Nurturing the Relationship
If you’ve been reading any of our other blogs this month, you know we’re focusing on relationships this month: relationships in business, building relationships, trust, and dysfunctional relationships with your business. All of this writing about relationships, and we’ve left out the most obvious relationship topic for our business – The relationship between different Management Systems!
How do you keep the relationship healthy?
- Communicate the importance and processes of each system throughout the company. Don’t favor one over the other. The systems work best when they work together and given equal ranking. Avoid one from overpowering the other and stressing their similarities and shared processes.
- Understand that you have to give as well as receive. As with any initiative, you shouldn’t expect a quick fix solution to all your problems. This was probably emphasized during your implementation process, but can be forgotten over time. Companies with the best intentions to keep up with their improvement efforts may get sidetracked and loose focus of process, just going through the motions but not getting the maximum return possible. Unfortunately by the time it is recognized, the company is so dis-enamored with the system they don’t make an effort to get it back on track and miss out on the progress they could be making.
- Ask how your management systems are “feeling”. Do a status check. Are you up to date on your internal audits, management reviews, and closing out your C/PAR’s? Try an informal “audit” and pop quiz a couple employees – if they look at you blankly like they don’t know what you’re talking about, that’s a good sign you need to show your systems some love.
Take the time to nurture your integrated system and you’ll be on cloud 9 – neglect it and end up in the dog house. It’s never too late to ask for help, call up the Integration Dr today and get some “relationship counseling” for your integrated management systems.
