Total Quality Management for People:

Many organizations today may be seeking new ways to cut costs and become more efficient while maintaining or enhancing morale.  Others are seeking to address why current employee and customer engagement strategies and tactics are failing to enhance engagement in a way that has a measurable impact on organizational performance. The answer exists in the world of total quality management practices that, when holistically implemented, provide a proven way to not only build continuous improvement and engagement into the organization but to make it fun. Best of all, it’s easy to test.

Want to get everybody on your team or in your organization excited? Involve them in the same processes proven to work in the world of total quality management in manufacturing: gainsharing—getting all relevant stakeholders involved in the process of continuously improving the processes used to fulfill the purpose, goals, and objectives of your team or organization.

These same design practices can be used to enhance the impact of any incentive, recognition, loyalty, safety and other programs by holistically addressing what drives people in a measurable way.

ICEE brings the proven processes of total quality management to engagement efforts in service industries and with related employees to create a culture of continuous improvement in customer satisfaction, cost and process efficiency, new products and services or other sources of value creation or risk mitigation. We can provide program design, implementation, and impact metrics that include selection of technologies and rewards based on the need of each company to streamline implementation, alignment, and impact measurement. This holistic approach addresses why employee engagement and customer satisfaction remain near record lows, according to surveys by Gallup and the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

These processes can be used to not only achieve key organizational goals and objectives, but to more effectively design traditional incentive, recognition, loyalty, motivational event, training, and other efforts to engage stakeholders of any kind.

For those organizations or solution providers that prefer to learn the processes of TQM for people on their own, the Enterprise Engagement Alliance provides a complete learning and certification program for practitioners.

What is TQM for people. Streamlined by today’s technology, the effort provides a platform for all stakeholders to easily make suggestions for ways to improve customer retention or referrals, lower costs, enhance efficiency, reduce risks, create new sources of values and being authentically rewarded for doing so. 

TQM for people is a strategy to harmonize interests toward creating a culture of customer satisfaction, efficiency, continuous improvement through stakeholder voice, empowerment, and gainsharing. Its principles can be used to harmonize the interests of any organization or team toward a common purpose, goals, objectives, and values.

Total quality management principles for people are embedded in a simple to follow roadmap known as ISO 10018, specifically designed to apply total quality management principles to people management along with manufacturing.

The concept is simple: clearly define the purpose, goals, objectives, and values of the organization or a specific team effort as simple as a cost-cutting effort, and deploy the following holistic approach commonly known in TQM as gainsharing—giving everyone a stake in success.

The process can easily be tested within a team or division before being rolled out to the entire organization. It can be used to enhance the design of incentive, recognition, loyalty, motivational event and other programs for sales and non-sales employees, customers, distribution and supply chain partners, communities, or any type of stakeholder.

A turnkey solution. ICEE can help organizations design, implement, and measure the process along with selection of the best technology and/or other partners to support rapid implementation and alignment of communications, learning, idea submission and evaluation process, gainsharing, rewards and recognition, metrics, and continuous improvement system. All our services are based on transparent processes outlined in our many resources and books, including Enterprise Engagement: The Roadmap, now in its 5th edition, published by the Enterprise Engagement Alliance, our affiliate. Click here for a detailed overview of how to implement the process to enhance customer service while adding value, cutting costs and enhancing efficiency over time.

A proven process. Purpose statements alone rarely make a difference. They become real when people see a connection between that purpose statement, what they do, and how they benefit when they help fulfill that purpose or its related goals, objectives, and values.  TQM for people works because it gives people a meaningful stake in success, not only in rewards and recognition but the personal satisfaction that comes from fulfilling a mission. The organization wins because it harmonizes the interests of everyone toward the team’s or organization’s purpose, goals, objectives, and values.