Creating a Culture of Excellence
By Nimbus Search Partners | June 21, 2016 | Insights
In today’s market, quality can make or break a company. With the
ever-growing expanse of social media, consumers now have
access to a plethora of information regarding a company’s product
or services; most significantly, other consumer’s reviews. This is
why it is crucial for companies to not only emphasize quality, but
to inject it into the workplace and their workforce.
However, this is no simple task. Creating and embedding a culture
of quality to make employees care about quality or finding the proper way to address quality issues can be a difficult task. The following are four important concepts to focus on when attempting to improve quality which research shows have the biggest impact on quality within a company.
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Article - Nimbus Search Partners
Article - Nimbus Search Partners
Leadership emphasis on quality
When it comes to creating an atmosphere of quality, a top-down approach should be a priority. It is important to have leaders and managers on board with the project so that they can emphasize to all of their employees the importance of the ensuring quality in their work. Having leaders that are engaged in the project and aware of where improvements are needed makes it significantly easier to make strides towards the goal.
Message Credibility
This concept is simple but easily overlooked. If messages promoting quality are not delivered to employees through a respected sources and in ways that appeal to the employee, they will not be effective. For instance, if a manager that acts like they do not care about developing quality in the workplace tells the employees how important it is for them to focus on quality, employees will brush it off because that is the example that has been set. On the other hand, if a highly engaged and quality-oriented manager does the same thing, employees will be more likely to get on board with the project.
Peer Involvement
Although strong management is needed to implement an effective quality improvement strategy, it also must be a collaborative effort. Employees should have a network of peers that offer discussion and accountability in terms of attempts at raising quality. If members of a team are given the chance to work through improving quality in their work together they are collectively more likely to actually change the way they work to do that.
Employee Ownership and Empowerment
In a quality-driven workplace culture, workers must understand how quality fits into their work as well as be empowered to make decisions that make that happen. Employees themselves experience quality first-hand in their work and therefore have the best view as to how it can be improved or what is diminishing it. If an employee has the ability to suggest change to create quality or challenge directives that impede it, the system will become self-regulated and foster a natural atmosphere of quality.
Going Beyond
Developing a culture of quality is not a simple task, and it requires effort from all participants to successfully do so. With the right example from leadership and the proper tools in place quality can significantly improve and create a business that only survives but one that thrives in a quality based market.
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