Motivation of Internal Auditors - Anyone have any good ideas?

[M Greenaway]

Motivation

Anyone got any good ideas/experiences of broaching the subject of motivation in an internal audit report.

I personally think this is a huge factor in quality, yet one that is not normally considered in internal audit (maybe it will be more so in the 2000 version of the standard).

Or should we steer clear of mentioning motivation itself, and look for the reasons why people are not motivated ?

(I may have just answered my own question there - but do post any comments as we havent had a new thread in here for some time !)

 

[Michael T]

Clarification?

Martin,

What do you mean? Lack of motivation by the auditors or the auditors noticing a lack of motivation by shop floor personnel? I can think of a great many reasons why people wouldn't be motivated...

Cheers!

 

[energy]

Re: Motivation

M Greenaway said:

Anyone got any good ideas/experiences of broaching the subject of motivation in an internal audit report.

I personally think this is a huge factor in quality, yet one that is not normally considered in internal audit (maybe it will be more so in the 2000 version of the standard).

Or should we steer clear of mentioning motivation itself, and look for the reasons why people are not motivated ?

(I may have just answered my own question there - but do post any comments as we havent had a new thread in here for some time !)

Okay, I'll bite. Determination of motivation is like judging someone's appearance. They may look sloppy to you but the clothing is practical for their position. It's more about your "Mores". (I hope I spelled it right). Respectively, who are you or anybody else to judge my motivation? You can't read my mind and my actions may or not be motivated for different reasons. My motivation may be to get the badge only, to improve the QMS or just get through an audit so I can come back here and read your excellent posts. Motivation is in the eyes of the beholder and not something that you can rate with certainty. Obviously if I fall asleep while you are lecturing me on my lack of motivation, you may have something there. But, I could also just be hung over, like every Thursday. JMHO

 

[M Greenaway]

Mike

I was talking about motivation of the auditee's, not the auditors.

Motivation can be easily judged energy. I am thinking of a case in point where I was auditing the warehouse facility. Every employee I spoke to whined about the conditions they were working under, and such things like promised pay rises based on performance that never materialised, hence they no longer give a ****.

This is very real, how should it be broached in an audit report as it is very detrimental to quality ?

 

[Howard Atkins]

Not only do you think that motivation is important but

6.2.2.4 Employee motivation and empowerment

The organization shall have a process to motivate employees to achieve quality objectives, to make continual
improvements, and to create an environment to promote innovation. The process shall include the promotion of
quality and technological awareness throughout the whole organization.
The organization shall have a process to measure the extent to which its personnel are aware of the relevance and
importance of their activities and how they contribute to the achievement of the quality objectives [see 6.2.2 d)].

TS16949
This is from VDA 6.1 which is the original for this demand

04.6 Are there measures for the motivation and promotion of quality awareness?

Explanation of terms:
"Motivation" means the readiness of employees to perform well.
"Quality awareness" is shown by the attitude of individual employees to quality issues."
Requirements/Explanation:
The continuous improvement of quality awareness in all organizational units
may be achieved, for example, through:
- Improvement suggestions
- Quality circles
- Zero defect programs
- Poster campaigns, competitions
- Training, information meetings
- Awards
- Workshops.
The quality and performance capabilities of a company are not only dependent on the technical and organizational capabilities and the business resources, but far more so, on the qualification and readiness of employees to perform well.

Does this help?

 

[Michael T]

Hmmmmm....

Howard Atkins said:

6.2.2.4 Employee motivation and empowerment

The organization shall have a process to motivate employees to achieve quality objectives, to make continual
improvements, and to create an environment to promote innovation. The process shall include the promotion of
quality and technological awareness throughout the whole organization.
The organization shall have a process to measure the extent to which its personnel are aware of the relevance and
importance of their activities and how they contribute to the achievement of the quality objectives [see 6.2.2 d)].

Howard,

Where did this come from?

Thanks!

 

[M Greenaway]

Thanks Howard.

We are actually intending to gain TS16949:2002 approval some day, so i'll get the buggers then, er I will help the organisation improve then.

 

[Howard Atkins]

Re: Hmmmmm....

Michael T said:



Howard,

Where did this come from?

Thanks!

VDA 6.1 4th edition

 

[Michael T]

I see now...

Thanks Howard! I couldn't tell which quote was from what and I don't have a copy of that standard. I am sometimes easily confused...

No Martin, I don't work in that type of organization. Wish I did. Just this morning an employee was grousing about not getting a raise this past year. In trying to cast his percieved problem in a different light, I asked him if he knew anyone who was laid off during this recession. He, of course, indicated that he knew quite a few people. I then asked him if he knew anyone who was about to be laid off. Again, he indicated he knew some people who were slated for the chopping block. I simply asked, "It's good not to be them, isn't it?"

While I don't believe that this motivated the employee in any way, shape or form, I hope it caused him to think about his situation with a little more global perspective.

Motivation is a difficult thing. There are a lot of seminars and workshops, etc. out there that try to say they can teach you how to motivate people. I don't buy it. I believe that management cannot motivate one single solitary individual. Not in the long-term. Sure, I can motivate someone to do something with the carrot & stick approach or the whip and chains approach. But that is purely short-term and has no lasting effect. IMO, motivation has to come from within the individual. The only way management can tap into that intrinsic motivation is to make sure the working environment is condusive to allow that motivation to work.

Can this work? Sure. I've seen it. The only problem is the environment was allowed to slide back to status-quo and motivation was worse than it ever was.

Now - to answer your original question - under ISO, motivation is not an auditable item. Can it be mentioned? I think it depends upon the rapport you have with the auditee. If you have good working relations - you might mention it off to the side, but not as an item in the exit briefing. As Energy said - employee motivation is subjective. What may appear to be "motivated" to one person may be apathy to another.

FWIW, I hope this helps.

Cheers!!

 

[M Greenaway]

Interesting Michael.

I guess the organisation should discover what motivates an individual, and then ensure that the person is suitably motivated.

Difficult I would imagine if the motivation is purely money !!