Staff sees no tangible ISO 9001 benefits in 12 months

[kgott]

I’m providing the knowledge and the skill to apply the requirements of ISO 9001 to this business. A few days ago I had a performance appraisal. (yea, I know that’s another issue itself.) One of the things that came out of it was that I was told that the feedback says that the staff are not seeing any tangible benefits of 12 months worth of effort.

I have been concerned about this possibility my self for a while. The brains trust here decided a while back that progress to date should be rolled out to the staff. In this role out I stated that the staff would gets these benefits.

· A better defined project delivery system that is more efficient and effective.
· Greater control over project delivery processes
· Increased capacity to achieve planned results due to more stable processes

While I believe the staff should see the above benefits I have to admit that I’m not supprised that they don’t seem to be seeing them but why I don’t really know why, I’m just going by instinct.

My response at the performance appraisal was to state that a quality system consisted of a quality policy and objectives, (there are no real objectives in the company quality policy which will not change,) the 6 mandatory procedures and the records in the categories stated in the standard, plus the processes required for the operation of the business, in other words the project delivery processes the staff have been using for years.

I accept responsibility for this state of affairs although I will say that that due to the collaborative management style in use here and the shortage of bodies, it takes an inordinate amount of time to get approval for documentation from the brains trust.

While I have been working in quality for a couple of years and I have learned a lot from the Cove, I do not have any previous experience in integrating ISO into a business so this is a blind spot for me so I am appealing to those who are experienced in integrating ISO 9001 into a business for ideas and clues on;

Why have the staff not seen the above benefits

What can I do to turn this around.

Thank you in advance

 

[Big Jim]

You company suffers from a lack of management commitment. If there was commitment from the very top, there would be no whimpering from the mid level managers and little if any from the troops. They simply don't believe it will work and don't put the forth the effort that is needed.

 

[Randy]

At the minimum you should get out that equal to what you put in.

In never ceases to amaze me how organization expect to get ice cream without putting, cream, sugar, eggs and some cold into the mix.

 

[Jeff Frost]

Another thought on this matter is possibly that the job of integrating ISO into the day to day operations has not caused any waves. I remember years ago talking with my father, he was an Administration Officer in the Marine Corps (U.S., Not Royal). He was telling me about how his troops would tell him that they enjoyed working for him because he didn’t make any changes in how the office ran, unlike the other officers before him. He then would start ask these troopers questions about all the changes that were made under his command which they never realized they had made for him. Dad had a way of making the needed changes in a way that always resulted in his troops believing that it was their ideas in the first place.

What you might try, in this situation, is to advertise the changes that have been made and will be made in the future under your implementation. Write an article for your company newsletter; send emails to staff members thanking them for their help as you implemented an ISO requirement in their area, in meetings talk up how, with the help of others, you were able to use the existing company methods to meet the requirements of the Standard without impacting day to day operations of the company. Don’t brag, but at least let people know what you’re doing.

 

[kgott]

Yes; thats right Randy but what can I do to turn this situation around?

As the 'in house guru' I have a blind spot because I'm not perfect but I have to come up with the answer so, please, what can I do so the staff can see tangible benefits of our q management system?

thanks

 

[Randy]

Yes; thats right Randy but what can I do to turn this situation around?

As the 'in house guru' I have a blind spot because I'm not perfect but I have to come up with the answer so, please, what can I do so the staff can see tangible benefits of our q management system?

thanks

Get with folks and ask them what their expectations are with the QMS and then ask "What will you do to help make it happen?"

Hey Jeff, that's basically what you said (I'm Marine Corps trained as well and I trained officers)

 

[Jeff Frost]

Randy,

Kgott just got his post up before I did.

Semper Fi to your on being a Marine, I was never able to serve because of knee issues but did make the rounds at both west and east coast MCAS plus Hawaii and Guam as Dad was transferred.

 

[Wes Bucey]

This is essentially a Change Management issue, not strictly "benefits" from ISO 9001.

I've written on Change Management a number of times over the years here in the Cove.
Two links to review:
http://elsmar.com/Forums/showpost.php?p=420607&postcount=8
http://elsmar.com/Forums/showpost.php?p=385727&postcount=2

In general, the following is my approach to Change Management

Well, if the folks you are trying to reach use the phrase implying "[quality folk] are an annoying bunch of s**ts, and 9001 is just a pain in the posterior and a matter of ticking boxes so the gods who are *** give us the nod and certificate." I have a pretty good hunch that a questionnaire which requires "boxes to be ticked off" is only going to tick off tempers!

Personally, I've always found success using some basic techniques of Change Management

1. Address the human side
2. start at the top
3. involve every layer of the organization (and up and down the supply chain)
4. make the formal case (Three steps should be followed in developing the case: First, confront reality and articulate a convincing need for change. Second, demonstrate faith that the company has a viable future and the leadership to get there. Finally, provide a road map to guide behavior and decision making. Leaders must then customize this message for various internal audiences, describing the pending change in terms that matter to the individuals. )
5. create ownership (by involving people in identifying problems and crafting solutions. It is reinforced by incentives and rewards. These can be tangible (for example, financial compensation) or psychological (for example, camaraderie and a sense of shared destiny.))
6. communicate the message (written, verbal, visual [actions speak louder than words])
7. assess the cultural landscape
8. address culture specifically
9. prepare for the unexpected
10. speak to the individual (not the mob)

Consultants such as I have been counseling companies on successful Change Management for a long time. I do not want to imply it is easy to accomplish a successful change in an organization, but it is doable. It is NOT an overnight miracle, but takes weeks and months of careful nurturing to bring to fruition. Normally, change must come from the top, but I have seen some middle level folk use power of persuasion to convince top managers to kick start and follow through on Change - it "ain't easy" that way and more than one mid-level person has been the slain messenger when he couldn't persuade the top bosses to move forward. As a consultant, I won't even begin to make a proposal until I have assessed the commitment of the top dogs in an organization.

 

[Colin]

To add to the excellent replies so far, I would add that the benefits of a good QMS don't come along too quickly in most cases. Systems take time to mature and become the normal way of working. That is why the Check and Act elements of the PDCA model are so important.

Now that you have the system 'bedded in' you can start to use the basic tools of improvement such as objectives (you already pointed out that these could be improved) and a strategy to achieve them; internal audits - start auditing for improvements, not just compliance; data analysis - but you can only do this if people are providing data from sources such as complaints and nonconforming products etc.

 

[harry]

Sometimes, it could be due to just one word - 'Communication'

1. There could be oversell and/or over promises during the start resulting in unrealistic expectations a year down the road.

2. In many organizations, there is a lack of periodic communication on results attained or progress made (however small it may be) to the operations people who does not have access to such information. As a result, they had this perception.