Not only did the former quality giants like Joseph M. Juran and W. Edwards Deming talk constantly about adapting to change in troubling times, but this was on the minds of ancient civilization as well.

For one such example, consider Sophocles. This ancient Greek tragedian had a significant impact on the minds of the learned which is too involved to discuss here. Sophocles wrote and published more than 120 plays (by title) during his time.

In about 450 BC, Sophocles wrote, “There is no success without hardship.” If that was true in ancient times, then it is still relevant today. The circumstances may not be identical, but turmoil, instability, uncertainty, and chaos in society still exist.

These times are opportunities for those in the quality field to lead their companies to success. As we react to disheartening news about employment, costs, profitability, etc., we need to ask: “How can quality help?”, “How can quality position companies for success?”, and “What role should quality play in these uncertain times?”

Quality professionals should recognize the chaotic climate as an opportunity to demonstrate the impact quality can have. However, it’s up to the quality leaders to adapt their tools and leadership styles to help their companies navigate the whitewater.

Doing so will demonstrate to senior management that their quality practitioners are nimble and quick to react. It will also show that these knowledgeable members of the workforce can support the bottom line by delivering solid savings and improving profitability.

There are several practical tips to help quality practitioners do just that. While you may be doing some of these already, it’s a good idea to review.

We have grouped our recommendations into three 4-point categories of immediate, near-term, and longer-term (strategic). Immediate activities encompass the next 30-60 days; near-term activities include a six-month window; and longer-term activities are those that require a window of six to eighteen months.

Of course, the above time frames are dependent on many things so don’t get excited. The most important issue is that this is not a one-person endeavor. Leveraging internal company relationship networks of current improvement project leaders is needed. Also, more importantly, is a deep understanding of the current thinking of senior management as to their support. This will not only help prioritize, but also enhance your team’s credibility.

Immediate Actions

(1) identify the financial gaps to understand the size of the company’s profit-and-loss standing at the department and functional level. This is necessary to understand and be able to speak the language of management. (2) Focus on the numbers. Shift focus of projects to cost of poor quality (COPQ) reduction. At the same time, focus on projects that deliver hard dollars. Ensure that projects with the greater impact or ‘quick hitters’ stay on senior management’s radar. (3) Use appropriate quality tools. Reach out to project leaders with the largest dollar reduction targets to offer assistance with lean and other tools. Quality professionals can offer support for kaizen events or failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) sessions. More support can be deployed for such tools as value stream mapping to help with rapid waste reduction. (4) Be proactive. Look for out-of-box thinking to improve profitability, which could include outsourcing for non-core products.

Near-term Actions

Make sure to (5) Stay customer focused. This is not the time to adversely affect the impact of quality of your company’s product and services. Just because there may be a focus on cutting cost, do not put your company’s reputation in jeopardy. Form partnerships and alliances with key customers. This often pays dividends. (6) Communicate effectively. Share and elevate dashboard or scoreboard data with the organization. Be aware that hard times can become excuses for reducing quality performance targets. Make sure everyone is aware of the quality of your products and services is more important than ever. 

Other near-term activities include (7) Stay on course. Keep pushing your ongoing quality deployment program. Be flexible and adjust the plan based on the metrics and feedback from senior management. Be prepared to fight resistance or suggestions to put everything on hold. (8) Training is key. During hard times, it is common for training plans to be drastically cut but this has proven to be ineffective. The training budget is a rounding error for many companies. Use this time to continue to focus on required training but also problem-solving and continuous improvement initiatives.

Longer-term or Strategic Actions

(9) Stay connected to senior leaders. Help senior leaders connect the dots by linking cost savings to quality and six-sigma projects. This linkage will provide ongoing dividends. (10) Establish targets. Ensure there are targets set for hard dollars at the department and functional levels. COPQ targets are easiest to set. (11) Hold people accountable. Project teams and leaders must be held accountability for delivering results. (12) Think strategically. Stress an overall strategic plan. Offer to assist in development of a plan which includes quality and training initiatives which are linked to profitability.  

We will always face challenging times, but this also presents excellent opportunities for quality practitioners to demonstrate their technical, leadership and change management skills. No one else in the organization is as versatile or can adapt to the situation.  

The quality function must not fall to the background in difficult times. It is a golden opportunity to step forward to demonstrate the value you can deliver to the bottom line. Do this successfully one time, and you’ll always be thrust into the limelight. If this doesn’t excite you, maybe you better find another line of work!