We’ve all heard it before, co-workers referring to Quality Assurance as the ‘police’ . With such an unflattering label, it’s no wonder people avoid us (from an on-the-job point of view). It makes me wonder how much responsibility we bear for the negative perception of Quality.
I remember working on a Quality project with several people that I had never worked with in the past. Being the project leader, I would get into the habit of chasing people down when their task was past due and they hadn’t shown up at the recent status meeting…I had a timeline to meet. I would call the person, but as expected, I would get their voicemail and they never seemed to be in their office (I swear someone would tip them off that I was coming).
So one day I tried an experiment. I called this person on another phone so the caller ID would flash a different name other than mine. You guessed it! They answered on the first ring and you could hear the dread in their voice when they realized it was me….I didn’t take it personally 
. I realized at that moment that I had conditioned this person into thinking that anytime I called, it only meant one thing….that I wanted something from them. From their perspective, my presence was negative because I hadn’t taken the time to build a relationship with them.
Ask yourself this….as a Quality professional, are the majority of your interactions with co-workers because you’re either rejecting their output or reporting negative results regarding performance metrics? If this is the case, then you’re reinforcing their negative perception of Quality. After all, in their mind you only deliver negative information.
Here are two ways to change the perception of Quality, so you’re viewed as helpful and necessary:
- Put together a short presentation (10-15 minutes) that explains within the context of your job, how you can help them. For example, let people know that you’re willing to review their CAPA if they have any questions, before it’s submitted to QA for approval….assuming this is part of your job. Don’t worry…chances are you won’t get bombarded with a lot of requests for your time. Most people just want to know that someone’s willing to provide guidance…it gives them a warm, fuzzy feeling. Then ask management if you can give your presentation at their next staff meeting….initially target the departments that you work with regularly. Now your co-workers will know that you do something more than just reject their output!
- Get to know the people that you work with on a personal level. Now that doesn’t mean you have to hang out with them on your free time. Just a simple “hello” or “how’s your family”. It only takes a few minutes to connect with people personally….think of this as business networking, much like Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. This will help build positive relationships and since you represent the Quality department, it will influence your co-workers perception of Quality.
How’s Quality perceived at your company?
