Interview with our QM officer Chrissie Brockmann

 

Chrissie, you were tasked with much of the preparation for the certification. What was that like for you?

I had never created a quality management system (QMS) before and was sceptical about how having our services certified would benefit our customers. After all, we had already established logical and efficient work processes and our customers were very happy with us.

At the beginning of 2018, a potential customer raised the issue of ISO certification and we decided to set aside our scepticism and take the plunge. As we worked with a consultant to take stock of our situation, it quickly became clear that creating a QMS in line with ISO 9001 would confront us with some fundamental questions that go beyond the scope of our daily work – but that dealing with these questions would definitely help us succeed as a company.

A key element was pinning down the goals of Klein Wolf Peters. What do we want to accomplish, and how do we systematically express that in facts, figures and data? Do all employees have the same goals? How and by when could we achieve these goals? And how can we gauge our success at the end of the year and set new goals?

Goals, opportunities, personnel development, continuous development of our work … all these had to be documented in such a way that they were clear and verifiable for everyone.

 

What did all this teach you about yourself?

 I thought it was interesting to document and really nail down topics that at first seemed so abstract. Of course it was a lot of work, and it wasn’t always easy to map our systems according to all the rules and regulations to make them transparent. But because we’re such a good team, it was relatively straightforward. Thanks to our experience, we were always able to quickly decide on the best way to serve our customers. What’s more, because we were a new company, we had the luxury of not needing to reconfigure legacy processes or get rid of cherished old habits.

We’re all proud to have created a great foundation on which we can continue to build together and with which we can measure our success. We all pitched in as we worked to structure our processes and achieve a great deal of clarity for ourselves. Precisely documenting our processes has given us the security we need to keep our quality promise even when things get stressful.

 

How do you combine your QM responsibilities with your role as key account manager?

 Our QMS is an expression of the concept that frames our daily work. My job as key account manager (just like that of the translators or managing directors) is 100 percent in keeping with this system. As quality management officer, I’m responsible for maintaining this harmony and seeing to it that we continuously improve. I don’t see this as an additional task, but rather as an incentive to live up to what we’re certified for in the first place – solid quality management that benefits our customers.