What does it take to become world class?

WORLD CLASS

A few years ago, the Managing Director of the company I was working for asked me a question “Mark, in your opinion what would it take for our business to become world class?”

At first, I was a little stunned that he had asked me, why? Because this was a gentleman that had clearly led the business through tough and prosperous times – but I took a moment, and this was my reply:

· Make sure our products meet our customers’ needs, and identify what solutions we can offer them?

· Make customer satisfaction a priority, don’t just settle for meeting targets and objectives - surpass them!

· Ensure that after safety, quality is a main priority for the business. Get good proactive measures in place and put effort into dealing with the real root cause of problem.

· Foster good communication between the business and the customers and be open about issues – they may be able help you with solutions (yes, I know that is a novel idea!).

· Stop talking about change and focus on improvements to meet customer needs.

· Better engagement with employees encourages them to get more involved with improvement activities.

· Hold regular reviews that are meaningful and not just for show.

He then asked me “how will we know we are world class” my reply was simply “customers will want to buy from us, we won’t have to go seek new business and spend lots of money on marketing and advertising – these activities above will pay for themselves”.

IQMS 2023