What does a quality workplace look like?

March 17, 2011 by Taylor Studios in Process & Project Management

What would you say if you were asked that question? Would you immediately think of the appearance of the building or how lavish the reception area looks? You might judge the quality of the place based on the artwork hanging or furniture used in the offices. Some might say that a quality workplace would have extremely happy people walking around getting along with no conflicts. I agree that those things all sound nice and would help sway a person’s perception of the organization.

I have a different opinion of what a quality workplace looks like. The other day I was talking with a fabricator during my morning quality walkthrough. We were looking over an item he had built. I noticed an area that didn’t look that great and I commented. He defended what he had done and why, which is what most people do in that situation. No one likes to have their work critiqued. That’s understood and I respect that. What happened next is where the quality work place comes into to play. The production manager standing there listening to the conversation asked a very simple question: “If you went to a store to buy one of these and you noticed that issue would you buy it?” The fabricator said no and the point was made.

We could have ended up having a conversation about whether or not the client would notice or debating on whether or not it was acceptable but we didn’t. We all agreed that we needed to redo the item and that was the end of the discussion. You see, it’s about the product we produce and whether or not it exceeds client expectations. It’s not personal and the production manager knows this. The fabricator knew this too; he just needed to talk it through.

We have a great team here that understands we make a product for a client. The client is paying for a quality product, not an ok product. Sometimes we want to say it’s acceptable because we are tired or we just want it done. A quality workplace is made of team members that hold each other accountable and don’t avoid conflict. A place where all team members are on the same team working to achieve the same goal.