Quality control is crucial to the success of any enterprise. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a business leader who disagrees. Whether you’re talking about the quality of your products or the stores they’re sold in, consumers will only remain loyal to brands that are committed to curating a high-quality experience. Quality is also used internally as a measure of excellence and can have a sizable impact on organizational decision making and long-term planning.
In terms of facilities management (FM), quality lies in the physical presentation of your space and preserving its integrity is a constant process. To be sure your business stacks up against the competition, take these steps toward quantifying and improving your quality assurance (QA) efforts.
Collect Feedback from Multiple Sources
Modern technologies have made it easier to gather, record and analyze feedback from multiple stakeholders, including employees and customers. It’s important to solicit honest opinions from your audience if you want to keep them satisfied. It’s equally important to gather hard data related to your business location(s), assets, vendors and more. And don’t forget about service providers, as they are an integral piece of the puzzle, as well. Establishing a service provider survey will enable you to track and assess the quality of the services they provide, allowing you to acknowledge a job well done or take corrective action accordingly.
If you’re unable to efficiently collect QA data, you may need to invest in some form of integrated facilities management (IFM) tech, or reconsider the tech you’re currently using.
Create a Schedule for Quality Checks
Once you formalize your QA process, you’ll be able to determine how frequently you should conduct certain checks. You may find that running constant QA checks or equipment tests may actually wind up being a waste of time and resources. By establishing internal as well as industry benchmarks, you’ll have solid criteria against which to measure quality, helping you to know where your facilities stand at any given point.
Train New Hires on Best Practices
Even if you’re hiring employees who won’t be involved in the QA process, you should train them on your organization’s best practices. After all, quality is a holistic concept that encompasses more than just QA itself. New recruits should be able to identify how your company defines quality. Even if their jobs don’t relate directly to QA, their performance on the job will indirectly affect the overall quality of your business.
A key component of both quality control and assurance is becoming adept at preventing problems, not just solving them. Routinely checking in with the vendors you utilize to manage your facilities, proactively engaging in preventive maintenance, keeping staff up to speed and revisiting QA benchmarks are all strategies you can deploy to enhance quality.
To learn more about quality control in the facilities management industry, check out NEST’s Operational Excellence.
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