6.2 Competence, Training and Awareness

6.2 Competence, Training and Awareness

Dealing with "people issues"

by scott dawson

You may have heard the old saying, "Management would be easy if it weren't for all these people issues!" Let's try it again, "Quality would be easy if it weren't for all these people issues!"
It seems that dealing with people issues must have been a hot topic of discussion during the development and revision process of the ISO 9001 standard. While an earlier version of the standard said we needed to identify training needs, deliver the training and keep records, the most recent revision (ref. 6.2.2) includes phrases such as "achieving the necessary competence" and "evaluate the effectiveness". The somewhat obvious implication in the new requirement is that we have to deal with the people issues in a way that actually works, not just to go through the motions.

The centerpiece of the requirement is competence. The dictionary definition of competence is:

a. The state or quality of being adequately or well qualified; ability.

b. A specific range of skill, knowledge, or ability.

"Within the quality management system, the point is certainly the employee’s ability to do the job in such a way that requirements are met - both procedural (process) requirements and customer requirements."

Qualified to do what? Ability to do what? The job, of course. Within the quality management system (QMS), the point is certainly the employee's ability to do the job in such a way that conformity to requirements is achiveved – both procedural (process) requirements and customer (product) requirements. So, the quality process(es) put in place to deal with the "people issues" must result in conformity to requirements (i.e. effectiveness).
By shifting the focus beyond a method (training) to a result (competence), the bar has been sufficiently raised in recent revisions. As you consider how best to organize your training and other people-related processes to meet the ISO 9001 requirements, keep your eye firmly on the main point – competence.

WHAT'S REQUIRED?

Let's look through the requirement to understand what should be in place and how we can ensure our people-processes are effective.

Define the essential abilities
The first requirement says the organization must:

Determine the necessary competence for personnel performing work affecting conformity to product requirements (ref. 6.2.2 a)

All work done as part of the QMS directly or indirectly affects the company's ability to satisfy its customers and meet requirements. Therefore, the job functions responsible for each activity defined in the QMS must be staffed by qualified people.

As with much of the ISO language, it is left to the organization to define what "competence" means in their specific context. To break this down a bit, we might borrow from the human resources profession which developed the categories of "knowledge, skills and abilities" (KSAs) to describe the competencies required for a job. To define requirements for each job position you might ask:

• "What job-specific knowledge area(s) must be well understood by someone in this job?"
• "What manual, mental or interpersonal skills must an employee have to do this job well?"
• "What natural abilities or talents must someone possess to be effective in this job?"

What results from an exercise like this would be a list of competencies for the job that can be used for hiring purposes and subsequent training and development plans. Once the list is prioritized to include only the most critical competencies (10 – 15 maximum?), you'll need to document them in some appropriate manner (job descriptions, training matrix, or other means).
Now that you've identified the required competency areas for each job, you need to translate it into a training and development plan for your employees. Generally, this is done by evaluating or assessing your employees' current knowledge, skills and abilities against the requirements for the job.
This can be a simple process of having each employee rate themselves in each competency area, identifying strengths and weaknesses, then reviewing the rating with their immediate supervisor. Or, the supervisor could do the employee ratings on their own. A more in-depth approach would be to develop a formal certification to evaluate employee competencies.
Regardless of the method chosen, any competencies that fall below the required performance level become the development needs for the employee. For new employees, the same process would be followed when hired resulting in a similar list of needs for competency development.
Provide a process for competency development
Once the competency needs are identified this should be followed by an appropriate intervention to close the "learning gap". In the words of the standard, the organization must:

Where applicable, provide training or take other actions to achieve the necessary competence (ref. 6.2.2 b)

Again, it is left to the organization to determine the appropriate method. This can be in the form of on-the-job or off-the-job training, job shadowing, mentoring, public seminars, educational courses or any other suitable method.
Follow-up to ensure the competency was learned
Following the training or other intervention, an appropriate evaluation of the employee's competency level should be completed. The standard requires the organization to:

Evaluate the effectiveness of the actions taken (ref. 6.2.2 c)

Once more, the organization can determine a method that works in their specific context. Verification of effectiveness could be as simple as repeating the competency rating process mentioned above to ensure the gap has been closed. Other approaches could include:

• Special inspection of the employee's work until the needed quality level is reached
• Written test following the training
• Formal certification process
• Supervisor follow-up 60 days (or so) following the training or intervention
• Formal performance review

Some companies have also indicated that their internal-audit program and/or corrective action process is a secondary evaluation of training effectiveness as these would indicate "people issues" that affect conformance to requirements, albeit after the problem has negatively impacted the QMS.
Ensure quality awareness
The fourth requirement requires that the organization:

Ensure that its personnel are aware of the relevance and importance of their activities and how they contribute to the achievement of the quality objectives (ref. 6.2.2 d)

This communication can take any appropriate form as long as the result is the same – employee understanding of how they impact quality. More specifically, each employee must know how their job affects the QMS as a whole and how their work helps the company reach its quality objectives.

To accomplish this the organization might use techniques such as:

• Announcements at employee meetings
• Review of the employee’s job description when hired, and perhaps annually thereafter
• Review of procedures and work instructions pertaining to the employee’s job
• Regular bulletins, memos or postings
• Standard departmental meeting agendas when quality objectives are reviewed

To confirm that this awareness has been achieved, the organization might consider asking employees questions relating to their impact on quality during the internal audit process or employee performance reviews. Since it is required that the company "ensure" that employees are aware of quality issues, consider what quality records you might keep as objective evidence that this has been achieved.
Keep records
As with most required quality processes in the ISO 9001 standard, records must be kept. Specifically, the company must:

Maintain appropriate records of education, training, skills and experience (ref. 6.2.2 e)

These records relate to both pre-hiring requirements and competency development that occurs once the employee is on board. Many job positions have prerequisite requirements that must be met in order to be considered for employment with the company.
However, as many experienced managers have learned, prerequisite hiring requirements cannot always be fully met given the available applicants when a position is filled. Occasionally, exceptions need to be made in the requirements with the expectation that follow-up support, training or other competency development technique will be used to close the gap. In these cases, the company would do well to make provision for these instances in their policies and procedures. Perhaps an approach that allows for supplemental training after hiring would suffice.

KEEPING IT SIMPLE

As we have discussed, the requirements dealing with employee competency, training and other development activities are varied and can be somewhat intimating. You might consider a strategy that emphasizes simplicity and broad involvement. By keeping your procedures and record-keeping as straightforward as possible, the challenge can be manageable. It will also help to provide the tools and then assign implementation responsibility to employees and their immediate supervisors, whenever practical.

In any case, the quality processes designed to address the "people issues" that affect quality are vital to the effectiveness of your QMS and your ability to satisfy your customers.