Communication

What’s YOUR Problem?!?

When making your non-conformance (problem) statement, be sure to choose words that will get the response that you’re looking for. Stating a non-conformance as, “The operator did not follow the procedure” will set the root cause analysis back 30 years. Statements that identify a person as the problem will only end in disaster. Statements like […]

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Rounding Up Our Resources – ISO Clause 7

To deliver what your customer wants, you need resources! The better you manage them, the more profitable you’ll be. The better motivated your people are, the more resilient your organization will be, even in the Public Service – you’ll be more likely to stay within your budget if you manage your assets and your activities

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Customer Data – Now What??

  The last two posts got us on the road to ‘understanding customers better’. By the time we’ve gathered information on our customers’ perceptions of how well we met their expectations, we could be lost in the weeds. ISO 10004 has some more guidelines on what to do next in Clauses 7.4 and 7.5… 1.

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I Can’t Get No…Customer Satisfaction!!!

Last Post until January 8th, 2020!! ISO 10004 has some ideas for us on how to go about getting a handle on this elusive number. First, there’s a ‘concept’ diagram – a great place to start:   By getting a handle on customers’ expectations, you’ll be able to tell more about how well you’ve satisfied

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ISO 10004 – Customer Satisfaction

The challenge of determining Customer Satisfaction continues. With all the available technology, we haven’t made much headway, really. Requirements = Needs + Expectations Needs are outlined in the ‘contract’ with your clients, and determined in Clause 8.2. But what about ‘expectations’? These are hard to nail down, but at the very least, make sure you’re

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The Customer Communication Crisis!

  Without doubt, our customers need to be the focus of our efforts. You’ll find that the word ‘customer’ appears 88 times in ISO 9001:2015. Some of the places it  appears are in the ‘General’ section, Quality Management Principles, the Process Approach, Scope, and these clauses: 4.2 Needs and Expectations of Interested Parties; 4.3 Scope;

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Celebrate Your Way to Success!

  People aren’t you best asset, engaged people who are excited about working in your organization are your best asset. Not only that, celebrating small wins and big wins can help meet some ISO requirements – Leadership (5.1.1 h), Customer focus (5.3), Awareness (7.3) and others. In order to move the needle in this direction,

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The Power of Recognition

You can show recognition to your folks without spending any money! Bob Nelson has some great ideas in the latest version of his book 1001 Ways to Reward Employees.  Rebecca Boyle of the Empire of America Federal Saving Bank points out that, “Any time you make people feel better about themselves you are building motivation”.

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Two Pitfalls of e-Learning…and How to Avoid Them

Ruth Clark and Richard Mayer have outlined some pitfalls of e-learning design in their book ‘e-Leaning and the Science of Instruction’ If you ever purchase e-learning, take be aware of these pitfalls to avoid buying an inferior training course: Pitfall #1: Losing Sight of the Job Courses must be designed to address the specific skill

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Use the 6 Step MASTER Plan for a Better Learning Experience!

In their book ‘Accelerated Learning for the 21st Century’, Colin Rose and Malcolm J. Nichol laid out their 6-step ‘MASTER Plan’ for better learning – both taking training and giving it: Motivate your mind – get excited about the information you’re about to digest Acquire the information – gather information in the way that works

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