Real "Quality" is All About Your Customer

We came across this article, "The Face of Quality" by Jim Smith, making the point that, in the final analysis, "quality" is more about delivering what your customers expect rather than adhering to a specific standard.  The standards are needed, Smith argues, but only to the degree that they reflect the needs of the customer.

Smith also reiterates that it takes every person in the organization to deliver on that quality.  Every person.

The original article is at http://digital.bnpmedia.com/article/Face+Of+Quality/1791202/0/article.html.

I could take Smith's argument a little farther, and profess that quality is ALL about customer service.  Even if you are manufacturing a product to a specific standard, that product is simply the MEANS to providing a service to the customer.  A canister of stacked potato chips, for example, provides a service to the customer to a) satisfy a craving, b) be fun to dispense and serve, and c) provide nutrition (in that order, I think).  That the chips are widely available and arrive intact, fresh, with a consistent taste and at a certain price are all merely measurable means to providing the services a), b) and c)!

It is the same for the services Brookwoods Group provides.  We find jobs for people and people for jobs and the service we provide is to make sure there is a great long-term match between the people and the jobs (as well as with the workgroups and the companies); and we do this while making sure that everyone involved has a great experience (regardless of whether the person is actually hired into a given job).