The importance of hiring a top tier quality manager cannot be overstated. This person touches many areas of your business, from employee procedures to customer relations to the actual process of creating your product. It’s their job to ensure all is running smoothly, efficiently, and of course, correctly at a high-quality level. Naturally, this means you want the best.
Now the question is, what does the best look like? When hiring a quality manager, what exactly are you looking for to make sure they’re right for the role? Several different items factor into the decision, but the following is the experience you want to see in a quality manager.
Educational background
Because of the importance of this manager in ensuring quality throughout your company, you want to check to see if they have gone through the proper channels for training, certification, and education. Stronger candidates may have an MBA, but you want someone who has earned at least a bachelor’s degree in business, ideally with a specialty connected to quality. Typically, this means they will have taken classes related to business management, mathematics, measurements, and more.
Standard awareness
While not every company follows the same set of standards, a candidate needs to pursue additional training in those that are common. For example, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) developed standards that are used by organizations around the world. If you are an organization that uses what the ISO created, seeing that they are familiar with the training is an advantage. Similarly, the American Society for Quality (ASQ) teaches training courses all around the United States related to quality control.
Relevant certifications
Along with the trainings come the certifications to reinforce their completion. One of the most common organizations to offer sought-after certifications is the ASQ. Another option is known as a Six Sigma Certification. The Six Sigma method has a primary focus on output, but what it teaches in efficiency and efficacy rings true for quality management as well.
Important skills
Outside of just everything right on paper, you want to make sure your quality manager candidate possesses the right skills to do the job well. These should include organizational skills, close attention to detail, and the drive for results. A quality manager who isn’t organized and doesn’t notice the little things is likely to let important issues fall through the cracks in your organization. Also consider a candidate with leadership and communication skills, among others.
Find the right quality manager for you with Gem Care
At Gem Care, our goal is to partner directly with you to help you succeed. This means learning what you’re looking for and locating the tough-to-find skill sets that are perfect for your opportunity. Request an employee to get started with us today!