Quality management can be characterized as any activity that is coordinated to direct and control a company, to generate improvements in its products and services, ensuring complete customer satisfaction and exceeding their expectations. And it is not just the management of the organization that is affected by quality management. Suppliers, employees, and those who work with the company are also affected. This is all independent of the size of the organization, as well as the industry and the scope of the public.
So, continue reading and understand the importance and benefits of carrying out quality management in companies.
The importance of quality management for the company
With the market becoming increasingly competitive and the demands of the public are getting bigger (both nationally and internationally) it is of great importance that companies are concerned with the satisfaction of their customers. This is possible by continuously improving its products and processes so that, consequently, they obtain results above expectations.
Therefore, companies must seek daily to overcome new challenges, both in terms of quality, as well as productivity and proactivity. It has been a long time since quality and its concepts have been worked on by companies when developing their products and services, but always evolving their vision from time to time. One of the main quality references for companies is NBR ISO 9001, a standard that guides companies to focus their work on customer satisfaction, constant improvement, and process management.
Benefits of quality management
Quality management, when done effectively, is capable of offering many benefits to an organization. Check out some of them:
Greater business profitability
Processes aligned between all areas of the company promote business profitability, that is, economic success. Each real investment in mapping, standardization, training, and qualification becomes worthwhile, as it is directed towards the constant improvement of processes.
Improves the image on the market
The image that the company transmits to the market is of paramount importance. It can attract investment, attract the attention of talent, or engage in purchasing decisions, as well as having the opposite effect. So, you need to take care of the brand. In this sense, quality is one of the most essential elements, as it can enhance the company’s image, making it more reputable and desired. When there is no effort in this direction, it can sink the organization into a jumble of problems, scandals, and complaints. All the factors mentioned are central benefits, but it is possible to mention many other underlying ones, such as, for example, the increase in profit and the fluidity of daily activities.
Increases market competitiveness
The market is increasingly competitive. It is estimated that, of every 10 public companies, 6 close their doors before 5 years of activity. In this context, organizations that do not adhere to the philosophy of continuous improvement become less competitive, almost ineffective. However, companies that care about quality can make a series of positive changes. Processes become more agile, products become more powerful, and employees get more enthusiastic, and the number of errors/accidents drops sharply.
How to implement quality management in organization
ISO certification is the main reference in terms of quality that a company can show the market. Investing in the transformation of corporate culture to move towards is a good alternative to structure quality management. For that, it is enough to fit the criteria for the concession of the ISO 9001 seal, which are the focus on the client, continuous improvement, and the formation of leaders capable of transforming, among others.
Below are some tips to achieve these goals.
Map the processes
There is no way to improve the steps of a business without knowing what they are and how they interact with each other. Therefore, everything must start with a mapping of the processes, to understand the relationship between them, and to identify possible bottlenecks. Make a complete analysis of each area and then see how everything relates to the company.
Involve the whole team in the processes and provide training
For the management to be of quality, it is not enough just to think about the technical aspect, it is also necessary to invest in the human side. This can be summed up in a single word: engagement. Engagement occurs when the worker does not see his activity as a simple obligation, but as something, he has an interest in being part of. Each employee must be directly or indirectly connected to the quality of the processes carried out by the company. This depends on efficient communication and training.
A behavioral map allows you to get closer to the profile of each employee. This type of information facilitates the alignment between the type of training offered and the characteristics of the professional. Consider this type of approach to evolve your team.
Eliminate waste
In the search for space in the market, it is necessary to know how to act to achieve results in terms of higher quality and lower cost. If in any situation your first reaction is to cut spending on layoffs, or price increases, know that there are more interesting alternatives.
The Lean methodology is the main reference concerning the theme: drying processes without losing quality is essential. Good production manages to get the most out of the minimum. According to the Lean methodology, the idea is to focus on eliminating the following wastes:
- defective or reworking goods
- excess production
- stocks
- unnecessary processing
- movement in operations
- unnecessary transportation
- waiting time
Conclusion
Finally, we can conclude that the importance of implementing a quality management system lies in the fact that it serves as a platform to develop within the organization – a series of activities, processes, and procedures, aimed at achieving that the characteristics of the product or service meet the customer’s requirements.
In short, they are of quality, which gives us greater possibilities of being acquired by them, thus achieving the percentage of sales planned by the organization.