Today, most companies are taking some actions to ensure customer satisfaction.  For every action taken, there is an impact on the organization’s culture or mindset.  The Quality Spectrum can be used to quickly assess an organization’s current improvement actions, the impact of those actions on the organization and customer, and what steps are required to accelerate results.  As a company is able to move from left to right on the Spectrum, it will become more prevention oriented, costs will be reduced and more profits and customer satisfaction will be obtained. 

 IS YOUR COMPANY'S CULTURE BY DESIGN OR DEFAULT?

 The first category on the left side of the Spectrum represents an organization that produces a product or service, ships or delivers it to the customer and then waits to see if there are any complaints.  If there is, they typically spend whatever it takes to make the customer happy.  Unfortunately, not only is this an expensive way to do business, it typically disappoints the customer and creates a culture in the company of “quality at any cost.”  Companies operating at this level have the potential to double their profits.

This causes some companies to move one step to the right and utilize Quality Control.  They have decided they won’t let their customer be the inspector, but will find all problems before they leave the plant or office.  The fact is, inspection doesn’t catch all errors.  Even if they are found the best that can be done is fix the product or service, or scrap it altogether – a very expensive way to do business.  Again, customers are disappointed and the company develops a culture where quality is the job of the Quality Control department only.  Companies operating at this level are likely wasting 30%-35% of their operating budget.

Quality Assurance promises that by writing down all the procedures that should be done people will automatically comply.  Some companies work to achieve a quality certification if they can “document what they do and do what they document.”  Unfortunately, there is usually little motivation or time to read all the procedures that are created, and certifications alone have little long lasting impact on the performance of the organization.  Companies operating at this level are likely wasting 20%- 25% of their operating budget.

Most companies will discover they are doing a little bit of each of these first three categories – finding and fixing problems, Quality Control or Quality Assurance.  But it takes more.  What’s required is Quality Management, a process of engaging every employee in the process of preventing problems from occurring.  It’s never cheaper to do things over. 

Quality Management helps to ensure the right things are done right the first time.  Customers get what they want at a fair price, employees are proud of their work and the company profits increase as money isn’t wasted finding and fixing problems or offering the customer apologies, excuses or concessions.  At this level, the right things happen right the first time, reducing costs and maximizing customer satisfaction.

WHERE IS YOUR COMPANY ON THE QUALITY SPECTRUM?