What does maintaining a healthy lifestyle mean to you? Are there things you need to do daily to attain and maintain it? Do you have a specified way you choose or forgo things? As humans, it is natural to prefer activities that generate high value when we engage. 

Business health can be determined by the quality of daily activities. Prioritizing quality in every business task contributes to customer happiness. Do you have a clear picture or definition of what quality is at every stage of production and operation? Does your team understand the definition and focus on ensuring quality in every task? Is quality a critical business focus and a consistent habit of your business operations?

One day my manager asked me to support the Business Development function at work and I was very excited. In the first week, I developed a list of twenty-five leads and shared them when she asked whether they were qualified leads. A quick stop and check highlighted that they were possibly not the best quality. 

It begs the question: how do we ensure quality in every process? Allow us to share five keys to quality assurance in our organisations.

Define

Do you know that what quality means to you differs from what it means to the rest of the team? We have different perceptions of what quality implies. Define quality in every organizational function taking into consideration customers’ expectations. Besides, involve teams in creating quality guidelines like policies and process manuals to be applied across business functions. The quality policies and processes should be documented, signed by management, and easily accessible to the team. Quality goals and objectives are critical for business success.

Measure

It is almost impossible to know the progress of anything without having a way of measuring it. How do you measure the success of your business processes? The quality of your products and services can be measured by customer feedback. What are your customers saying? Do you have repeated business? Are referrals overwhelming? What are your employees saying? 

Analysis

Did you know that data-driven decision-making drives change? How do you collect data? How does this data support decision-making? An analysis is making sense of the information collected. Utilize data analytical tools to help you analyze and interpret data. Data analysis can help you have a clear picture of your business for continuous improvement. The results of the analysis will determine whether the business processes are meeting the defined quality objectives.

Improve

Did the analysis leave you happy or shocked? There is always room for improvement either way. If all your processes are meeting their goals and objectives, there is a need to redesign the standards and review them upwards. If there are process gaps identify opportunities for improvements. Solutions are usually within the team that is involved in everyday operations. 

Control

If you find a way that works, do yourself justice by maintaining it. Set control measures to ensure that nothing deviates from the standard way. Daily actions now become habits.

To give customers value for their money, provide quality goods and services, at the right time, at the right place, and for the right price. A business is a tool to express your desire for value in the world.

Happy World Quality Day!

#Processmanagement #Growth #Businessgrowth #Processes #TopTier 

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Lucy Moragwa is a Business Process Analyst with dynamic experience spanning several industries including construction, technology, retail, media, advertising, and branding. She is specialised in helping organisations develop operational efficiency and increase revenue, business process improvement and using root cause analysis to identify issues and develop process improvements. The heart of her work is to help organisations achieve cost savings through exceptional planning and implementation of business processes.