Objectives - Your thoughts / suggestions

[michelle8075]

Because I value everyone's opinion in the cove, I would like your honest opinions on our Quality Objectives.

Our quality objectives include:
 100 % On -Time Deliveries to our Customers
 Performance to Budget
 Optimum feedback and Complete Customer Satisfaction
 Achieve Monthly Sales Target
 Continuous Improvements of our Quality Management System based on the ISO 9001:2000 Standard and use it to further develop our company’s product, processes, and performances.

Below each of these objectives, we state how we measure and analyze them and that appropriate actions are taken as appropriate.

Do you feel that these objectives are sufficient? Our Top Management put these together.

 

[Craig H.]

Hi, Michelle!

How do you measure "complete customer satisfaction"?

 

[michelle8075]

Hi, Michelle!

How do you measure "complete customer satisfaction"?

Hi Craig,

In our procedure we state this:

Optimum feedback and Complete Customer Satisfaction will be determined using customer satisfaction surveys, benchmarking studies, industrial/sector studies, analyzing customer complaints within our corrective action system, and directly contacting our key customers to determine their level of statisfaction. The results of each method will be analyzed and measured and appropriate actions will be taken based on the results.

 

[Jim Wynne]

 100 % On -Time Deliveries to our Customers

Not sure this is a good objective, because satisfaction of it may be thwarted by things you can't control (carrier problems, e.g.)

 Performance to Budget

Might not be reasonable, depending on the reasonableness of the budget.

 Optimum feedback and Complete Customer Satisfaction

"Optimum" isn't a good word to use unless you've identified and found a way to quantify constraints--"optimum" means, "as good as can be expected under the circumstances." Also the second part is probably not achievable.

 Achieve Monthly Sales Target

Are there companies out there that don't want to achieve sales targets?

 Continuous Improvements of our Quality Management System based on the ISO 9001:2000 Standard and use it to further develop our company’s product, processes, and performances.

I'd rather see something about improving the product. You can improve the quality system without improving the product.

Our Top Management put these together.

Some questions for you: How would they be different if you had written them? Will they help anyone to do a better job? Do you think unreachable goals are a good idea?

 

[QChas]

Be careful with "Performance To Budget"
Although I agree this is a good measure, if top management isn't commited to the process it can result in head count reduction. Trust me I was with a company that this is why the owner wanted it. The next hurdle was communicating the results of this measure to all the associates. Again management did not want to share this info. I am currently in the middle of the regiostration process with a small company and we kept them simple.
1) Customer Complaints 2) On Time Delivery 3) Scrap $$. All the associates understand these measures and they are easy to communicate.

 

[chergh - 2008]

I really like the performance to budget objective. Give someone a rubbish budget and get rubbish performance

100% OTD is also something I agree with, I don't see any point in having any other target for it to be honest, you probably won't achieve it as anything from a truck breaking down, boat sinking or customs waiting for a back hander to get it through quickly can delay this but it should still be the aim.

Replacing optimum feedback with something like "forging strong customer relationships" may be an idea?

Overall I think your objectives are good and you can always aim to improve them in future

 

[RoxaneB]

100 % On -Time Deliveries to our Customers

Is this feasible? I don't know what industry you're in, but in ours which is heavily reliant on carriers and rail (neither of which we control), 100% is not practical. And, I don't know how you measure this. We found this difficult to measure because most of our Customers give us a set date and understand that we actually deliver within a window of dates (as we can not control carrier and rail schedules or the weather). Is this 100% against a set date from the Customer?

Performance to Budget

Define "performance". 100% product made? 100% good product made?

Optimum feedback and Complete Customer Satisfaction

Someone has already mentioned use of the word "optimum". I hestiate at the word "complete". In your explanation of how you measure this, you mentioned Customer Complaints. By the fact that you have Customer Complaints (and we all have them, I'm sure ), you will never attain complete Customer Satisfaction. Personally, I prefer something like "Be the Supplier of Choice".

Achieve Monthly Sales Target

Again, is this feasible? My own industry is cyclic and while Sales tries their hardest , 100% achievement of target is not always possible.

Continuous Improvements of our Quality Management System based on the ISO 9001:2000 Standard and use it to further develop our company’s product, processes, and performances.

ISO 9001:2000 will not be around forever...how about CI of our products, process and performances to further enhance Stakeholder satisfaction?

I'd rather see something about improving the product. You can improve the quality system without improving the product.

Well, they do mention the product in the objective, but I think I agree with you. I'd rather see the focus on the product/processes/performances instead of the QMS and based on ISO 9001:2000. I don't know if ISO 9001:2000 really gives the tools for CI...it mentions a few (audits, review, data analysis), but it doesn't tell you how to use them for continual improvement.

Overall I think your objectives are good and you can always aim to improve them in future

I think the objectives that Michelle's management developed are a good starting point. But now it's time to see if they're SMART...perhaps when they review their 2005 performance, they should measure the performance against the objectives. This will help them determine if the objectives they selected are meaningful to them or if they should be revised.

 

[michelle8075]

Excellent points made everyone!

I have been expecially hesitant to post the objectives and train on them within my company because I wasn't really 100% comfortable with them.

I expecially hesitated on Performance to Budget and Achieve Monthly Sales Target. Performace to Budget can improve your final product. I say this because if you fail to consistanly meet or exceed expectations to your budget, you may sacrifice quality in order to purchsase parts or service that you need. Those parts or service may not be of the highest quality due to your budget.

Achieve Monthly Sales Targets.... this gets a bit tricky because the industry is not stable. I work in the automotive industry, as a tier one supplier of automation, coveyors, and standard products.

Reading though the posts, I do see where the objective wording needs to be tweeked so not to put my company into a corner during an audit. I appreciate all of the comments, and look forward to hearing more.

RCBeybette: It's funny that you mention "SMART". The Management who helped write these objectives has made us "middle managers" write our objectives to them in the "SMART" format. Now, it seems that they don't really follow their own requirements (LOL!).

JSW05: I do feel that sometimes you have to set objectives that may seem unattainable. My two cents on this is that you can't ever improve unless you don't push yourself. Something that may seem unattainable, might quite possibly be attainable and provide something great to your company. On the other hand, I do feel that Top Management should be constantly be reviewing the objectives. If you are always failing to meet the objective, well maybe it needs to be adjusted. The wonderful thing about the standard is that you can do this. It is what your company wants to achieve as far as CI.

 

[Jim Wynne]

JSW05: I do feel that sometimes you have to set objectives that may seem unattainable.

My objection was to objectives that are A) demonstrably unattainable or B)inclusive of factors beyond the control of those who are expected to achieve them.

My two cents on this is that you can't ever improve unless you don't push yourself.

And you can't "push yourself" towards a reachable goal?

Something that may seem unattainable, might quite possibly be attainable and provide something great to your company.

If a high school football team is playing the New England Patriots, cheerleading isn't going to help.

On the other hand, I do feel that Top Management should be constantly be reviewing the objectives.

Top management, if it insists on using the anachronistic MBO formula, is responsible for setting realistic goals. If objectives must be constantly reviewed, there was something wrong to begin with.

If you are always failing to meet the objective, well maybe it needs to be adjusted.

Which allows for setting the bar artificially low, so as to assure that goals are met. If you always fail to meet the objectives, what's the net effect? It doesn't make much sense to set and attain objectives if nothing gets better as a result, and if there's no deleterious effect, it doesn't matter if goals aren't achieved.

The wonderful thing about the standard is that you can do this. It is what your company wants to achieve as far as CI.

And you can do it without the standard too.