How is quality management integrated in your business?

Tallinn, Estonia – Kairi Raudmets the Country Manager for Estonia at Pedersen & Partners, on the Quality Management in business processes.

Recently I had the opportunity to interview and assess numerous Global Quality Directors in the Consumer Goods Industry for a client. Through these interviews, I observed that there is a clear correlation between competencies of Quality Heads in companies and if these companies have clearly integrated quality agenda into their business or not.

One possible conclusion after conducting these discussions is that not all international companies have set up the processes for proactive quality management, but rather have a reactive approach. One of the reasons for this could be that companies, where quality is integrated and by definition, helps them grow, Quality Heads are more likely to act as strategic partners. They are business minded, have experience in GAP analyses and are able to significantly improve the processes. Therefore, the quality function is not considered to be a blocker of innovation but an enabler to a business. One candidate summed it up nicely: “You need to be robust enough to make fast decisions and find a healthy balance between the complexity of the regulations and your business. Crisis slows down businesses, not process.”

On the other hand, in organisations where the quality function is regarded as a support function (for example, in Org Chart placed under a production unit) tend to have a more operational approach, like dealing with legal bureaucracy and so on; people are not involved in business much and are more likely to be disengaged and less strategically competent. This could lead to quality issues and ultimately, reduce consumer satisfaction.

Read the article here.

Kairi Raudmets is the Country Manager for Estonia at Pedersen & Partners. Ms. Raudmets brings to the firm more than two decades of in-depth functional sales and marketing expertise in the FMCG and Travel & Leisure industries. Prior to joining Pedersen & Partners, Ms. Raudmets spent 11 years with global food products manufacturer Mars – creating, recruiting, leading, and developing multicultural and often remote sales and marketing teams in the Baltics. She managed business in Estonia, drove customer and category management in the Baltics and contributed to the regional business growth as a member of the leadership team.

Ms. Raudmets started as a Key Account Manager, was promoted to Country Sales Manager for Estonia and eventually became the Customer Marketing Manager for the Baltics. Her professional career began in the Travel & Leisure industry, where she held roles with travel services providers and an international hotel chain.

Pedersen & Partners is a leading international Executive Search firm. We operate 57 wholly owned offices in 53 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia & the Americas. Our values Trust, Relationship and Professionalism apply to our interaction with clients as well as executives. More information about Pedersen & Partners is available at www.pedersenandpartners.com

If you would like to conduct an interview with a representative of Pedersen & Partners, or have other media-related requests, please contact: Anastasia Alpaticova, Marketing and Communications Manager at: anastasia.alpaticova@pedersenandpartners.com