So, finally, everything is in place.
LSETF loan. Check.
Office space in Ikeja. Check.
Latest IT technology. Check.
Quality control process. Err… What’s that?
What is Quality Control? Quality control (or QC for short) is a procedure or set of procedures put in place to ensure that each manufactured product or performed service adheres to a defined set of quality criteria or meets the requirements of the client or customer. In Nigeria, the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) is the apex body that regulates products and services standards.
A business without quality control can’t survive for long. That’s not a curse.
● Simply because such a business is bound to have regular fluctuations in quality. For example, imagine you bought a can of Orijin Zero, and just as you were about to take a sip, you catch a whiff of alcohol coming from the can? Such an experience might even make you steer clear of the brand from then on especially if you do not take alcohol. That’s why quality control is needed.
So, how can a small business owner maintain quality of products and services?
● First, Set the standards you want your product or service to meet (research on whether your product had any industry standards it should adhere to, as well as product expectations your customers ordinarily expect)
● Second, what’s your process for quality control testing? Will it be to taste five random cans of Orijin Zero before they are dispatched to the vendors?
● Third, collect real data for feedback.This way you have a data trail that you can use for reference if the need arises.
● Fourth, establish a corrective action taken for products that fail QC test.
● Fifth, QC is like breathing, it shouldn’t stop. This will ensure that corrections on below par products are made and new instances of errors can be corrected.
If you’re already in business and serving customers, here are three good ways to presently improve the quality of your products and services:
1. Invest in QC training for ALL your employees. Relegating the job of quality control to a single department won’t make much impact. Rather, ensure your employees are well-trained to understand the business quality standards and to constantly look for ways to reduce errors.
2. Establish a straight-to-the-point feedback method with your customers. Note: Long surveys discourage people from providing feedback, so keep it short and simple.
3. Regularly, ask your partners or employees "How can we do this better?" Ask them for suggestions on how to better the product or service quality. In no time, you will be surpassing the consumer’s quality expectations.
But wait! You want your business to be top-notch. In fact, you want there to be hardly any quality errors, right? So, do these:
● Ensure your materials and tools are good enough. E.g. If you have a graphic designing business, using top-notch software to produce your work instead of every-day, free-trial software will reduce your service quality errors.
● Inspections, Inspections, Inspections. You can either act as the overall quality control officer if your production output is not that large or hire someone for this particular purpose; someone that will be able to do a general quality inspection during and after production.
Communication is key. One thing that can lead to errors in production is poor communication between the strategic planners and those implementing it. To prevent this from happening, there must be regular communication between departments or employees at the different stages of production.
So maybe you’re thinking now, what’s the worst that can happen if I don’t carry out quality control in my business?
Here’s a picture to show you what. Kola runs a startup business that deals in producing leather bags for women, but he feels quality control is just a waste of time. He soon sells a sizeable number of the bags via social media. Two days later, he begins to get complaints from his buyers about the straps of the leather bags snapping off at a particular point. After doing some ‘too late’ research, he realizes that the whole batch of leather bags have the same weak point at the straps. But unfortunately, it’s too late. His brand reputation is damaged and a lot of money invested in the unsold bags will be wasted.
