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How do you judge the quality of a product, an organization or a company? I recently heard a story about someone in the hospitality industry. He entered a hotel lobby and headed towards the public bathrooms. If they were clean and in good condition, the hotel would get its seal of approval. What is the logic behind the toilet test? Many hotels make an effort with the lobby and rooms, but shared bathrooms are a relatively hidden part of the building that many guests will never see.
The theory goes that if the hotel staff makes an effort to keep even the public restrooms clean, it can be safely assumed that the hotel is in good condition overall. In the words of Henry Ford, “Quality means doing things well when no one is looking.” Quality is important to all of us. We think about it in the decisions we make every day, especially if we are thinking about purchasing a product. And the higher the price, the more important quality becomes – you have to justify that premium. As entrepreneurs, we need to build trust with our customers in the quality of our products so that they can make the decision to choose our offerings.
So, how can you ensure that the quality of your products meets the highest standards? It all starts with creating a culture of quality in your organization. If you focus on quality in every aspect of your organization, from people to processes to the work environment and beyond, you will be well positioned to create a high-quality product and a superior overall experience for your customers.
Related: Learn how product quality can set your brand apart from the competition
Define quality in your organization
It’s important to spend some time thinking about how your company defines quality to hold yourself accountable to this high standard. There are some areas where this is easier than others. For example, all developers know to avoid “spaghetti code,” which is disorganized code that is difficult for other developers to read, understand, and fix if necessary. You need to write your code in a clear, clean, and organized way, in line with your internal R&D standards so that anyone can quickly understand it and modify it in the future.
In areas like content, where quality is much more subjective, clear business guidelines need to be created and implemented. For example, you can create a design system and brand book to maintain consistent quality of design assets and text across all products and marketing materials.
You will also need to define quality for specific domains relevant to your company. At the beginning of creating our business, we had to create a standard for the songs in our catalog. We have identified three areas to focus on: technique (mixing and mastering), production and comparison with externally similar music. Each of these areas was further defined to ensure that our entire music team was able to evaluate music similarly and maintain the standard.
Create an environment that supports quality
Quality is in the details and this also applies to your work environment. The right lighting, temperature and furniture can make a big difference to the comfort, concentration and productivity of your employees. And there are many other areas you can focus on to get the details right. For example, general office cleaning, products in your kitchens, corporate events and even branded products. When quality is felt in every aspect of your organization, you create a culture.
It is also essential to create an atmosphere that supports continuous improvement. By providing your teams with actionable data and an environment that encourages people to act on this information, you will enable them to increase the quality of their results and your organization as a whole. By supporting measured risk-taking, you will encourage people to try new things and learn from their successes and mistakes. They will then implement what they have learned into their work, raising its quality and giving them a sense of personal development and fulfillment. And this matters.
In general, people want to feel that they are doing a good job. So if you create a culture of quality, people feel like they are doing quality work, which in turn makes them proud of their work. This makes them work better, which makes your product and brand better. And the effect spreads everywhere.
A quality product also improves customer support: their job is easier since they are able to stand behind the product with confidence and they receive fewer tickets.
Related: Why quality over quantity matters when expanding a business
Building teams and processes with quality at the center
If a team has a top star, it creates a bottleneck. You need to build teams with an equally distributed level of quality so that if people are sick or on vacation, you don’t miss them or feel the need to stop working. Here we return to your definition of quality, which should also apply to your employees. You need to make sure you hire people who fit your definition, to have great teams, not famous soloists.
Quality is measured even in places your customers won’t see, like your processes. You need to integrate rigorous quality control (QA) into every aspect of your workflow. Encouraging peer-to-peer QA within teams has the added benefit of helping people grow and develop based on feedback from their peers.
If we apply the hotel bathroom example to a SaaS company, I think the equivalent is their customer service. I look at what channels are available to contact them, how long they take to respond, and how they communicate in their responses. These interactions give you an indication of the quality of the company. Consider that for every person who complains, there are probably hundreds, or even thousands, who feel the same frustrations but don’t have the energy to take action.
Related: Why Setting High Expectations is a Good Leadership Quality
Ultimately, quality determines impact. By offering your users the best content, tools and experience, you will build a sustainable brand with quality at its core. It’s important in the early stages of developing your business to define what this means in the context of your organization and align your entire team. It’s something you’ll need to track and measure, and you’ll likely need to update your definition as you grow.
By focusing on quality, you will have better people working with better processes and creating a better product. You will be able to be more agile and adapt to new challenges and opportunities. And most importantly, you will have happier customers who will trust your brand and become your biggest advocates.