Creating a Culture of Quality

Vladimir Sianghio

One of the biggest obstacles to establishing an ISO-compliant laboratory is resistance from both junior and senior staff. How do you think can we best facilitate change towards a culture of quality? Examples from various settings would be greatly appreciated.

Ebenezer Benefo

A tough one, I must say. I thought my lab was the only one facing this issue. Well, we cannot deny that a Culture of Quality is important for a successful and sustainable ISO compliance. Change is difficult but if we apply a carefully planned and systematic approach, it's possible to cultivate the Culture of Quality in the personnel. I have personally identified three things that when applied, can be helpful. In no particular order;

1. Train, train train: People are mostly not interested in things they don't understand. Sometimes staff are reluctant to comply because they don't know how. They don't understand the importance and even how to do what you want them to do. Training is helpful and the most effective way is to customize training to suit the needs and abilities of your staff. Make it fun.
2. Delegate/appoint/Put people in charge: No one wants to fail. If you assign a task to someone and equip the person, I believe with the right motivation, they can accomplish the task within set timelines. By assigning tasks, monitoring and evaluating work done, it becomes achievable.
3. Reward them: This might sound controversial, but very effective. Reward good work. This encourages people to learn and do more. Rewards can but should not be limited to monetary. Sometimes a simple pat on the back, a thumps-up, words of appreciation and encouragement can go a long way to build interest. Even if the work done is not satisfactory, encourage them. Let them know they can do it. The more people develop interest in Quality, the more their mindset are renewed towards Quality.

There are more. I know people have a lot to share. I am waiting to learn more from all the experienced resources here. 😊🤞

James Njogu

@Vladimir Sianghio I agree with @Ebenezer Benefo that is quite difficult to address. Especially for personnel who have been in the system for a long period before change is introduced. I have started a reading on Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) to see if I can make use of this to make a difference. I have also encourage may team to enrol on the same and I look forward to the outcome.

Mayrla Moniz

Hello everyone! Indeed, Vladimir, resistance from employees is one of the biggest challenges we face, especially when it comes to change. In my workplace, we started addressing this issue through our quality team. During team meetings, when presenting our data, we made an effort to make it as engaging and didactic as possible. As a result, other departments within the coordination became interested in applying some of these tools in their own processes and asked for our support. This process-based, sectoral approach proved to be very effective, as we gradually managed to engage the entire coordination. Additionally, the commitment of senior management to the Quality Management System (QMS) was crucial, as a committed management is almost unshakable.

Robert Reyes

I think the best way to create a culture of quality is to slowly make the senior staff see the benefit of ISO. It will be a tough one since they will see it as an additional task but as time pass by, they will see its benefit.

Nataliia Babii

Hello everyone!

Resistance to change of employees is a really serious challenge for laboratories. Initially, we tried to solve this problem by training individual leaders in the laboratory, but we saw that this solution was not very effective. Only involvement in training, and then in the improvement process of all laboratory specialists, teamwork in this direction can give the necessary result. Then the staff understands the need for these changes, their value, and also has the necessary knowledge and tools for their implementation. So I agree with @Ebenezer Benefo - "Train, train, train"))