1. ANALYSIS
quality profession
or her job. So, irrespective of sector, designing their processes and produc- management and problem solving
size, complexity or the culture in which ing plans. This includes: which are all vital to the success and
a quality professional may find him or • Internal auditing to ensure recom- profitability of an organisation. The CQP
herself working, what would or should mendations have been effectively can draw upon the range of quality
we find this person doing? implemented tools at his or her disposal, as appropri-
• Making recommendations for im- ate. The selection of the most appropri-
the role of the Chartered quality provement as an outcome of audits ate tools will be key to this. Knowing
professional • Identifying external standards and when and where to use tools such as
Nine months ago, the CQI Professional certifications as appropriate. capability maturity model integration,
Policy Board set itself the task of defin- 4. Escalation of areas of concern. This the excellence model, quality func-
ing the role of the quality professional. is where the CQP can ensure a culture tion deployment or control charts is
After taking several months to arrive at of continuous evaluation and improve- extremely important. The CQI Body of
a consensus, the conclusion reached by ment by carrying out risk identification Knowledge can provide guidance here
the PPB was that the role breaks down and management, problem solving and and CQI training is available to help
into two main areas of activity: coaching of managers and their teams. It CQPs become competent in the use
• To be the conscience of the is also important for the CQP to ensure of tools, and enable communication to
organisation the review and surveillance of process- managers and their teams.
• To act as mentor and coach. es, product and service takes place. 6. Drawing on the personal qualities
The role is defined under two main 5. Mentoring colleagues with en- of enthusiasm, determination, patience
headings: thusiasm, patience and leadership in and leadership. These are required
• The activities of the quality the tools and techniques of business to influence the outcomes that are
professional improvement. This includes process anticipated by the CQP’s stakeholders
• The areas of activity influenced by design, quality planning, customer such as senior management, customer,
the quality professional.
Quality may be at the heart of every
organisation, but not everyone in the
organisation can be a quality expert,
just as health and health awareness
may be at the heart of a community, but
not everyone can be a health expert.
The activities of one influence the other.
The PPB also defined six activities as
being core to the role of the quality
professional:
1. Identification of concerns regard-
ing achievement of required standards.
This means ensuring that top manage-
ment intent is very clear and unam-
biguous, which is no mean feat. In his
or her role as the conscience of the
organisation, the CQP needs to ensure
that stakeholders have been identified,
that requirements, roles and responsi-
bilities are clear and that processes and
their owners are defined.
2. Provision of recommendations to
relevant leaders within the organisation.
This may be advising the manage-
ment team on what needs to be done
and how requirements may be met,
for example using a defined manage-
ment system or plan, reporting routes,
process definition and monitoring, legal
requirements and compliance.
© studIovIsIon
3. Facilitating implementation of
these recommendations. This is where
the CQP can support process owners in
20 | APRIL 2010 | qw www.thecqi.org
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