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Pin down the meaning of quality service before asking your team to provide it
Summary
The concept of quality is too elusive to simply direct your staff members to deliver it. Take a tip from a management guru: Don't just ask for quality--define it.
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Member F. Chan, a senior systems analyst for a health care
organization in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, sent me an e-mail asking how to
define quality service for an IT department. On the surface, this is an easy
concept to understand—quality is something that is excellent or
exceptional.
However, relating quality to management issues is certainly more challenging. Quality can mean different things to different people. For example, many end users of a LAN may consider quality to be a computer that starts up in the morning and does the things asked of it. Other users may see quality as easy access to a wide variety of software packages, while others may view quality as competent LAN technicians who are responsive and friendly.
Given the array of possible interpretations, you can't just let your team members devise their own notion of what quality means. If you want your staff to provide quality service, you must provide them with a framework and definition. Consider the following points when trying to define quality service for your staff.
Total quality management: Concepts to build on
Much has been written in an effort to define quality, primarily in publications addressing total quality management (TQM). Developed by W. Edward Deming and others after World War II, TQM has been embraced by many private and public organizations as a way to create an open and trusting environment for workers. Our focus here isn't on describing TQM, but we can borrow some of its concepts to provide a framework for quality service.
The search for quality service leads us to the examination of work processes, the people who make up the team or organization, and the people affected by the service. Here are a few things to think about when deciding what quality service means to you:
Quality is multifaceted
An important characteristic of quality is its complexity. If you ask a group of 10 coworkers to define quality service, you'll get 10 different answers. It might be tempting to respond by throwing up your hands in dismay and forgetting about quality. But if you resist the urge, you can instead examine the characteristics of your work environment, as well as the backgrounds and perspectives of your team members and LAN users, and develop a model of quality that works for you. The following sample questions may help you pinpoint some factors that might relate to quality in your situation:
However, relating quality to management issues is certainly more challenging. Quality can mean different things to different people. For example, many end users of a LAN may consider quality to be a computer that starts up in the morning and does the things asked of it. Other users may see quality as easy access to a wide variety of software packages, while others may view quality as competent LAN technicians who are responsive and friendly.
Given the array of possible interpretations, you can't just let your team members devise their own notion of what quality means. If you want your staff to provide quality service, you must provide them with a framework and definition. Consider the following points when trying to define quality service for your staff.
Total quality management: Concepts to build on
Much has been written in an effort to define quality, primarily in publications addressing total quality management (TQM). Developed by W. Edward Deming and others after World War II, TQM has been embraced by many private and public organizations as a way to create an open and trusting environment for workers. Our focus here isn't on describing TQM, but we can borrow some of its concepts to provide a framework for quality service.
The search for quality service leads us to the examination of work processes, the people who make up the team or organization, and the people affected by the service. Here are a few things to think about when deciding what quality service means to you:
- Quality is multifaceted. A LAN system (or anything else) will be considered to have high quality based on a variety of factors—all of which are important.
- It is important to develop a framework for quality that fits your situation. This framework will serve as the foundation for your efforts to create quality service.
- Promoting quality within a work environment is a critical management tool.
Quality is multifaceted
An important characteristic of quality is its complexity. If you ask a group of 10 coworkers to define quality service, you'll get 10 different answers. It might be tempting to respond by throwing up your hands in dismay and forgetting about quality. But if you resist the urge, you can instead examine the characteristics of your work environment, as well as the backgrounds and perspectives of your team members and LAN users, and develop a model of quality that works for you. The following sample questions may help you pinpoint some factors that might relate to quality in your situation:
- Is your LAN reliable? Has it worked well over time?
- Are users satisfied with the LAN’s performance based on their expectations?
- Does the LAN have the features people need?
- Do the LAN technicians have the reputation of competence among users?
- Are service calls answered promptly and are things fixed the first time?
- Do your staff members feel that their work is worthwhile and that they are appreciated?
- Who are the people you need to please—senior managers, users, team members?
- What limitations do you have in pursuing quality? Is it out-of date equipment; low pay, compensation and bonuses for employees, or an executive who just does not seem to like technology?
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