How to write a Quality Policy in 3 easy steps
Most Quality Policies that I see (and I see about one every day), give the appearance of being written purely to conform to ISO9001:2015, and they seem to be aimed at satisfying the ISO Auditor. In fact, I dare say I could make a very good attempt at writing your Quality Policy, as most use pretty much the same words.
ISO9001 is not designed for that. And the Quality Policy certainly shouldn’t be written for the ISO Auditor.
So, before writing a good Quality Policy one must first consider what it is for, and who it’s aimed at.
Policies in general are used by top management to convey their thoughts and direction, on a subject throughout the organisation, and beyond – without any misinterpretation. Quality Policies fall into this category.
Top management, with those that will help them deliver a quality product or service in mind, therefore needs to think of the following three things when drafting their Quality Policy:
- Their Vision and Mission
Most people first see the Quality Policy during their Induction, and this allows the Inductee to better understand the organisation’s strategic direction, purpose and context
- How this is to be delivered
Often in the organisations I see, they work to a set of objectives or KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), or increasingly OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) to deliver their Vision and Mission.
Whatever process is used in your organisation, it is important to tell everyone in your business what the process is, and that they will learn more of this during their time in the organisation.
For example: “You, me and everyone in the business help deliver our strategy through a set of Key Performance Indicators unique to each department, and you will learn more of these as you progress in the business”
- Leadership
It is important for all workers to know that their top management commits to satisfy customer and other requirements, and these will be adherence to legal requirements in many cases. For example: “top management commits to ensure that all customer requirements are met through their ISO9001:2015 management system”
And finally, and this could be a 4th step, everyone inside and outside the business needs to know that their top team commits to resource continual improvement of the quality management system, for example through their LEAN or similar process.
Trevor Patterson is a QHSE Consultant and also conducts ISO audits on behalf of one of the main Certification Bodies.
