Quality and compliance audits are a vital factor in pioneering continuous improvement for any organisation, and key to business success.
Business audits provide a management tool that can verify whether the products, services and processes of a business satisfy the standards of customers, employees and the business itself. Quality and compliance audits are a significant contributor to business success in today’s highly competitive marketplace, and must be considered an essential part of a robust strategic plan.
7 ways Quality and Compliance Audits are vital for business success:
1. Identify and Manage Risk
Audits offer an excellent avenue to identify and analyse potential risk or problems before they can have a negative impact on a business. Auditing and measuring non-compliance, quality or service issues will highlight operational and financial risks. Corrective action can take place promptly and subsequent costs minimised.
2. Customer Value
A business is offering guaranteed value to customers by acknowledging the importance of auditing quality and compliance. The aim is for all products, services, processes and standards of a business to work towards meeting or exceeding customer expectations. Continuous improvement will ensure business success through increased consumer confidence and sales.
3. Marketing Savvy
Audits are a valuable marketing tool for gaining new business. Using quality certification in your marketing pitch will promote trust in the business and can be a vital key to beginning a new business relationship. Demonstrating the importance of quality and compliance auditing will show clients that you are committed to long-term success.
4. Quality Reputation
Evidence of quality and compliance auditing will assist companies to maintain a good reputation with employees and customers. Audits demonstrate integrity and transparency. This allows a business to establish mutually beneficial working relationships based on honesty and integrity. A commitment to auditing will reflect the business’s core values and impact positively on profit.
Quality auditing must be recognised as a defining element of continuous improvement, for business success is defined by the quality of all organisational aspects. Click To Tweet5. Competitive Edge
Compliance auditing ensures a business will maintain its competitive edge. Excellent quality and compliance standards help guarantee that the unique value proposition of your business is highlighted and maintained.
6. Benchmarking
Quality and compliance auditing help businesses benchmark their standards, processes, products and services against their competitors – locally, nationally and internationally. In this way, auditing becomes a formal review process that highlights strengths and weaknesses in the company value proposition. Adjustments can be made to maximise positives and highlight areas to improve.
7. Employee contribution and satisfaction
Businesses maintaining excellent quality and compliance standards offer employees clear guidelines for performance and the opportunity to meet or exceed standards. High employee satisfaction and low employee turnover is a key factor in the success of any business. Employees who understand required standards can innovate and offer feedback for continuous improvement. Your business will greatly benefit from staff staying engaged and motivated.
The benefits of adding quality auditing to your business
Businesses have the options of; hiring external contractors to independently audit, employ qualified staff or upskill existing staff within the business. Some businesses may require a Quality Manager, but most SME’s will rely on department managers or senior staff to gain a relevant and updated qualification, such as the Diploma of Quality Auditing (BSB51615)
Upskilling existing employees offers the benefits of:
• Utilising employee knowledge and experience to maximise effectiveness
• Ensure outcomes of the audit are actioned in a timely manner
• Minimising cost of auditing
• Staff development and upskilling
• Allowing managers to set effective procedures for their departments
• Setting a company culture of continuous improvement
Business success is incredibly reliant on the quality of people, processes, procedures and products. Therefore, it is vital that quality and compliance audits are recognised by management, clients and employees as a key component of innovation, marketing, risk assessment and continuous improvement.