A quality management system is a collection of business processes focused on consistently meeting customer requirements and enhancing their satisfaction. It is aligned with an organisation's purpose and strategic direction.

It provides a framework that allows you to document processes, procedures and responsibilities for achieving quality policies and objectives.

QMS is a very important tool for your business. It can help to manage and improve customer satisfaction which, as a result, increases your customers’ confidence in your products and services, leading to increased market share and a continuation in building your company’s reputation.

A common misconception is that a QMS is only useful for large businesses. Any size organisation can benefit from the structure and focus a QMS brings to its business and its employees.

There are seven key principles to quality management:

1. Engagement of People

Getting your team involved in the management system allows everyone within your business to contribute towards its processes. It is essential that everyone in your company understands their role and feels valued for their contribution to its success.

    2. Customer Focus

Developing a strong customer focus is an excellent way of demonstrating your commitment to quality. Gathering customer feedback is key – whether good or bad – as this can help you to identify gaps and improve your processes so that your business can strengthen its performance even further.

As well as satisfying customers, your business should also consider the interests of other stakeholders, whether owners, employees, suppliers, investors or the wider community.

3. Leadership

Strong leadership means you have a clear vision of your company’s future. Communicating this vision effectively will ensure your whole team works towards the same objectives, giving everyone in your business a shared sense of purpose. This can help to increase employee motivation and productivity.

4. Process Approach

By having clearly defined and agreed processes, your employees will have a common, logical system with consistent and repeatable processes for consistently getting things right. These will effectively support everybody day-to-day and in any situation that could arise. It also enables you to plan, measure and evaluate processes across the business to help you identify areas for improvement.

5. Improvement

Continual improvement is the overall goal for any quality management system and should be a core objective for your business. Managing the quality of your product or service can save costs, increase customer satisfaction and help to secure new business.

6. Evidence-based decision making

It’s essential to have accurate and reliable data to make informed decisions. For example, if something is continually going wrong, you need the right information and evidence to solve it. It’s important that decisions are made on facts and that information is available to those who need it. And keep talking.

7. Relationship Management

Develop mutually-beneficial relationships with your suppliers that are built on trust. Creating such lasting relationships with suppliers and other interested parties means balancing short-term financial gains with long-term, mutually beneficial strategies.