Audit Programme Fundamentals | What?
To build a robust quality programme, quality managers should ask themselves 5 key questions. We use this framework at Tendable regularly with our partners, including at our most recent QEE
WHAT? risks are you trying to mitigate with your audit programme
WHO? should be involved in the quality programme
WHERE? within your organisation should audits be completed
WHEN? should data be captured against your audit themes
WHY? should staff capture and review quality data
Using this framework you can ensure your quality audit programme meets the core fundamentals of an effective process. Within this blog, we will be focusing on What? and how you can lead with outcomes in your design.
WHAT?
The key is to lead with quality outcomes when you design your audit programme.
Designing your audit programme to meet your needs, with a focus on quality outcomes allows you and your front-line teams to have a tailored approach to your quality goals whilst driving continuous improvement across your organisation. By targeting specific, measurable goals, front-line teams can effectively address various risks, including operational inefficiencies, lack of compliance, quality improvement, all in real-time with Tendable. This outcome-driven approach ensures that audits not only safeguard the organisation's performance and reputation but also fosters a culture of ongoing quality improvement.
Here are key steps to follow when it comes to shaping and achieving your audit programme:
Define assurance objectives and scope
- Define the scope – what will be audited?
- Define your objectives – what are you and your organisation trying to achieve?
- Ensure you align with standards, policies and organisations goals
Agree evidence requirements and collection methods
- Establish criteria and methods for audits, i.e. what is the benchmark to be achieved and how will you collect and analyse data e.g. observations, surveys, record review etc.
Compare existing programme to objectives
- Review your existing inspection questions against the outputs of steps 1 and 2. How do they compare? Do you meet all your objectives? Are the methods fit for purpose?
- Refine inspections and questions
Align your audit schedule to objectives and scope
- Review your audit schedule and resource assignment to align with your revised programme
- Consider the priority of your scope and objectives to determine frequency and duration
Communicate the objectives of the new programme
- Communicate how your audit programme meets the objectives
- Ensure staff are clear on how they contribute to meetings those objectives
By focusing on outcomes, we reduced one of our customer’s audit programme from 310 to 10 audits.
We successfully streamlined one of our customer’s audit programme, through reducing the number of required audits from 310 to just 10 audits. This significant reduction was achieved by ensuring we had stakeholder engagement from the beginning, identifying the most critical areas for assessment, and thereby enhancing efficiency and ensuring that the audit process remains both thorough and provides quality assurance to your front-line teams.