Many people ask what the secret is to get the full management team on board for a Quality Management System (QMS) build. The key is to anticipate possible issues, challenges, and resistance, and be prepared to advocate for why the QMS is not only a better solution for the organisation but how it will also make their day-to-day lives easier.
To picture this, put yourself in the position of a manager. You have systems and processes in place to manage what your team needs to achieve. It’s a manual system heavily reliant on staff having good corporate knowledge of how things work, and it requires constant monitoring and oversight by you to ensure what needs to be done is actually done, and in the expected timeframe. For all its limitations, it’s a reliable system and meets existing requirements. But now there is a proposal to move your systems to a centralised QMS. You’re hesitant because:
- You’re concerned that you will lose control over how your responsibilities are managed
- You’ve had previous experience of things not going to plan
- You believe the current systems seem to be working well enough
- You supported the idea for everyone else, but not necessarily your program
- You’re not sure where the additional time will be found to transition to the new system
- You’re not confident the risks in the transition phase have been mitigated
These issues speak to three critical elements that need to be considered from the outset, to give the management team confidence throughout the process and ultimately, lead to a successful build: good planning, shared vision and clear objectives. Hint: check out our blog on how to successfully implement a QMS for more guidance on setting up your QMS build for success.
Getting management buy-in requires more than proving how this new system can do what the previous system did. For all of the effort and resources allocated, new systems need to be able to manage future growth, sustainably. They need to manage the growing complexity of the operating environment, the ever-increasing emphasis on standards organisations are required to meet, as well as enable the organisation to operate at the pace that technology has set as the standard.
Simply put, a QMS needs to manage scale and complexity.
More specifically, it needs to allow managers to rise above the everyday tasks of delegating, coordinating and communicating what needs to be done. Effective managers need space to analyse and evaluate. To do this, they need systems that:
- Support delegation with clear lines of responsibility and accountability
- Bring transparency to track where tasks are at
- Enable a performance culture that rewards, reminds and supports individuals and teams to meet expected timeframes
- Build accountability into the structure of the organisation
- Escalate and notify where required
- Keep teams informed of business-critical updates
This is the secret to getting buy-in from your management team. By providing managers with the opportunity to elevate to another level. To be more effective in what they do and deliver as managers. To enable them to grow and become better leaders.
Interested in learning more about the many ways that LogiqcQMS can support your management team? Let’s start a conversation.
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