunity to "preach the Gospel of Quality."

This is a great question/thread because it DOES come up from time to time. Years ago when I brought my young daughter to work, I was at the time creating control plans, with part sketches and flow diagrams. She told her class I drew pictures all day long.

Just yesterday an acquaintence asked, "what do you do?". I told him it is not as easy to explain as, say, a fireman or a teacher. Schools do not cover, even on "career day", Quality positions. So I described it as such (as I normally do): I help management make sure their systems run effectively and their products meet customer requirements.

If they're more familiar with manufacturing environments I give them more specifics (day to day activities). If they are not at all familiar with the business, I leave it at that (italicized above) and change the subject. :yes:

You help to define and manage organizational risk with regards to your product and operational quality.

Impressed? :D

I crunch numbers.

One thing that helps is I actually keep charts on myself. I have a chart of how many charts made, response time on special requests, and attendance at the internal training session I teach each month (Hanford Performance Indicator Forum).

I have fun with the statement "I make x number of charts per month, including the chart of the number of charts".

I do state that I "mess with business students minds" when I am teaching evening classes . . .

I take steps to promote the success of my Customer, while managing the success of my Organization.

My tools include:


An extensive vocabulary
The ability to speak many languages from Sales to floor to Executive Management
A love of learning
Patience
Willingness to help
Open-minded
The ability to calm those who fear what they feel the System represents
An awareness that not everyone will believe in the System at first

I just read my post again - I meant no offense to bankers or the banking industry! I didn't really mean that bankers had no idea what quality meant - actually my friend understood the concept of "ISO stuff" quite well since the bank obviously has procedures and rules that must be followed.

Yes, my standard answer was "I do the ISO stuff"...guess I need to tweak that a little bit.

Yes, my standard answer was "I do the ISO stuff"...guess I need to tweak that a little bit.

My boss, when he was my new boss as my old changed departments (no, fyi, that does not happen a lot!...I don't chase them off!), used to introduce me to guests and new employees as "This is Roxane. She's in charge of our ISO stuff."

While shaking the person's hand, I'd smile and politely say something to the effect of "Actually, I'm not in charge. I just review the system occasionally to make sure we're all doing our processes consistently, effectively and efficiently. The guys out there (nod towards floor) are in charge of it. Besides, we don't like using the word ISO around here....it's a culture, a way of life, it's what we do and we have fun with it. I'm just a change agent."

After a few more situations like that, the boss got the idea and he now introduces me more appropriately. :D

I just read my post again - I meant no offense to bankers or the banking industry! I didn't really mean that bankers had no idea what quality meant - actually my friend understood the concept of "ISO stuff" quite well since the bank obviously has procedures and rules that must be followed.

Yes, my standard answer was "I do the ISO stuff"...guess I need to tweak that a little bit.

Little Cee,

I happened to be the first one to respond and I work for a bank. It never crossed my mind that you were trying to offend anyone. Since I came from manufacturing and did ISO, I have also explained the concept many times since coming here. I agree that the bankers do pick up the concept quickly. I believe there are some Japanese or European banks that are ISO certified.

Bill Pflanz

Little-cee,

This is above my desk and I just point to it and let them make up their own mind :lmao:

Greg B

Serious question - how do you answer the question "What do you do?" when the person asking has no idea what quality is all about?Clearly a valid question...

Of course, my explanation differs depending on who asks me, but generally I say something about helping to keep us in business by making certain that we keep improving.

The irony of it is that children seem to grasp the idea easier than many grown ups. What does that tell us:

My conversational powers are comparable to those of a child?:rolleyes:
Children are smarter than we think?
Grown ups are not as smart as we would like to think we are?
All of the above?

/Claes

My conversational powers are comparable to those of a child?:rolleyes:
Children are smarter than we think?
Grown ups are not as smart as we would like to think we are?
All of the above?

/Claes

I think that children are very intuitive and as adults we forget how to be that smart. Just my $0.02 :2cents:

I ask them if they know of a product that has improved over time and then I tell them - "That is what I do - I help things improve."

Clearly a valid question...

Of course, my explanation differs depending on who asks me, but generally I say something about helping to keep us in business by making certain that we keep improving.

The irony of it is that children seem to grasp the idea easier than many grown ups. What does that tell us:

My conversational powers are comparable to those of a child?:rolleyes:
Children are smarter than we think?
Grown ups are not as smart as we would like to think we are?
All of the above?

/Claes

The beautiful thing about children is their ability to cut through the $=!^ and get to the point. That is, if they feel free to do that.

I have had lots of trouble explaining what I do. People's eyes glaze over right away if I go into any details, like charts. "I help businesses make more money by making good decisions/fewer mistakes/their customers happy" is a pretty good start, I have found. If the explanation is one a child can't grasp, you're in trouble.

This is possibly because most people, even very highly educated ones, usually seem to think Quality is a hot hamburger--or some characteristic measure. It's true that most schools--even business schools--do little or nothing to teach otherwise. So how can we expect them to understand such a topic?

I recommend small words, getting right to the point, and expand on it when there's an opening, like when responding to a gripe.

I to prefer the simple and to the point approach. I usually say something like, "I help analyze and solve problems and help make changes so that the problems won't occur again."

Andy 6/28

I usually just say "Quality Control Systems".
Most people have been exposed to some form of quality control and at least know what it is. I used to like the old "Haines" mens's underwear TV commercial.
The woman inspector says "It don't say Haines until I say it says Haines"
However a lot of top management took issue with that, suppose they thought they had the final word, but hey, that's what they trained and paid her to do. ;)

Hi all

I know that this is an old thread, but what a fantastic and valid question!!!

I get asked this all the time and when people that I meet say "what do you do for a living"? I respond with "I manage the Quality team at ABC Company" their usual reply is :mg: "oh that's nice" "what is quality and what do you do":confused:

I get the picture really quick (they haven't a clue) and I usually reply with "well you see, I check that the labels are straight, the caps are within spec, the product is safe for consumers, we are using the correct cartons etc" basic stuff like that generally sparks some recognition on their faces. !!! :D

JJ