Quality management in corporate language training Lincq Workshop November 2013

What do we mean by quality? Quality is a very general notion – the origin is Latin «qualis» = what kind of? It was applied in production and service industries as Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Management (QM) QA and QM have been based – operationally - on a number of models – customer satisfaction, process management, fitness of / and for purpose, zero defect etc. 2

The Lincq project In our project we aim to provide guidelines for corporate language strategy and policy at two levels – How to make language training effective and useful for the success of the company – How a strategy for corporate plurilingualism can be a factor in the overall quality of a company 3

Models of quality 1 A process model of quality – quality involves analysing all the processes involved in delivering a service – for example, a language course – and making sure it is produced efficiently. Processes can be divided into three phases – planning, implementation and outcome. In industry the objective is to achieve zero tolerance of error and a slogan for process management is get it right, the first time, every time 4

Models of quality 2 A client satisfaction principle - quality is achieved when customer needs are met, when client expectations are exceeded. To do this you need to identify your client. This is quite complex – the person who consumes the service is often different from the one who is paying for it, so you have direct and indirect clients. Some people who work in an institution do not have direct contact with external customers but provide services for their colleagues – who are internal clients Who are the clients in the education /training systems you work in – the employee? The employees boss? The HR department? Think about who are the clients in your working situation. Are they direct, indirect, internal, external? Think about yourself as a client? Who provides services for you? What needs and wishes should they satisfy to provide a high quality service? 5

Models of quality 3 Quality based on results – one way of defining quality is based on results – in tests and examinations, for example. The principle is that unless you can prove the effectiveness of educational activity by measurable results, you cannot claim quality. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using public examinations and test results as indicators of quality? Can you think of other bases for measuring results of corporate language strategy? 6

Models of quality 4 Quality based on personal development – in this model quality is based on the motivation, the attitudes and skills of the people involved. In order for it to help maintain and improve quality, the institution needs to establish an environment which enable staff to develop and co- operate. These can be through staff development programmes, action research, peer observation, innovation. Describe – from your own professional experience – good practice in creating a working environment which promotes quality. 7

Models of quality 5 Value driven quality. Education is not just a mechanical industrial process, but embodies and tries to communicate values. The work of the Council of Europe in language learning seeks to promote plurilingualism as an instrument of tolerance and respect for other ways of life and other values. What are the explicit values which affect quality in your working environment? What are the unstated ones? What values might (or should) be specific to language teaching and learning? 8

A new paradigm? Quality based on a combination of trust and legitimacy – Procedures and practices which contribute to establishing trust between stakeholders – Systems, tools, resources which provide evidence to legitimate the trust 9

Plurilingualism and corporate quality A strategy which encourages a plurilingual approach to languages in corporate life can be a factor of quality: – Clients and stakeholders are more likely to be addressed in their own language – If the linguistic skills and backgrounds of employees are acknowledged and recognised they are more likely to identify with the company – The company can communicate better, with more nuance and more richly Encouragement of laplurilingualoismis part of the ethics of good employment practice, and a feature of its public image 10

Quality criteria What does quality mean in your profession – as a teacher, a trainer, a manager? What rationale enables you to say: – That was a good lesson / course / project? – Its an effective school / centre / training provider? – This was a successful learning experience? 11

Questions for the workshop 12 What guidelines can we give for quality as a factor in corporate quality? Purpose – Why are we encouraging language training? Is the purpose a fit purpose for successful corporate strategy? Evaluation –How does it compare with set standards? Management – what can we do to ensure that quality is maintained? How can we make it better? What standards do we apply to this? Guarantees – how do we know we can rely on the quality of a particular thing or activity? How can it be reliably accredited? By whom? Resources – how can Council of Europe resources contribute to developing corporate language strategies

Commitment to quality Try and express for yourself your commitment to quality in your job. For me quality means ….. 13

Some quality slogans 14 quality is that which meets the customers expectations quality is that which exceeds the customers expectations a quality product is not an average product or a minimal product. Would you want to be operated on by an average surgeon? Say what you do. Do what you say you do. Check that you are really doing what you say you do. Do the right things. Do things right. there can be no improvements where there are no standards