There's no getting around it - an ISO 9001 certification will require time, effort and improvement from many areas of the business. However, the steps that must be taken are worth it for any company. The whole point of putting in a quality management system is that it will benefit business owners, employees and customers alike.

If you are considering becoming ISO 9001 certified, it's important to learn as much as possible about the certification and about the process. Rather than simply leave everything to a consultant, it's always a good idea for you to know exactly what you must do to get the certification.

In simple terms, ISO 9001 requires organisations to ‘say what they do, and do what they say’. They ‘say what they do’ by detailing their operating procedures, explaining how quality is monitored and controlled. They must then demonstrate that they ‘do what they say’ as they operate their quality systems. This usually involves keeping records of quality checks, tests and other activities, so that the system can be audited.

In previous iterations of ISO 9001 (before 2015) there was an emphasis on writing down your operating procedures and having a written manual detailing how your quality management was monitored and controlled. No longer - the 2015 standard has a distinct absence of the terms “documents” and “records”.

Documented information is a means by which an organisation demonstrates compliance. It communicates what we do and how we do things, it communicates what happened and what results were achieved. It is, essentially, a tool for communication.

There are many different formats in which communication can happen and ISO 9001:2015 makes allowances for organisations to use what suits them best. Documented information can be in any format, any media, from any source.

While some may be wedded to pieces of paper, the medium used can be anything: paper, electronic, photographic, samples, etc. The possibilities are not quite endless, but certainly varied. If an organisation would find it useful and appropriate, a wall-painting or mosaic may also achieve the required result!

Organisations are not obliged to relegate their quality manuals and documented procedures to the dustbin. While there is no requirement for an organisation to have or use either, where such documentation exists, and is of use to the organisation, they should continue to use it.

I still believe in an organisation having a Quality Manual, even though this is not a requirement under the standard. My experience shows that a good Quality Manual can be a vital a tool when referred to properly throughout an organisation - if it’s just a tome which sits on a shelf gathering dust, the only purpose of which is to satisfy the requirements of a standard (as far too many used to be), then this is clearly a waste of time and effort. 

But I find that the benefits of having a Quality Manual are wide and varied and applicable to most businesses. They:

• Communicate management’s expectations to employees
• Demonstrate the organisation’s plan to conform to the standard
• Demonstrate that organisational roles, responsibilities, and authorities have been assigned, communicated, and understood
• Provide company context for internal and customer requirements (you need to consider the needs of your own company and your clients or customers in setting up your management system - yes, this is a requirement of the standard, but it also makes fundamental business sense)
• Guidance in increasing efficiency and improving processes
• Guidance on having clear and concise communication throughout the organisation’s documents and between functions or departments
• And yes, not a main reason but certainly a useful by-product, it makes audits easier (both internal and any external ones you might have) as it shows how you are aiming to comply with each clause of the standard

This will really help you as your system will consist of the following elements and a properly-managed Quality Manual will help to keep tabs on things:

• a quality plan, and written Quality Policy which is understood, implemented and maintained at all levels of the organisation;
• a definition of the responsibilities of all those who affect quality (an organisation chart is a good idea here);
• a review of accepted orders to ensure that customers’ requirements are clear, and procedures which control the design of goods or services to ensure that these requirements are met;
• procedures to ensure that purchased goods and services conform to the requirements of the organisation and that their progress can be traced through to delivery;
• systems that ensure the suitability for use of any materials or services supplied by a customer;
• demonstration that processes are carried out under specified conditions;
• the control, calibration and maintenance of all measuring and testing equipment;
• a system which identifies and segregates all non-conforming goods and services and which specifies corrective action and identifies root causes for these;
• processes for any servicing operation to document and verify that it satisfies customers’ requirements;
• records which provide objective evidence that the work is being carried out in accordance with procedures and customers’ requirements;
• processes which identify training needs and carry out and record training for employees
• the use of statistical techniques;
• self-policing through internal audits and reviews (e.g. Senior Management meetings).

That's it for this month, next month we'll be taking a look at how internal audits work.

​This week we take a bit of a departure from our normal ‘written word’ format to give you a recent presentation we gave on practical steps to designing your business processes to put your customer’s needs at the centre.

It’s incredible to realise that:

• 81% of companies who provide great customer experiences and customer satisfaction do much better than their competitors (1)
• It costs six to seven times more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain an existing one (2)
• 84% of consumers all over the world trust recommendations from friends and loved ones, and they have a 16-25% higher lifetime value than those acquired from other sources (3)

Putting a Quality Management System into your business is not just about assuring the quality of your product or service - it goes much deeper than that.

If done correctly, you should develop your company processes - from initial enquiry right through to final delivery - totally centred around the needs of your customer.

Every decision your business makes needs to be considered according to the way it will impact your customer experience, even the decisions that might not seem immediately obvious.

Every member of your team needs to be engaged and understand how their work impacts the customer and their experience.

Your customer feedback is invaluable. That’s why it almost goes without saying that a business with a customer-first strategy needs to develop a robust management system to process and implement customer feedback and use this as the tool for continual improvement.

This video workshop deep-dives into what a Quality Management System is, how it works, then shows you how to strip down then reconstruct your company processes to make them customer-focussed. 

Being customer-focused isn’t a PR stunt - it’s what distinguishes the best from the rest. Just click here to view on our YouTube channel. Alternatively, just paste the following address into your browser:
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN8W8nI-RXM&ab_channel=TheIdeasDistillery

(1) “Customer Experience Maturity Monitor” report; Peppers & Rogers Group; 2009
(2) Business2Community
(3) “Global Trust In Advertising And Brand Messages”; Nielsen; 2013

Last week we looked at the basic elements of a Quality Management System, and the five questions customers ask themselves when weighing up the quality of your product or service.

This week we look at how we can use these five questions - relating to specification, conformance, reliability, delivery and cost - to judge what will be emphasised.

So, as an example, when you eat at a Japanese restaurant you may be more concerned with specifications (what can I expect when I eat there?), whereas when you eat at your local Italian restaurant you may be more concerned with conformance (is it what I expected?).

If you are eating at a Pizza Hut you may be more concerned with reliability (is it the same as last time?). However, in reality expectations are likely to comprise a mixture of these elements, in different combinations in each case. Customers are likely to have different expectations, even of the same product or service, and this may compound your difficulties. Also, customers may perceive the same product or service quite differently.

Returning to the restaurant example, some customers may see a meal as a means of enjoyment with family and friends, while others may be using it as a business opportunity to entertain their customers.

In short, the quality of a product or service is whatever customers perceive it to be: this makes it essential that you understand quality from your customers’ point of view. In some situations, customers may not be able to judge the technical aspects of a product or service specification.

For example, you may be unable to judge the quality of the medical aspect of an examination and diagnosis you receive at a visit to your dentist. You may therefore judge the experience by the dentist’s manner, the receptionist’s attitude, or even whether you had to wait longer than you expected.

Shortfalls in quality are likely to arise when there is a gap between what customers expect and what they consider they are getting. When such gaps exist it is almost bound to lead to customers’ dissatisfaction.

You need a plan

This is why it’s essential that you look at a plan for managing this. An organisation may use several different types of plan: business plans that address how it will anticipate, respond to and satisfy the needs of its customers; marketing plans that consider specific products or groups of products; production plans; IT plans; human resource plans.

Your organisation may have all, some, or even none of these plans. You may feel that you know what your organisation is trying to achieve, but that this is not written down anywhere. Whatever your situation, it is useful to understand the planning process in its own right.

For example, you may set your own preliminary objectives which could be precursors to the rest of your planning activities. You need to be clear about these two areas before you carry out any further activities, and you will need to keep the business objectives and environment in mind while you develop your own plan.

However, you will probably need to revise them as you go through the process in the light of the context analysis (the review of your organisation and its environment) that you carry out and if you do a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis. The results of the context analysis will help you to develop your SWOT analysis and this will help in the revision of your own objectives.

The SMART acronym for setting objectives is useful here. All objectives you set should be:

• Specific: “65 per cent of new customers who book a ticket for an event through the online booking service I manage will buy through us again within a year.”
• Measurable: “I will ensure that all buyers’ details are entered on to the database, that it is used for all calls, and that at the end of every month/quarter someone checks the percentage of new customers who have bought a second time (or more).”
• Agreed: “I will check with my manager that this 65 per cent target is relevant, reasonable and in line with the company’s overall objectives.”
• Realistic: “Although our current data is limited, anecdotally we believe that about half of our customers come back again. I have read articles that suggest that once people become familiar with and actually complete a particular online buying process, most are reluctant to seek out others.”
• Timed: “This target applies as from 1st September, although it will be a year before we can fully analyse whether we are achieving the target.”

There is a key point to this process. Imagine that you are a training company and you initially decide that you need to improve the quality of the materials given to your delegates. At the moment the teaching styles of the trainers are inconsistent, and you feel that the quality of what is offered is low and does not reflect the professionalism you wish your company to be known for. You therefore set as your preliminary objectives:

• to develop a set of guidelines for your trainers on the preparation of training materials;
• to develop a quality specification for training materials to which all trainers must adhere.

However, after conducting a context analysis and a SWOT analysis to find out exactly what is happening at the moment and what your customers want, it becomes clear that a major weakness is the quality of delivery of the materials, rather than the quality of the materials themselves.

You therefore decide to keep your two original objectives, but to add a third priority objective, which is to institute a training programme for all trainers.

The plan would be measured against the initial objectives that you set, and this might influence your next set of objectives. If you achieve the objectives then you may want to set even more challenging ones next time, or you may wish to alter your focus to concentrate on other areas of perceived weakness.

Like other planning frameworks, the one presented here could be more detailed and would need adjusting according to the size, sector and character of the business and problem you are addressing. However, its purpose is to stimulate your thinking about what you can do as a company to enhance customer satisfaction. 
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Next week: What you’ll be doing when implementing ISO 9001…

Ask yourself the following questions about your business:

• Do the same mistakes keep on being repeated?
• Is there lack of visibility between each of your departments or functions?
• Do you have a high customer churn rate, negative customer reviews or perhaps a declining bottom line?

If you answered yes to any of the above, then you should really look at putting a Quality Management System in place. 

The purpose of a quality management system is to ensure every time a process is performed, the same information, methods, skills and controls are used and applied in a consistent manner. If there are process issues or opportunities, this is then fed into the quality management system to ensure continuous improvement.

The fact is that ISO 9001 ticks two major boxes when it comes to choosing a QMS - it’s simple yet effective.

It’s based on a plan-do-check-act methodology and provides a process-oriented approach to reviewing the structure, responsibilities, and procedures needed to achieve effective quality management in any organisation.

The standard requires that there is a quality management system in place with certain control mechanisms that guarantee quality of provision. These can be generally broken down into:

• Requirements for a quality management system, including company and customer requirements, planning and determining process interactions
• Responsibilities of management
• Management of resources, including human resources and an organisation’s work environment  
• Product or service realisation, including any steps from design (if applicable) to delivery
• Measurement, analysis, and improvement of the QMS through activities like internal audits and corrective and preventive action

A big part of ISO 9001:2015 is about how to plan to continually improve your organisation, and one of the areas you’ll have to look at will be an assessment of the context of your organisation.

Among other things, a context assessment is really about ‘getting under the skin’ of looking at (bluntly) ‘why people buy’ - at least, buy from you. Buying a product or service can be seen as a problem-solving or desire-satisfying process, in which customers seek to match its attributes with their needs or wants. In this process, they look at the available products or services to see which is most likely to offer the benefits they seek.

There are five elements that customers take into account when considering quality. They can be thought of as five questions:

Specification: ‘What can I expect when I buy or use the product or service?’ The specification should enable potential customers to determine whether the product is likely to meet their needs.

Conformance: ‘Will it do what I expect?’ Any shortfall in conformance to the specification or customer requirement is bound to lead to dissatisfaction.

Reliability: ‘Will it continue to do what I expect?’ Clearly, customers will value a car that always starts first time.

Delivery: ‘When can I have it?’ It is important to distinguish between two aspects of delivery: availability and dependability. Availability is about when something will be ready for a customer. Dependability is concerned with the adherence to a delivery or attendance time once that is agreed.

Cost: ‘How much do I have to pay?’ A purchase is as an exchange, in which a customer obtains goods or services by offering something of value in return. Customers will be satisfied if the price they pay, whether in money or in some other form, equates to the value they place on the goods or service.

Next week we’ll explore how we look at these help people to judge what ‘quality’ means to them…

The Hubble Telescope, the iPhone 4, the Ford Pinto - what do all these have in common?

Well, these are all quite high-profile quality management failures. The space telescope Hubble featured the most precisely ground mirror in history which had been ground into the wrong shape, meaning its images were only slightly better than Earth based telescopes, and very distant and faint objects (the very reason for having an orbiting telescope) could not be seen at all.

With the iPhone 4 it quickly became clear that it was difficult to make a call - not the greatest feature for a phone. Independent tests revealed that touching the left side of the case at a certain spot interrupted the signal and dropped the call.

And while it would be easy to nominate the whole U.S. automobile industry in the 1970s for the prize of ‘worst quality’, the Ford Pinto is most well-known due to its design flaw making it a firetrap which Ford executives knew about but waited eight years to put right.

A Quality Management System (QMS) should be used to understand customer requirements, then manage internal processes (for example design, production, delivery, etc) so that they fulfill these requirements in an effective and efficient way, and continually makes improvements.

Now most of us are fortunate in that when important requirements are missed or processes run amuck, it doesn’t make International headlines. But not taking quality seriously will still mean that customers will still get upset and management and employees both might be unhappy.

This is why getting a QMS will always be a sound investment for any company. But what are the difficulties around implementing one?

Well, the first and probably most important question for you to answer is “what is your definition of quality and why does it matter to your customers?”

There is no shortage of advice on how to achieve quality. The only apparent problem is how to choose from among the innumerable models and methods on offer. 

Also, quality is something that everyone must be in favour of, as no one ever argues that there should be less of it. So, by default, we must assume that there is both the will and the way for organisations to improve the quality of their work. 

However, in reality many organisations seem to find managing quality difficult. If you have been involved in trying to implement quality initiatives you already know that it rarely works out that way. This can lead to cynicism about quality management and give it a bad name. 

All claims for a universal panacea in management should be treated with extreme scepticism. If it were that easy, there would be no unsuccessful organisations. 

Some of the main difficulties experienced by those implementing quality improvement programmes are: 
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• managers not fully committed;
• a concentration on short-term goals;
• scepticism due to a lack of organisational focus on quality;
• a loss of credibility as quality management becomes last month’s or last year’s initiative;
• teams becoming bogged down in trivia instead of tackling the important problems. 

The fact is that quality can be one of the most elusive elements of the business world. Company mission statements often refer to quality in one way or another e.g. ‘Delivering the right quality at the right price’. 

Many authors provide definitions of quality from just about every standpoint in the business world. There is no doubt that quality is important in business, but what does quality mean and how can it be measured? In the trade or sale of goods, does quality mean new, perfect goods? 

If it did there would be no room for the mass of retail outlets that sell factory seconds or rejects. There would be no market traders selling bags of broken biscuits. There would be no call for second-hand goods.

The trade in less-than-perfect goods or multiple owner (second-hand) goods is extremely lucrative and has made many a millionaire! Most of their customers would claim to be getting quality or they just wouldn’t buy. So are they getting quality or are they getting value for money? 

In the provision of services the same rules apply as in the provision of goods. If not there would be no room for no-frills airlines or Air BnB.

So quality isn’t an independent stand-alone factor. Price and customer needs or demands have a serious impact on approaches to quality. When we consider trade across the whole of the UK, quality becomes more elusive, and when we consider the whole of the EU, and finally world trade, it can seem too complex to imagine. 

It is this difficulty in defining quality that has taken the quality gurus away from the notion of a universal ‘gold’ standard of goods or services to a notion of customer demands. Customer demands are by no means uniform so there needs to be flexibility in any definition adopted.