[The following article appears in the July 1994 edition of
_Public_Sector_Quality_Report_, pages 1 to 3.]

                            LESSONS LEARNED:
LATEST QUALITY HANDBOOK UPDATE MODELS TOP PERFORMING AGENCIES     

     PSQR just got its hands on the latest installment of the
Federal Quality Management Handbook, and it makes for interesting
reading, no matter what your level of government.

     Published by the Federal Quality Institute, the Handbook is
intended as a resource and implementation guide for quality
practitioners in the U.S. federal government. Formatted as a
series of booklets, the Handbook to date includes an introduction
to TQM in the federal government (document #006-000-01353 -8,
$3.50), a how-to-get started booklet (#006-000-01355 4, $4) and
appendix (#006 000- 01356-2), a booklet on TQM education and
training in the federal government (#006-000-01368-6, $3.50), and
yet another booklet on employee involvement (#006-000-01384-8,
$5.50).

     The most recent booklet, a 92-pager titled "Lessons Learned
from High-Performing Organizations in the Federal Government"
(#006-000-01398-8, $7, published earlier this year) takes a
closer at eight federal agencies which have made considerable
progress implementing quality management.

     Each is a recent winner of a major federal quality
award-either the Presidential Award for Quality or the Quality
Improvement Prototype Award. The handbook not only highlights the
methods and formal, structural elements of quality which the
eight organizations share, but it also describes where even
sharply contrasting approaches can lead to the desired result --
successful implementation of quality management in day-to-day
operations.

     The booklet sets forth 10 major aspects of quality
deployment and attempts to draw lessons learned based on an
analysis of the eight organizations. A quick glimpse at those 10
major areas includes:

     -- Focus on a few major elements of quality. The booklet
notes that while quality management "on the drawing board" might
best be viewed as a holistic change effort that integrates a wide
array of management techniques and practices (measurement,
systematic analysis/problem solving, strategic planning, employee
involvement, customer service, etc.) each organization--depending
on its culture and other factors--will tend to emphasize a
relative few of these elements as the focal point for its quality
effort.

     Some agencies concentrated most intently on strategic
planning and customer service, for example, while another used
measurement, or "management by fact," as its key driver of
quality. The lesson? Organizations should make use of all the
quality tools at their disposal, but it's OK not to use all the
tools at once and to have a favorite or two which seem to work
best when starting out.

     -- A need to change. Virtually all the agencies were unified
in establishing "a compelling reason to change" as a critical
step in getting the entire organization focused on adopting and
practicing quality management. For the Ogden (UT) Internal
Revenue Service Center, the compelling need was low employee
morale. For the Cherry Point Naval Aviation Depot, it was the
threatened closing of the depot unless it proved itself capable
of being competitive with the private sector and other depots.

     -- Approaches to planning for quality. The Handbook notes
that while strategic planning is an important tool, how it's
accomplished is open to variation. Some of the agencies favored a
structured, top-down approach, while others pursued a more
bottom-up, interactive planning process. The key, says the
Handbook, is to adopt a planning methodology that suits your
organization's needs and culture.

     -- Process analysis and reorganization. Stripping away old,
bureaucratic boundaries and procedures to focus, instead, on core
processes is a great way to revitalize an organization and get
back to the task of adding value for customers.

     But the Handbook recommends that before an organization
completely abandons its long-standing organizational structures,
it's wise to have cross-functional teams manage and assess those
core processes for a time.

     -- Implementation. Although there appears to be no "right"
answer, most of the agencies practiced a "cascading approach to
implementing quality. In other words, starting with training at
the top and working steadily downward.

     -- Involving mid-level managers. Several strategies were
found among the eight agencies, ranging from simple, direct
persuasion by upper management to enlisting middle managers as
quality trainers, or involving them on quality steering boards
and councils.

     -- Employee involvement/communication. The primary lesson
appears to be: Do anything and everything to gain employee
participation and commitment. Frequently used strategies include
suggestion programs, team participation, and "celebration of
success" programs and awards.

     -- Union involvement. While the Handbook points out that the
support and participation of organized labor is critical, there's
little in the way of a "magic formula" that can be derived from
the eight agencies. One tip: If you're going to establish a
quality council to "steer" the quality effort, make sure there's
union representation.

     -- Measurement. Surprisingly, at least two of the agencies
analyzed in the Handbook actually reduced their reliance on
measurement, in part because they'd been measuring too much of
the wrong thing (production versus quality) in the past.

     However, most high-performing organizations will develop
measures (of process quality and customer satisfaction) in order
to identify areas for improvement and chart progress.

     -- Leadership. By far the most important ingredient in
changing an organization's culture, the agencies seemed to agree.
Providing leadership typically requires a strong personal
commitment to quality, a vision and commitment regarding customer
service, and an ability and willingness to repeatedly and
effectively communicate to employees the need for quality.

     One characteristic which seemed to be common across all
eight agencies was that, as there was turnover in top leadership,
the incoming leaders showed their clear intent to continue the
quality process.

     The total price for the Federal Quality Management Handbook,
including the most recent Lessons Learned booklet, is $26. Prices
and order numbers for the individual booklets are as noted
earlier in this article. There is no additional charge for
postage or handling. To order, call or write the contact below.
Make checks payable to: "Superintendent of Documents." Allow
roughly one month for delivery.

CONTACT: Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing
Office, Washington, DC, 20402, or call the order desk at (202)
783-3238. Federal Quality Institute, (202) 376-3747.

[The following text appears in a text box within the article:]
__________________________________________________________

Quality Implementation: A Federal Case

     What does quality "look like" in a high-performing federal
agency? How does it unfold? The latest booklet in the Federal
Quality Management Handbook describes the following common
sequence of steps for introducing TQM into a government
organization.

-- Executive managers introduced to principles of quality
management, decide to pursue long-term organizational
transformation.

-- Top leaders create change management team (often dubbed
"quality council") to manage deployment of quality.

-- Council develops implementation plan, including training
timetable, employee involvement strategies, etc.

-- Training delivered (often by a consultant) on quality
principles, team problem-solving, statistical analysis.

-- "Quality office  created to assist top leadership in
scheduling training, tracking team activity, providing staff
support to change management team.

-- Develop formal quality structure at lower levels in the
organization, including a quality management board within major
departments/divisions.

-- Establish quality improvement teams to analyze and improve
processes, correct problems.

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17733 Kingsway Path
Lakeville, MN 55044-5209
Phone: (612) 898-5058
Fax:   (612) 892-7710
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