It's never NOT about productivity

This series is for EXECUTIVES and high-level leadership who want to ignite excitement and make quality relevant in your organization.  This is the number one barrier for quality within organizations - getting the necessary buy-in, support and engagement from all areas of the business.  

The trouble is "quality" is very rarely seamlessly assimilated into daily operations.  This series dives into what traditional operations-centric organizations value most and how to plug "quality" in to support those values.  

Each week, there is both topical content AND recommendations that executives and high-level leadership can use to coach their organizations on how to communicate better and get more traction toward achieving real improvement.  

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The reason so many organizations are disenchanted with their quality system is because they fail to realize any real, tangible benefit from all their effort.  And they fail to reap any benefit because they’ve lost the plot entirely on why the system exists in the first place.  It is too often constructed for the sole purpose of being auditable or achieving certification, rather than for the sole purpose of actually improving the business through the use of the tools.

So, how do we "sell" quality and get our messaging right so that quality can actually become a valued part of our organizations?  Well, of course, we must start with communication.  How we communicate has everything to do with achieving the outcomes we want.

The first shift in language must be away from "quality speak".  The quickest way to get an eye roll from your audience is to start teaching quality methodologies using buzzwords, acronyms and other "quality speak".  Put these terms away until they're actually needed.  It's much clearer to urge a supervisor to spend more face time with team members on the floor than to tell them to "go to the gemba".  There are myriad ways to introduce tools that can really improve quality/reduce waste/increase output without using their "quality speak" labels.  "Quality speak" labels just construct barriers between functional areas.  Focus on desired end results that everyone can get behind.

The second shift in language must be away from "telling" and toward "asking".  The best way to "sell" quality is no different than selling a product.  A great salesperson doesn't start a conversation by explaining why their product is so great.  A great salesperson finds a need, and then offers a solution.  The best way to get people excited about quality is to create DEMAND for it.  And how can we create demand?  

Start by eliminating the objections.  Better yet, don't create your own objections by being a zealot.  No one wants to bashed over the head with a rant about why quality is important.  Being a believer and champion for quality is a delicate balance.  We have to be excited about it and believe in it ourselves.  But, by doing so, sometimes we fall into a trap of assuming that others, not specifically focused around quality, have objections or will be resisters.  Generally speaking, everyone understands the importance of quality, they simply don't prioritize it over other things.  OR, they might think that they must sacrifice something important to them in the pursuit of quality.  Don't create that objection either by being overzealous by overselling the idea of "quality" itself, or especially be differentiating quality from productivity.  All quality roads should lead to improved productivity. 

The third shift in language must be away from "because we have to for ISO/AS/IATF/etc".  Working onsite in just about every sector in manufacturing, this one is huge.  Using maintaining certification as a crutch to influence behavior is lazy and disingenuous.  NO standard prescribes tasks or how they must be performed.  The organization decides its own actions on how a requirement will be met.  It is up to the organization to determine what these actions will be.  Too often, the wrong people make the decisions about how a requirement will be met and prescribe activities that are both too cumbersome and not in service to better outcomes.  And whenever people question the value of an activity, a great leader will join them in that line of questioning.  Those making the decisions about the activities that will comprise the quality system must be extremely knowledgeable about any requirements and what will and will not pass muster to maintain certification.  They must ALSO be very good at simultaneously identifying the right actions that will ADD VALUE to the business, while complying with requirements.  

Create demand for quality by partnering with operations in a united pursuit of productivity.  Stop promoting "quality" goals with labels like reduced defects, cost of quality, reduced rework and focus more on output-centric words.  Work on things like "first time quality FTQ", but do it invisibly without the labels.  Focus on getting more of the right output on the shortest path possible, but without constant referral to a value stream map, for example.  These are all useful tools, and there is a right time to introduce them.  But, trust must be established first.  Trust that the support groups are working OPERATIONS' agenda and not their own. 

Relabel or remove the labeling entirely of some of the quality solutions that might be offered.  Here's another example.  Find ways to create a "pull" system for quality.  We're all familiar with "pull systems" for operations management.  But, flip the script on that and think very carefully about how that relates to the quality effort by-and-large:

1.  How much quality is needed?

2.  When is it needed?

3.  How will we know (what is the signal)?

These answers should come from operations - not as a prescription from the support groups.  Help operations leverage the tools they're already familiar with to identify and prioritize where help and improvement is needed.  Operations is typically very tuned into their hourly, daily, monthly metrics.  They know where the pain is, and they know what they're ready to tackle.  The quality group, CI folks or black belt crew may have all kinds of great ideas about this, but the shortest path to success is to have operations drive this particular bus.  Get really good at translating "quality speak" into "common sense speak".  The big gap is usually in the labeling wherein the common sense gets lost in all the labeling and overcomplication.  And most quality management tools, lean tools, statistical tools are really just levers driving common sense and good business practices.  I'll be the first to admit, as a big advocate for quality, I have to acknowledge one flaw in my tribe....we love "quality speak" and language so much, we can debate for hours the difference between "continuous" and "continual" improvement and "risk-based thinking" and "risk management" and the list goes on.  We have to be mindful that differences in terminology do very little to impact the overall performance of the business.

The benefits of simplicity and clarity cannot be overstated.

And executives, this is a great time to consider the metrics that are being watched, as well as your reaction to them.  Is your messaging clear on where the priorities lie?  Does everyone truly understand what "success" is?  Or are there competing priorities?  Leadership must do its part to simplify the vision for the organization.  Everyone should have some pretty clear answers to "why are we here" and "what are we trying to do?".  If this isn't the case, take a moment first to clear that up, and then to COMMUNICATE it clearly.  

You may ask, "So, are you saying we just never train anyone (except quality professionals) on any quality tools like root cause analysis - 5 Why, Fishbone, Vital Few, 5S, FMEA, internal audits, Six Sigma, etc?"  Of course not.  There is a time and place for training to a broader audience on these topics.  I'm simply advocating for a deft hand at influencing change in an organization from the start.  No one is looking for a solution to a problem they don't know they have.  There must be a patient plan to carefully identify where the pain actually is.  Too often, we get ahead of ourselves and want to unleash many tools without the careful consideration of which problems should be tackled first, by whom and with which tools.  Further, we often "push" quality (and training) into areas that aren't prepared or ready. 

Simple talk can inspire great things and pave the way for an organization hungry to learn more about how to win more!  The use of sweeping "initiatives" and rollouts more often than not, ultimately fail as "flavors of the month".  But, intentional and incremental change can have lasting effects and be a self-sustaining influencer in your organization.  

Each week, I'll give a few bullet points to make what we discuss actionable so that you can start transforming your organization today.  

This week's HOW TO GET IT DONE:

1.  Consider your quality policy and/or overarching messaging - what do you SAY  that lets everyone know that quality is important?  (And I don't mean a slogan).  It should focus more on the idea that doing things right the first time = better outcomes.  But, we shouldn't focus too much (and therefore get hung up) on reducing defects, lowering scrap, reducing wait times - the minutiae - without a clear understanding that all those activities serve the MAIN goal = better outcomes (efficient productivity, customers satisfied with delivery performance, etc).  They are not objectives in and of themselves.  Once these are separated as "other stuff we'll get to once we meet our production targets", it is very difficult to put them back together.  

2.  What MAIN metrics are you tracking?  Is anyone really talking about them?  At this very moment, are you winning or losing on your MAIN metrics?

3.  (Be honest).  Is everyone in your organization "rowing in the same direction"?  Look again at 2 above - is every group working toward achieving the MAIN goals?  Why or why not?

4.  Does your organization have any subset that IS setting the example you'd like to see followed?  If even only one work cell is really excelling, making them an example can help create demand.  We have a tendency to neglect things that are going very well in our efforts to improve where we have "problems".  This simply creates an environment where no one wants to be the focus of negative attention.  Why not try a new approach?  Highlight one small area that is achieving its goals.  Tell the story of how they are serving the MAIN goal of the organization.  And be sure to tell the story of how they failed along the way, to create a safe environment for experimentation.  This creates a demand for that positive attention and other areas get motivated to get some of that for themselves.

5.  Check yourself regularly on the use of "quality speak".  Using "quality speak" interferes with authenticity and the ability for quality to become an integral part of your organization.  If you constantly use the Toyota name for a thing, it will always be Toyota's thing, and not your organization's thing.  This doesn't mean you need to rename or rebrand every tool out there.  Just be judicious with the use of "quality speak".  Remember, no one's grandma ever talked about 5S, visual workplace or shadowboards.  But, she probably did teach you "a place for everything and everything in its place".  Be more like grandma.  

One of the most important things to remember, all-the-time, is that quality efforts exist for the sole purpose of supporting successful operations and the customer experience.  Our constant pursuit must be to leverage our management systems (ISO9001, ISO45001, ISO14001, IATF16949, AS9100, etc) PLUS our lean practices PLUS our Six Sigma tools PLUS our continual improvement efforts toward the achievement of better outcomes for operations and the customer experience.  

For some new ideas on this, get Tribal Knowledge - The Practical Use of ISO, Lean and Six Sigma Together, a simple guide to UNITE ISO9001, lean and Six Sigma to create a robust quality system with better results.  Read what ASQ American Society for Quality – Quality Progress Magazine had to say about it. 

Or for targeted, personalized support and coaching, let’s develop your skills as a quality advocate.  Available weekly, monthly or whatever best suits your needs!  We'll create a routine around your real professional situation.  Whether it's a specific project you're working on or general organizational management, you'll learn how to be an effective champion for quality.

And finally, for onsite consultation and training on any of your quality challenges, quality management systems, problem solving (root cause analysis), risk assessment (FMEA, SWOT), internal audits, management review connect with us today and we'll create a program tailored specifically for your organizations needs to get MORE VALUE out of your quality efforts.  No boring classroom conceptual training with too much "quality speak", just plain talk about how to get better outcomes.