Being the Best: The Nonprofit Organization’S Guide to Total Quality

Copyright © 2014 Frederick A. Lambert, Ed.D.

Author photo by Neal Warren

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Abbott Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

Abbott Press

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.abbottpress.com

Phone: 1-866-697-5310

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4582-1348-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4582-1347-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4582-1346-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013923442

Abbott Press rev. date: 1/21/2014

CONTENTS

Preface

Chapter 1:   Quality: Foundation Of Success

Chapter 2:   Nonprofit’s Triple Bottom Line

Chapter 3:   Strategic Plan: Blueprint For Success

Chapter 4:   Board & Staff: A Partnership For Quality

Chapter 5:   Creating & Sustaining A Culture Of Quality

Chapter 6:   The Customer: First, Foremost & Always

Chapter 7:   Measurement: Quality’s Assurance

Chapter 8:   Leadership: Transforming Theory To Reality

Appendices

1.   Swot Analysis Sample

2.   Swot Analysis Cover Letter Sample

3.   Board Assessment Instrument

4.   Candidate Assessment Form

5.   Candidate Finalist Rating System

6.   Needs Assessment Template

7.   Customer Satisfaction Template

Bibliography

To Julie

With Love

ALWAYS

PREFACE

At the conclusion of a strategic planning board retreat that I facilitated, one of the board members approached me and indicated that he found the session very interesting, but of little use, since the organization for which the retreat was run was a nonprofit. The board member continued by saying that while the theories and practices that were presented and suggested would work for a business, they had no application for a nonprofit. This episode disturbed me a great deal. I wondered how many other board members and boards thought the same way. Thus, the idea for this book was born.

At the outset a word about my background might be helpful. I have spent the 45 years of my professional life in the nonprofit world, initially, higher education in which I served as a member of the undergraduate and graduate faculty, as well as, a University Dean. For the 15 years prior to my retirement in 2005, I served as the President of a major arts organization. Since retiring I have served nonprofits as a consultant specializing in strategic planning, systems analysis and design, staff and board development. Throughout my professional life I have served on boards of social service, education, arts, and religious nonprofit organizations.

When I left the world of the academy I wondered if the theories that I had studied and taught about management and leadership would really work. I am happy to report they did! It wasn’t always easy to influence the board, and more especially, long tenured associates, but the increased success and organizational growth that was realized served as compelling evidence that the hard work involved in managing the organization as a business worked. Every theory, and more importantly, every application contained in this book has been tried and has worked.

The book uses the theories and practices of Total Quality Management (TQM) as the operational framework for the organizational transformation required to develop and sustain increased organizational growth and success. The theoretical base is laced with practical suggestions for the design, implementation and assessment of systems whose goal it is to continuously improve the organization.

One of the challenges I faced in writing the book was the realization that there wasn’t one simple model that fit all nonprofits. There were differences of type, size, scope, governance, organizational structure and culture. While there was a moment of temptation to limit the audience, upon reflection, I believed that was too restrictive. Every attempt has been made to offer practical suggestions that would have universal application, understanding that based on the nature and mission of the specific organization, some of the iterations may be more complex in their application and adoption.

The originally intended audience for the book was board members and key organizational leaders. Again, after reflection, that audience needed to widen, so that nonprofit organizations’ staff, volunteers, and other stakeholders could understand their roles in the transformational process, thereby preparing them to lend ready and enthusiastic support for organizational change.

The book is designed to follow an organizational development sequence. It would lend itself easily as background and a framework for staff development programs and leadership retreats. Minimally, board officers, the organization’s chief executive or operations officer, and department heads would benefit from a reading and subsequent reflection and discussion of the book’s contents.

The board member to whom I referred at the beginning was correct in one thing. Nonprofit organizations are different from a for profit business. Nonprofits serve a public interest and cannot declare a traditional profit to be shared with its shareholders. But, these technical differences do not render nonprofit organizations any less worthy of being lead and managed with the same expertise and sophistication as their for profit counterparts. The case could actually be made that because of the significance of the nonprofits’ role and community impact, nonprofit organizations have more need and responsibility to run themselves according to sound business practices, thus safeguarding and securing the noble and significant contributions nonprofits provide.

It is hoped that this book can in some measure enhance the quality of nonprofit organizations to serve their noble missions with passion, to inspire their leadership and associates to act with integrity and creativity, and to encourage their stakeholders to offer generous and enthusiastic support. Through this collaboration of energy and commitment nonprofit organizations will indeed engage in the business of BEING THE BEST!

FAL/November, 2013

CHAPTER 1

Quality: Foundation of Success

Principles of Total Quality Management

For the past ninety years successful organizations have subscribed to some or all of the principles espoused in Total Quality Management (TQM). Most of these organizations have been for profit and many in the manufacturing sector. Indeed, it was for these organizations and within them that the theories were devised and in which they have been best and most often practiced.

Over the past twenty five years the base of the world’s economy changed from the predominance of the manufacturing sector to the service sector. Many areas of the world have seen the disappearance of manufacturing firms in favor of technology companies and the growth of service industries, such as, hospitality, entertainment, education, retail, health and social services.

At the same time traditional nonprofits (501)(c)(3) have struggled for survival, and some have not prevailed. We read and hear monthly of symphonies that have either reduced their offerings or folded. Museums have reduced staff, programming and visiting hours. Arts organizations have competed for new audiences; some sacrificing their mission to win the battle. Social service agencies have competed for diminishing government, corporate and philanthropic resources. Nonprofit boards and staff in attempts to address the situation have hired consultants, merged with other organizations, and downsized; all in the name of survival.

This book is written as an attempt to address the very real challenges facing the (501)(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. It posits that the principles of total quality management, which were designed for the manufacturing sector of the last century, have relevance and significance for the nonprofit today. It further takes the position that the solutions to many of the contemporary challenges nonprofits face can be found in the tenets and practices of total quality management.

At the outset it is appropriate to summarize the operational principles that drive a total quality management approach.

First and foremost, the preeminence of a focus on the customer/client and her/his needs is essential to an organization’s quality performance. All systems are designed to meet and exceed these needs and to make it easy and pleasurable for the customer/client to approach the organization and to benefit from its services and offerings. Ken Blanchard (2007) in his work, Leading at a Higher Level, refers to this as an organization’s relentless focus on customer service. It is the main objective of a quality organization to engage the customer/client in a long term positive relationship. Some management theorists have actually said that the goal of a quality organization is to create "delighted customers".

Some within non-profit organizations resist this total customer focus because they believe that in order for the organization to accomplish this customer focus the organization has to subscribe to the adage: the customer is always right. Especially in education and health care this concept is looked upon with suspicion, because the service deliverers believe they have knowledge or skills that the customer/client lacks. This indeed may be the case, but the principle of a customer/client focus doesn’t imply that the knowledge and skills don’t exist or that they are to be put aside, but rather that in their delivery the recipient of the service or offering is treated as valued, important and ultimately delighted.

Customer focus informs all of the other principles and practices; hence, is essential. It often requires a systemic restructuring to ensure that all facets of the organization are equally committed to the customer/client orientation and the quality delivery of the organization’s services and offerings.

The second principle governing a quality organization is the concept of continuous improvement. Simply put, an organization that commits to quality management can never be satisfied that what service it offers and how the service is delivered is perfect, and therefore not in need of any improvement. Often this aspect is frustrated by a chorus of we’ve always done it this way. Rather, today’s success is but preamble to tomorrow’s new or improved service or its revised or improved delivery. This function should not be relegated to a particular department to oversee, but rather be ingrained in the corporate culture, for while there are technical aspects to the process; it is an attitudinal characteristic.

In addition to the attitudinal support of the organization’s associates and leadership, continuous improvement requires systemic support in terms of developing, implementing, and monitoring a process driven by the customer focus.

The same customer focus that benefits the external user applies, as well, to the internal customers: the associates and organization’s leadership. In such an environment, information flows openly and regularly with a goal of rendering the associates as engaged employees. It is only by such practices that the common development of a culture of quality caring in the delivery of services can exist. With the exception of personnel matters, there are no compelling reasons why all other information cannot be shared with everyone in the organization, thereby creating an engaged partnership to develop and sustain the process of continuous improvement.

The cultural aspects of continuous improvement drive the quality process, but the improvement process needs to be equally supported and directed by a consistent assessment of the services delivered and a sharing of the data with the associates. Based upon these data, decisions can be made to change either delivery systems or the services delivered.

Change is a constant in an organization truly committed to continuous