Achieving business growth requires a clear plan and actionable goals–and quality objectives are a key part of that. These objectives strategically target areas that improve efficiency, customer satisfaction, and compliance with industry standards. They break down big-picture goals into specific, measurable actions that team members can act on.
From reducing defect rates to improving customer service response times, quality objectives act as a compass to guide improvements. But how do you decide on these goals? This guide explores the process step by step and gives plenty of examples so you’ll be able to set and achieve meaningful quality objectives for your business.
What are quality objectives?
Business flow should never stand still. Managers realize how important it is for an organization to be continuously improving. This can ensure the competitive strength of a firm on the market and motivate employees on honing their professional skills. What do quality objectives have to do with this?
Quality objectives are quality control goals that a company sets according to ISO 9001:2015 standards. These goals have to be SMART so that the employees could have a complete understanding of how and what they should to boost their organizational efficiency. The abbreviation stands for:
- Specific: Clearly define the item for improvement.
- Measurable. The objective must be a quantifiable plan of action.
- Achievable. The objective has to be realistic.
- Relevant. The goal must be related to the industry area relevant to the company.
- Timely. The objective has to be done within a specific time frame.
What areas should a business use quality objectives in?
It is true that different industries use different quality objectives. Therefore, it is difficult to name the objectives that would work in every scenario. However, there is one thing that all these goals have in common: they are all aimed at improving the level of customer satisfaction either directly or indirectly.
Here are some examples of quality objectives with a direct influence:
- Operations and processes: Reduce defects in production by 15% within six months.
- Customer service: Maintain a customer satisfaction rate of at least 92% in winter months.
- Delivery: Deliver 95% of orders within 2 days of dispatch by Q3.
- Returns: Reduce product return rates by 2% in Q4.
- Product quality: Decrease defect rates in finished goods from 5% to 3% within six months.
On the other hand, these quality objectives focus on internal improvements or systemic changes that don’t affect customers immediately, but they lead to long-term satisfaction:
- Safety: Reduce workplace incidents by 20% through monthly safety workshops by March.
- Waste reduction: Cut manufacturing waste by 15% by implementing lean practices by year-end.
- Employee training: Ensure 100% completion of mandatory quality training by all employees by the end of Q2.
- Compliance audits: Complete all scheduled regulatory compliance audits by the end of the year.
How do we decide on quality objectives?
When setting quality objectives, you need a methodical approach so the objectives are both impactful and realistic:
Step 1: Understand business priorities.
Before setting quality objectives, you need to have a clear understanding of your organization’s main priorities. What are the key areas that need improvement? For example:
- Are you focusing on increasing customer satisfaction?
- Do you want to reduce production costs?
- Are you aiming to improve safety or compliance?
It might be useful to review your company’s mission, annual targets, or key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure alignment.
Step 2: Identify problem areas
Once you understand your business priorities, the next step is to identify the specific areas that need improvements. Look at both quantitative and qualitative data:
- Performance metrics: Are defect rates, delivery times, or satisfaction scores below expectations?
- Audits and inspections: Are there recurring issues during audits?
- Customer feedback: What complaints or suggestions are most common?
- Industry benchmarks: How does your performance compare to competitors?
You can then list the top three to five areas where improvement is most needed.
Step 3: Define your SMART objectives
For each priority area, write objectives that follow the SMART framework above. Here are some examples:
- Decrease production downtime by 10% by implementing regular equipment maintenance checks by the end of Q3.
- Resolve 90% of customer support tickets within 24 hours by the end of Q2
- Increase average customer satisfaction scores to 95% on post-stay surveys by the end of Q3.
Once you’ve written down the initial quality objectives, assess them with these questions:
- Resources: Do you have the tools, budget, and personnel to support this improvement?
- Feasibility: Is the timeline realistic given current workloads?
- Impact: Will achieving this objective create noticeable value for your business and customers?
You can then choose which quality objectives to focus on by ranking them. Check their customer impact (how much will it improve customer satisfaction?) and effort vs. reward ratio (is the expected outcome worth the time and resources required?)
Step 4: Validate with stakeholders
Setting quality objectives is a collaborative process, and you’ll also have to validate with stakeholders, whether they’re department heads, managers, or employees. This involves holding meetings to present the proposed objectives and gather feedback, as well as asking targeted questions about additional resources needed or potential challenges.
Once stakeholders approve the objectives, document any revisions or adjustments made during the validation process. You can then share these with all relevant departments for clarity.
Step 5: Implement the quality objectives
At this stage, you’ll get to put quality plans into action. This step involves making the quality objectives part of daily workflows, empowering teams with the necessary resources, and monitoring their progress.
Clear communication is also important. Teams must understand not just the objectives but also their role in achieving them. For example, if the objective is to reduce defect rates by 10%, production teams need clear guidelines, and quality assurance teams should know how their inspections will adapt to meet the new target.
What should we do if we don’t meet quality targets?
Every team will occasionally fail to achieve its quality goals. No one is safe from mistakes because humans are not machines that can be programmed for a specific action. However, if you are a thorough and competent supervisor, you can minimize the number of failed goals by:
Documenting data
It will help to identify what went wrong and make the appropriate adjustments. Documentation should be thorough, and you’ll need to record details such as the personnel, data, figures, incidents, and other important information.
Evaluate resources against the quality objective
Look through the SMART components of the goal and check how realistic they are. For example, as for the A-aspect (Achievable), review how feasible this goal is. Does the company have enough resources and production capacity? It’s most likely not the workers’ fault if most of them aren’t meeting their quality objectives.
Have feedback sessions
Many managers and supervisors fail to make use of their team member’s individual talents. To change this, ask about their opinions on how motivated they feel doing certain job activities. Managers should take the time to listen to their employees and empower them to make the company better.
Perform a causal analysis to determine the reason for the failure
Numerous internal and external factors can contribute to failure. A root cause analysis can help to identify the main cause of failure. You can then formulate corrective and preventive measures.
Create an A3 report to refine the approach
The A3 model is a problem-solving technique with the aim of identifying, understanding and solving problems in a business environment. It uses the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act/Adjust) methodology, which is helpful for optimization to ultimately achieve quality goals.
How can a digital application track quality objectives?
Once the S.M.A.R.T. quality objectives have been established, it is important to ensure that they are clearly communicated to the team. Additional measures, such as internal audits, help to ensure that all steps to achieve the quality objectives are followed. From the formulation of the quality goals to their communication and implementation, everything can be implemented more easily, quickly, and efficiently with digital checklists.
- Collect data on the spot at any time with your phone or tablet via the app – online and offline.
- Use the collected data to formulate S.M.A.R.T. quality goals or to find the root cause of defects.
- Share completed quality goal templates immediately with teams and stakeholders to ensure immediate implementation and visibility.
- Customize our pre-built quality goal templates using our form builder or create your own to fit your business needs
- Assign corrective actions to team members instantly and track their completion in real-time
- Easily communicate updates and changes to quality goals through the app
- Extensive analytics help you uncover inefficient areas in your business faster to better achieve your quality goals
Streamline your workflow and achieve your quality objectives with ease using Lumiform. Try it today with a 14-day free trial and see how automation and real-time data insights can transform your operations!