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Training is one of the most important topics that the ISO 9001 Standard covers. Training could be perceived as something insignificant or not so important. Mostly, the everyday tasks postpone trainings and usually trainings are neglected. That is a mistake. A big mistake. Training, without any doubts, is what determines the quality level of your products.
Training is one of the most important topics that the ISO 9001 Standard covers. Training could be perceived as something insignificant or not so important. Mostly, the everyday tasks postpone trainings and usually trainings are neglected. That is a mistake. A big mistake. Training, without any doubts, is what determines the quality level of your products.
In another article of ours we talked about the ISO 9001 requirements for job descriptions. One of the requirements is to define the training requirements. Trainings can be internal (provided by someone within the organization) or external. In this article we will review the ISO 9001 Standard requirements for trainings and the significance of trainings. We would also suggest solutions for documenting the trainings according to the ISO 9001 Standard.
THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAININGS IN THE EYE OF THE ISO 9001 STANDARD
The employees are the ones who produce the products. No question about that. The employees are the ones who are sitting in front of the machines, in front of the computers, in front of your customers, or assembling the products in the production halls. Industries and services today are becoming more and more different than before. The products and services supplied to customers are more complex. You must combine the two together: the human resources and the knowledge. The purpose of the training is to give your employee the opportunity to perform his job like it is planned.
Training today, is an integral part of your product. Your employee must be provided with the knowledge to produce an up-to-date product. Now, you may wish that your employees will study & research on their own, about what is new or how to produce better in your industry but usually it doesn’t happened. They never have the time. There are the daily tasks to perform and by five o'clock they must go home. You could maintain an effective certification process for the new employees, but what about the old veterans. That's it for them? They are the world's best? We don’t believe so. Any employee deserves refreshing. You must initiate the trainings and provide them to your employees.
Training may be expressed with the following: - Refreshing work instructions and work procedures
- Trainings about quality procedures
- Trainings about new working procedures
- Trainings about new developments in the industry
- Trainings about innovations within the organization (new software, new regulations, new projects, etc)
- Trainings about special, specific events within the organization (special projects, or special visits in various sites)
- Coaching employees (that's hot these days!!!)
- Trainings required by your customers
- Trainings required by any kind of legal regulations
- Trainings required by any structural changes within the organization
To achieve all of the above you must create for any function in your organization (which is related to the product, of course) a training plan. This plan must be periodic (yearly, quarterly, monthly – that is enough periodic resolution). We personally recommend that someone with experience in a specific field would write the training for any fields in your organization: a department manager or a technical manager – someone who is aware of any problems and special situations your employees must face during daily tasks of its function. He must include these problems and special situations within the training plan. The goal is to create an effective training; a training that would assist your employees and provide them with tools and knowledge for their everyday work. The plan must not be inflexible - au contraire - you may update it at any time. There is no requirement that the plan must be documented. But there is a requirement to show evidence of performing one and there is a requirement to supervise the execution of the plan. The reason is that you shall identify any gaps between the plan and what was carried out. Complicated? We know so. Just make a plan - it will save you explanations.
If you don't have a clue about what we are talking about, you may want to review this site that provides form templates for trainings. The forms hold for the ISO 9001 Standard requirements for trainings are easy to customize and prices are reasonable: QualityManualTemplates.com. Give them a try. As well, the training plan must cover the organization's objectives. Within the quality manual you are required to define quality objectives. Trainings are here to assist you achving these objectives. If you define your objectives as something like "reducing waiting time within your customers call center" – you must provide with your employees the techniques to achieve it: training to maintain a short and focused conversation, training about how to fast-find information on the ERP system etc. the purpose is to shorten as much as they can the waiting time. Help them achieve the objectives that you set!
TYPES OF TRAININGS
There is no requirement to perform the training in the traditional way as frontal courses or lectures – you may define training as self learning or tutoring employees. You can also define a training plan for specific employees whom responsible for specific fields in your organization. The actual purpose is to plan trainings for every function in the organization that has a direct effect on the product's quality.
Here are examples for types of trainings: - Established frontal trainings
- External courses
- A visit to exhibitions, conferences or conventions
- A visit to suppliers' facilities
- A suppliers' training about his products (very important! especially in commerce)
- E-learning courses
- Purchasing literature or special training software
It is possible to define within the plan more parameters such as: - The location of the training: meetings room, auditorium
- The length of the training
- Who is the tutor
You are free to determine whatever you like as long as you follow the next requirements:
- The plan must include dates (you are not required for a specific dates – periods of the year is enough)
- A minimal specification of the topics for the training
- The subjects of the training – for whom it is appointed
- The training would be based upon the organization's requirements to produce his product or service (if you are a software designers, you won't define a flowers growing training or how to farm in the desert)
- The training plan must be with correspondence to the organization's quality objectives
EVALUATING THE TRAINING
Training is a big expense. Expenses for the tutor, the employees' working hours, even the coffee that employees are drinking during the training… Training expenses are not done right after the training is over. When an employee makes a fatal mistake in front of your customer, it's because he didn’t pay attention during the training – that is an expense. And it costs! When you set trainings for your employees you expect to get the return on the investment. After the training, the employees are supposed to do the job better, more efficiently and with fewer mistakes.
Now, you may think that every time an employee missed something or didn’t understand something during the training, he would raise the hand and ask, but you are wrong. An employee would prefer the lack of knowledge more than his colleagues or boss to think he or she are stupid or cannot understand. It is very different from high school or university. The employee is afraid for his spot and if someone would notice that he does not understand he would feel some risks. "I will understand it later!" Later means on account of work and that means nonconformities in front of your customers. This is the exact point where you must get your employees and evaluate the training.
You must evaluate the tutor as well. He can be a very nice person, well dressesed and has beautiful presentations but eventually no one understands a word of what he is saying. You must evaluate the topics of the training. The employees understood all, the tutor is professional but the information is not relevant what so ever. The training would not contribute to the product's quality. You will never get your money back.
Thus, training must be evaluated. You must evaluate its effectiveness. You must verify the following:
- Evaluate the relevancy of the training to your product. This is why the training must be planned by professionals who have experience in realizing the product. This is exactly where their added value is at use.
- Evaluate the employees. Check if they assimilate the training. You may check it by an exam at the end of the training, process or productivity analysis in a defined period or any way you choose. It is always recommended to examine the surface than to gather information from the employees. See for yourself what is going on.
- Evaluate the tutor. Does he really know what he is talking or that he just wastes your time and money?
- Evaluate whether the training is updated. In our modern world changes occur any day any hour. What was right a year ago could be totally wrong today. Perhaps the organization is providing a whole new set of products but the trainings are referring to the old products.
The ISO 9001 Standard requires you to document the training evaluation. The documentation must prove that the training was effective for the product's quality (this is a quality management system). The documentation may be: Employees questionnaires, production analysis, measuring constant improvement, evidence for less nonconformity - anything to prove that the training achieved its purpose. We refer you to a convenient solution for documenting the trainings and the evaluation. The solution holds against the ISO 9001:2008 Standard requirements: QualityManualTemplates.com.
OTHER DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS FOR HUMAN RESOURCES
The organization must document the employee's suitability to the job. The organization must prove that the employee is capable of performing the work. Evidence can occur as:
- Records of education - where the function is a welder - you must present his education as a welder
- Records of certification for the job - according to the certification process (internal or external)
- Records of trainings (internal or external) according to a prior definition (the training plan)
- Medical examination (according to requirements - like in the food industry for example)
Usually it is in the responsibility of the human resources department, but these are the ISO 9001 requirements.
SUMMARY - Training, without any doubts, is what determines the quality of your products
- The employees are the ones who realize the products. The products and services supplied to customers are more complex. You must combine the two together: the human resources and the knowledge.
- You must initiate the trainings and provide them to your employees.
- Training may be expressed in many ways.
- You must create for any function in your organization (which is related to the product, of course) a training plan: a training that would assist your employees and provide them with tools and knowledge for their everyday work.
- The training plan must cover the organization's objectives. Help your employees achieve the objectives that you set!
- There are many way that you can conduct training.
- When you set trainings for your employees you expect to get the return on the investment. Thus, training must be evaluated. You must evaluate its effectiveness.
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