The three groups of people you'll come across when implementing EQMS & how to manage them

EQMS truly transforms your business. 

For many of our customers, every employee, supplier and customer gets access to the system.

Every single person has a customised view of the policies, procedures and plans they need to see. 

But with so many people interacting with the system - how do you manage their expectations when introducing the new tool? 

In this article, we asked Sam Caley, Qualsys Key Account Manager, to share how different people will react and how to manage each of them. 

Types of people you'll come across when implementing EQMS 

People tend to fit into one of three categories when there is a new system / project:

1) Best endeavours 

• 75- 80% of the organisation 

'Best endeavours' is the majority of the organisation who are open to change and actively seek improvement. For this group of people, they acknowledge EQMS will help them to prevent costly mistakes, stay compliant and understand their roles and responsibilities. 

How to manage this group of people: 

• Sell them the 'big picture' of the tool
• Keep them informed by using our customer success services  
• Send emails communicating EQMS, templates here
• Tell them clearly:
  • Why there is a new system 
  • What you want them to do
• Learn about different personality types here: https://quality.eqms.co.uk/blog/how-to-motivate-six-different-personality-types-with-quality 

2) Compliance champions

• 15 – 20% of the organisation

Compliance champions. These are sometimes referred to as the “concrete layer” within the organisation. They are usually busy managers who have a "Just tell me what you want me to do" approach. 

The challenge with this group is getting their time and attention. The risk is that they aren't fully engaged and you don't generally have much of their attention. The mindset is often "fix it and then move on." 

How to manage this group of people: 

• Schedule time to get their opinions and thoughts about how to meet their requirements
• Ask them direct and clear questions to get the information you need from them 

3) Not band by the rules

• 1-5% of the organisation 

This minority group are usually resistant to change, critical and worried about how the software is going to impact their roles and responsibilities.

They usually represent only about 1 -5% of the organisation, but will make more noise than 80%.

How to manage this group of people: 

• Use our filming service to create a "why EQMS?" video and ask them for their review 
• "Those who know the least, shout the loudest."  - Engage this group early and often 
• Keep them informed 
• Be direct and clear, follow up all conversations with an email to clarify key points. 

Implementing EQMS? 

Implementing a new management system tool is one of the most rewarding, transformative career achievements for quality practitioners.

To bring the data you need into a single source of truth, deliver time and cost savings - and complete confidence in your compliance is no mean feat!

Our customer success team are available to support you with everything from engaging leadership to technical support.

If you would like to arrange a support call with our customer success team, click the image below: