Quality Management Principle 3: Engagement of People

When people are financially invested, they want their return; when people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute- Simon Sinek

Introduction

An idle mind is the devil’s workshop. Parents generally engage their children by offering an incentive for completing a particular activity like getting a certain percentage of marks or linking some reward with birthday. A mother expects acknowledgement for preparing the delicious food from their family. The sole objective of festival celebration in any religion is to engage the individuals, family, society and the country.

Objective

People engagement is the emotional commitment that people have to the organization and its goals. If the organization want people to undertake a quality-driven journey with them, then they must understand the path to get there and the destination. There are 3 key drivers to achieve and improve people engagement. They are Recognition, Competency enhancement and Empowerment.

Definitions: ISO 9000: 2015

People (Cl 2.2.5.2): People are essential resources within the organization. The performance of the organization is dependent upon how people behave within the system they work.

Engagement (Cl 3.1.4): Involvement in, contribution to, activities to achieve shared objectives.

Detailed Information

The quality Management Principles are not specific to any one industry and can be applied to organizations of any size and type.

As per ISO 9000: 2015, clause 2.3, following are the 7 principles of Quality Management

1. Customer Focus
2. Leadership
3. Engagement of People
4. Process Approach
5. Improvement
6. Evidence-based decision making
7. Relationship Management

People engagement means that all people who are actively involved in the organization are doing so in a positive way. By people, it means anyone who encounters that organization: supplier, customers, owners, investors, employees etc.”

Why it is important?

• Unless management understands the needs and expectations of the people, they will never be able to understand the possible risks and opportunities that are associated with it.
• To understand the resources needed by relevant people
• To understand and define Roles, Responsibilities and authorities

For the sustained success of the organization, as per ISO 9000 and ISO 10018, the following are the 3 Key Factors, which management should focus on the ‘Engagement of People’.

1. Recognition

• Providing awards like long service, best attendance etc.
• Creating an environment where people should work in the organization ‘for a career, not just a job’

2. Empowerment

• Authorise to take a decision
• The approach of management; “do as I do” instead of “do as I say”
• Ensuring ‘top-down, down-up and sideways’ flow of information from all levels of staff, effective liaison with customers, and a good relationship with suppliers
• Employees should be able to see that a career trajectory is achievable within the organization and that their development is encouraged and valued

3. Competency Enhancement

• Identifying the gap and provide training
• Provide opportunities for employees to learn new skills and enhance their expertise
• Employees should feel that their organization is investing in their skills through training and other career tracks and they will feel engaged

What benefits the organization can achieve?

• Enhanced trust and collaboration
• People (all relevant stakeholders) satisfaction
• Improvement in understanding an organization’s objectives
• Improvement in personal development and creativity

Present Challenges:

• How often top management considers ‘recognition’ as a key parameter for all relevant stakeholders?
• How often top management ‘empowers’ people at all levels of the organization?
• How often top management considers ‘Competency’ as an important indicator for the engagement of people?

References:

ISO 9000: 2015

ISO 9001: 2015

ISO 10018: 2020: Quality Management – Guidance for People Engagement

IATF 16949: 2016

This is the 85^th article of this Quality Management series. Every weekend, you will find useful information that will make your Management System journey Productive. Please share it with your colleagues too.

Your genuine feedback and response are extremely valuable. Please suggest topics for the coming weeks.