One frustration for people working in a Quality role can be a lack of buy-in across the organisation.
It can feel as though people just don't see the value of quality.
One of the things we explore in the Quality Networking Group is how we define, talk about, and express the value of quality work.
Quality can be hard to measure and it's not always easy to show the value of your work.
The usual measure of success (value) is that the organisation passes the audit, but this approach can land responsibility for passing audits solely at your feet. It doesn't foster a culture of an integrated quality culture.
So how can you show your value whilst also supporting the organisation to develop an integrated quality system?
BUILD TRUST WITH TEAMS
There are several ways you can do this easily:
- Share your expertise
Don't try and hold onto the power of knowledge, share your expertise freely and willingly,
- Be available
Your role is all about the work people do and to understand this you need to be where the people are. Get out of the office (virtually at the moment) be the face of quality and be seen, often.
- Be positive
Sometimes you see the bad stuff, the poor practice, the risks going unmanaged but don't always be the voice of doom, be a problem solver and work with teams to solve their problems, this almost always gets more buy-in.
- Be interested in how people work
People don't generally come to work to do the wrong thing. Be curious about why people do their work the way they do and encourage people to be curious and look for new and better ways to work.
Quality is everyone's business and you lead by example.
You are the face of quality and that face should be visible, positive, and solution-focused.
Value is more than a quantifiable monetary figure and often the journey to feel valued is bigger than the work.
Consider:
- How valued you feel?
- How you communicate your value?
- The value you give?
- Your personal values?