The scoreboard, and what is not on it. The hard targets, how often each is actually
looked at, and the quiet signals that never reach a dashboard.
Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ) Reduction
The total financial cost of failures, including scrap, rework, warranty claims, and lost reputation, as a percentage of revenue.
Target · Reduce overall COPQ by 10-15% annually, aiming for <2% of revenue. If last year's COPQ was £5M on £100M revenue (5%), this year we'd expect it to be £3.5-£4M (3.5-4%), saving us £1-1.5M.
External Audit Performance
The number and severity of non-conformances identified during external regulatory or certification body audits (e.g., ISO 9001, industry-specific standards).
Target · Zero major non-conformances and a 20% reduction in minor non-conformances year-on-year across the business unit. Achieving re-certification to ISO 9001:2015 with zero major findings and only 3 minor observations, down from 6 last year.
Key Leading Quality/Safety Indicators
Improvement in proactive metrics that predict future performance, such as near-miss reporting rates, completed preventative maintenance, or training compliance.
Target · Improve leading indicators by 20-30% annually to prevent future incidents and quality deviations. Increasing near-miss reporting by 25% across all sites, indicating a healthier safety culture and earlier identification of risks.
On-Time & In-Full (OTIF) Delivery
The percentage of customer orders delivered on time and complete, reflecting overall process reliability and quality throughout the supply chain.
Target · Maintain or improve OTIF to >98% for critical product lines. Achieving 98.5% OTIF for our top 10 product families in Q2, contributing directly to customer satisfaction and repeat business.
Quality Culture & Employee Engagement
How deeply quality is embedded in the daily thinking and behaviour of employees across the business unit, and their engagement with quality initiatives.
- Positive trends in internal employee surveys regarding quality awareness
- active participation in improvement projects
- unsolicited suggestions for quality enhancements
- reduction in 'pencil-whipping' incidents.
Strategic Influence & Collaboration
Your ability to influence executive decisions and ensure quality considerations are integrated into strategic planning, product development, and operational changes.
- Regular invitations to strategic planning meetings
- quality objectives explicitly included in business unit KPIs
- positive feedback from executive peers on collaborative initiatives
- successful implementation of cross-functional quality programmes.
Talent Development & Team Strength
The effectiveness of your leadership in building, mentoring, and retaining a high-performing quality and continuous improvement team.
- Low attrition rates within the quality team
- successful internal promotions
- positive feedback in 360-degree reviews from direct reports and peers
- visible growth in team members' skills and responsibilities.
Proactive Risk Management
The extent to which potential quality and compliance risks are identified, assessed, and mitigated *before* they become actual problems.
- Implementation of robust FMEA processes with measurable risk reduction
- early identification of emerging regulatory changes and proactive adaptation
- fewer unexpected quality incidents or recalls
- strong audit readiness at all times, not just pre-audit.
