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Step 1
Establish a "constant learning environment." Both management and labor must be willing to talk with and learn from each other, without fear of repercussions. Directed "bull sessions," safety meetings or any other informal gathering of the employees represents the opportunity for a free exchange of ideas between management and labor, if management and labor understand these teaching/learning sessions are for the benefit of all. An effective quality management system is a process of reducing the number of errors and omissions through questioning, learning and remodeling.
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Step 2
Promote the use of real-time feedback and discourse at--and between--all levels of management and labor. If a process is not working, fix it; don't wait for it to fix itself. If someone--no matter what their level of expertise or job classification--sees a problem or a solution to a problem, they must be encouraged to come forward. It is everyone's job to see problems and construct solutions, not just the job of management. Management has the additional task of sorting through solutions offered by personnel "on the ground" to determine the viability of those solutions to quality of process and production.
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Step 3
Use positive reinforcement throughout the implementation phase and beyond. Creating an environment of trust sometimes means ignoring bad behavior while rewarding good behavior; only when that trust is established can a sense of community between workers and management thrive. The implementation of a quality management system represents a profit center for any business; implementing a quality management system can be a gruesome task but will pay handsome rewards in the quality of goods and in employee retention and loyalty.
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Step 4
Use everyone to follow up on each stage of the implementation process and fine-tune the process as required. If you see that one part of the implementation process is faltering, find out why things are going awry; make the necessary changes to bring the process back on track.
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Step 5
Follow through to ensure the quality management system is achieving the planned results. Giving direction is only half of the job; the other half of the job is ensuring directions are followed and are achieving the desired goals. In terms of the implementation of an effective quality management system, this means results will be measured by a reduction of customer complaints, a reduction in returned goods and a reduction in wasted effort and materials.
