Traveling around the United States as much as I do (weekly) I see a lot of Quality Management Systems and meet a lot of Quality Professionals. A disturbing trend in my own experiences that I have noticed is that companies either have a stellar, robust, adequately trained Quality Team or a Quality Team that is barely qualified through experience or training to adequately function. The second type of team is my concern. It obviously shows a lack of commitment by their organization that Quality training plays second fiddle. Also, the second type of team's organization usually does not cover Professional memberships (such as ASQ membership) much less the cost of certification exams and preparation materials. With these variables in mind. What can ASQ do to reach out to these folks and provide the training that they need. As an individual who is a Senior Member of ASQ as well as a local Section Chair and a member of the QMD E-Based Initiatives Committee I do my part to introduce ASQ and its benefits to others through face to face interactions, LinkedIn, etc. Is there a way that ASQ can develop a focus for this with the above variables in mind? What are your thoughts?
@David Woods
Most sections hold monthly meetings for members. Any reason we can't open it up to non-members?
I belong to the National and Colorado Speakers Association. The local chapter has discounted pricing for meetings and full price for non-members. I'd say half the attendees are non-members.
ASQ, in general, tends to covet its information, holding it sacred for members only. Information wants to be free! Can we open up at least portions of the website to non-members. I have found that once I discover a valuable information resource, I want to join in. Seth Godin's book, Ideavirus, provides a useful insight.
ASQ's 20th century, monopolistic, approach to membership needs a significant upgrade to survive in the 21st Century.
I do not disagree with the sentiment of your message. I have been working in and around quality for 15 years and in manufacturing engineering/design for 15 years prior to that. In that time I have had the opportunity to speak with a lot of C-level leaders as well as lead teams of my own (both hourly and salaried). I look at this a little bit differently.
(1) When hiring for a quality team, not all organizations (I am speaking non-medical, non-aerospace, non-ISO) stock the quality team with those who truly have a propensity to be a quality professional. In many instances, folks are chosen not for their teachability, but because they were “the best on their line on their shift.” Even if you are willing to pay for training and books, many just do not have it in them to even try or, in the case of hourly folks, want to be paid to study during work hours. “I don't get paid to do things outside of work.”
(2) American manufacturing organizations in particular do not always value having employees that are members of outside organizations. I have had companies pay my annual ASQ dues, pay for my testing, and pay for my studies. I was still expected to study outside of work. On the other hand, when things are tight or business is slow, what is the first thing to go? Bonuses. Training budgets. Potentially some employees (and it seems to always begin with the quality group - first to go, last to come back).
I spend a lot of time with my “sales” hat on. I am trying to sell folks on the value that the quality department adds.
- You think I slow your production down? No - it is your remakes that is slowing production down.
- Is everything on the schedule today a brand new product or is it a replacement product because we messed up the first one?
These are just a few thoughts. It is more of a struggle than many care to admit.
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@Gary Netherton
All of the comments have merit. The question that we seldom ask of our Quality selves is: How can we improve? Our teams, our senior managers, our organizations… our ASQ? Our efforts to raise up issues is not futile, but if we do nothing to improve what we know is not working, then is that Quality? These issues about dysfunctional systems, teams, etc. keep surfacing--what are we going to DO about them? That's the immensity of the challenge for leaders!
@Yvonne Howze
For sure, we do not sit idle. However, you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. Many times the motivation must come from inside the person. One cannot discount attitude.
As a manager, I encourage them. I bought the training and even negotiated with leadership 50 minutes per data of PAID study time. Out of 7 people, only one salaried person took advantage of it. Then when the year is almost up, I ask, “Will you be ready for the certification exam?" The answer is “No. I've not had time." Granted, roughly 5 hours per week is not necessarily sufficient to study for an ASQ exam, but when their attitude is “I do not get paid to do anything at home,” you cannot combat that. Personally, I debated going back to school for a Master's degree. The events of my life recently urged me to “set the example.” So I did. I am working full-time, managing my family, and attending school full-time. (This did trigger one of my younger employees, who was very anti-education, to start community college.)
As far as what do we do with them? As attrition occurs, we replace them with more seasoned veteran QC personnel. Given the tight labor market, it took me nine months to find one person to replace someone I lost to attendance. Even one of the senior managers asked if I should just wipe the slate clean and start over prior to being able to pick up some veterans.
Half of my team has an average age of 48 - 50. The other half has an average age of 25. The first group welcomes the company-paid training AND agrees to study at home.
Many companies do training in reverse. Instead of deciding what knowledge their employees need, what they need to learn to acquire knowledge, what training is needed for learning to happen, they throw training at employees, hope they learn and never check if it became knowledge. Approaching it from this point of view may help companies understand the weaknesses in their training programs.
@Janet Lentz
I am not following what you are saying. I apologize, but I have read your post multiple times and am trying to understand.
To clarify, I did not “throw training” at my direct reports in my instance. I gave them a list of ASQ courses they were eligible for (the intent is to be certified), and they could say the course applied to their job. I allowed them to choose which certification they wanted.
