Do you remember the last time you felt inspired following a coaching session from someone you really look up to?
Perhaps it was a family member or a friend, a mentor or even someone at work.
You leave with ideas popping out of your head and cannot wait to start making all the changes.
A good auditor makes people feel like this
Auditing is an improvement opportunity. You get a fresh set of eyes to identify potential risks, opportunities and enhance your company culture.
When you’ve been audited, you should feel inspired.
So when you’re the auditor, how do you leave others feeling this way? And how do you inspire change in leadership? What is the best way to develop that level of rapport?
We asked Peter Kay from Peritus UK to share five tips.
1. Explain the requirements and what you are auditing
ISO 19011:2018 requires you to specify the objectives of every single audit. You should make the audit objectives completely transparent.
2. Reference the requirements of the standard
Your leadership are unlikely to know the requirements of the standard or regulation. Reference clauses, but make sure you use board-room speak, such as cost and business impact.
3. Be concise
Leadership will switch off if you use jargon. Be very careful that the language you use is kind, but direct and simple.
4. Avoid making anything personal
Auditing is an art - the biggest currency is emotional intelligence. Make the audit impersonal and empathise. By establishing a rapport, you'll get the best results. Everyone is on the same side - trying to improve the business by doing what they can to get things done, we just sometimes have different ways of communicating.
5. Establish their involvement in the system
Leadership don't have to do everything. They just need to make sure that they are communicating effectively and have invested in the right level of resources to ensure consistently high levels of quality.
Want more? Sign up for Kate's webinar 'How to audit leadership'
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