Page 19 - Enterprise Engagement and ISO Standards eBook

Enterprise Engagement and ISO Standards

Chapter 3

The Research Support for Engagement Standards

The decision in 2015 by the stewards of ISO 9001 to create Quality Management Principles
that include engagement is supported by both researchers and workplace observers who
have observed ISO standard compliance in action. A study of ISO compliance by professors
at the Western Michigan University School of Engineering and a report in the publication
Medical Laboratory Observer both found engagement to be a critical determinant of
success.

“Based on the literature on employee engagement, survey and anecdotal data, there will
likely be a low level of participation by the lowest level employees in nominally mandated
quality system improvement,” wrote Bryan Booker and Walter Tucker of the School of
Engineering Technology at Eastern Michigan University in a paper entitled, “Lowest Level
Employee in Employee Engagement in Quality System Compliance: Audits, and
Improvement.” They found that “Quality systems audits can significantly affect employee
engagement by improving the meaningfulness of the work and communicating the
importance of the audit-related roles and responsibilities. The engagement factor coding
summary suggested that the level of employee engagement, related to quality system
compliance, may be more strongly associated with the factors of meaningfulness of the work
and communication.” This would suggest that compliance efforts should involve an ongoing
employee engagement process requiring sound leadership, communications, training,
innovation, rewards and recognition, analytics and feedback.

The authors also found, perhaps ironically, that top management engagement is equally
necessary. In other words, the C-suite should demonstrate its commitment to the process
on an ongoing basis. “Based on the literature, anecdotal and survey results, this study
suggests some remedies. Strategies to increase participation in mandated continuous
improvement include: Publicly obvious and continuous support from executive managers and
the modeling of continuous improvement behaviors by all decision makers; policies extolling
the cost-benefits of continuous improvement beyond mere compliance to external quality
standards; deliberately funded and appropriately staffed units to elicit and respond to
suggestions for improvement; some form of …ways to develop and communicate a few
focused annual priorities for improvement; development of appropriate incentive systems
including extrinsic and intrinsic rewards at all levels; and the application of lean principles
and practices that both require and rely on employee involvement.”

The authors concluded, “When the 1980s-quality movement began, there were many claims
about the benefits of employee involvement. Quality standards such as ISO 9000 include

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