Saturday, December 29, 2012

Survival of the fittest

Individual performance is often a relative term.  Much depends on the type of the group an individual belongs to at work.  If the group has lot of intelligent and competent fellows, then competition to stay ahead is intense.  Else, luck will be in an individual's favor.  All this also applies to a Quality Professional as an individual.  Work life of a quality professional is challenging as he/she plays a very responsible role for the organization.  To ensure their role is aligned to the organizational growth, they go through performance appraisals every year.

Some organizations have multiple annual appraisal cycles (for example: half-yearly, quarterly etc). Normally, Balance Score Card (BSC) for the organization is the baseline document used in the appraisal process.  Most of the individual goals are derived from the BSC to ensure alignment to organizational goals.  Individuals strive to work hard to meet the set goals.  Along with goals, an individual's attributes are also measured.

To stay ahead in the appraisal game, it is very important to at least meet the goals.   But meeting the goals exceedingly well will ensure the individual to be at the top-spot.  Thus, this individual will be able to draw a higher salary, in the performance-linked pay component.

In the appraisal system, there is always a goal linked to Learning and Growth.  Achieving a certification is the best way to prove that this goal is met exceedingly well.  For a quality professional, achieving the most relevant ASQ certification is one of the best ways to convey his/her achievement from a learning perspective.

Successful companies understand the value of professional certifications, such as the ones provided by ASQ, as the certification body of knowledge is aligned well to the industry needs.  Getting certified and keeping it alive is not a simple task for any quality professional.  A lot of preparation and practice goes behind the successful completion of the certification.  A nice blend of theoretical and practical knowledge is essential to clear the ASQ certification examinations.

While the individual contributes towards the quantitative goals such as higher revenue growth, improved profit margins etc., and the qualitative goals say, higher customer satisfaction, the quality certification comes as a very helpful element for the quality professional to stay at the top and take home a relatively higher salary.

Agility is the key for an organization's success.  Thus, the quality professional also has to be dynamic and agile to meet the business needs of the organization.  During the end of the year, if the company does well, it pays the employees well.  Most importantly, to stay in top amongst the group, the quality professional has to meet the defined goals and attributes exceedingly well.




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