Quality Management

Why your team needs to be engaged with the ISO process

Involving your team in the ISO process can be rewarding in many ways.

Barry Fairman

Whether a team member is new to the business, intermediate, or a long-time employee, all team members like to be involved with business updates and improvements.

Keeping team members engaged with the business can lead to empowerment, higher team morale, motivation, and in turn, higher quality output for your business — whether you’re producing a product or offering a service.

An important area of the business to keep team members up-to-speed is ISO certification. ISO 9001 certification, for example, is designed to help businesses of all shapes and sizes to improve the quality of their output through quality management.

There can be significantly reduced output without a well-trained and motivated team. So, in this blog, we explore the benefits of keeping team members involved and engaged with new ISO practices and processes.

#1. Your team will be more involved and more motivated in the workplace 

Sometimes, big changes need to happen internally to ensure your business can become ISO certified. No doubt these changes will impact how your team members complete their day-to-day tasks — for example, for quality management purposes, you might provide them with an updated list of instructions and tasks or a new process in order to achieve higher quality output.

Moving forward, your team members will interact with these new processes on a daily basis. It’s important to keep them up-to-date with the latest process improvements and update their individual training plans so they can become more efficient and confident in the workplace.

Plus, with more insight into new business opportunities and improvements, your team members will feel more involved in the business as a whole. They will be reminded they’re not just an employee or a face in the crowd — they’re an integral part of the business.

If all goes well, your team members will feel more motivated to achieve a certain level of quality using the new processes and training modules, leading to a higher quality output overall.

#2. There will be a greater sense of collaboration and teamwork

One of the major benefits of becoming ISO certified is the development of a clear common goal. After speaking to an experienced certification specialist and determining what areas of your business aren’t ISO ready, you can share your new, more defined goals with the team and work together to achieve them.

With more clarity, your team can work together using their individual skills and knowledge to contribute to the final project, product or service. Plus, with the end goal in sight, the team will work like a well-oiled machine.

Over time, you’re almost guaranteed to see a lift in the overall quality of your output.

#3. Your team members will feel better supported and more confident in their role 

With a new quality management system comes a new training plan for your team members. Depending on your business type, you can provide training to your team as a whole or provide training on an individual basis to cover each and every team member’s unique skill set.

No matter how you approach team training, your team members will feel supported knowing their training is up-to-date and you’re doing everything you can to make their job easier. An updated training plan will help them hone their skills and become more confident in their role — whether they’re working as a team or working independently.

#4. You can strengthen the feedback loop between management and team members

It’s essential to open up a feedback loop amongst the team as new ISO practices and processes come into play. People are resistant to change — it’s human nature to fear the unknown or feel uncomfortable when “the norm” is tampered with.

There’s no doubt team members will have some thoughts about the new processes – it could be positive or negative. The important thing is to open up a dialogue and discuss what’s working and what’s not.

Keep an open mind and remember all feedback is constructive. You want to improve the quality of your products and/or services, but you also want to ensure the team is happy, too.

Here are a few ideas to help open up a dialogue:

  • Send around a feedback form via Google Forms or Survey Monkey
  • Place a “feedback box” in the staff room where team members can voice their concerns or thoughts (anonymous feedback should be welcome)
  • Add a feedback session to your monthly staff meetings so you can discuss process improvements and changes openly as a team.

Take their feedback on board and determine how you can make adjustments to particular practices and processes to make their job easier.

#5. Your team members can look forward to more recognition and career progression

Need some help motivating team members to learn and adhere to new processes? Providing an incentive never hurts!

All business owners should reward their team members for their hard work and willingness to adapt to new processes. Incentives can boost morale and encourage team members to work harder or more efficiently, knowing there’s a reward waiting just around the corner.

After becoming ISO certified, consider developing a rewards system so team members have something fun and exciting to work towards. Think possible raises, gifts, or team outings.

Your team members will have something to look forward to and additional incentive to look for continual improvements in the business.

Watch your business performance improve through team engagement 

There is a wide range of benefits to keeping team members engaged with new ISO practices and processes. For example, team morale can be lifted, the team will have a clear common goal to work towards, and the team will work like a well-oiled machine to reach this goal.

The key is to keep communication channels open between management and the team, as well as keeping training plans up-to-date for a more confident, motivated team.

At QMS, we’re here to make ISO certification simpler.

Get in touch with our team – we offer certification services for a wide range of industries like construction and engineering, health and aged care, manufacturing, and more.

Image: Unsplash

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