Strong leadership is essential to developing and sustaining a culture of quality, but only 60% of workers say their management supports the quality vision and values unequivocally, according to a study The American Society for Quality (ASQ) and Forbes magazine conducted of more than 2,000 senior executives and quality professionals worldwide. Overall, only 47% of respondents say their leaders lead by example or otherwise “live” the values, and only 50% say support for the company’s quality vision is apparent among middle management.
Incentives are another essential component of building a culture of quality. In the study, ASQ found that the following quality- focused incentives are currently in use by organizations, in order of popularity:
1. Regular performance reviews: 67%
2. Internal awards or recognition tied to quality metrics: 45%
3. Ability for employees to nominate colleagues or direct reports for “awards”: 43%
4. Personal compensation tied to quality metrics: 40%
5. Cash bonuses tied to quality metrics: 38%
6. Promotions tied to quality metrics: 31%
7. Ability for customers to nominate employees for awards/recognition: 28%
To view the complete study, visit http://asq.org/culture-of-quality/