Why does it seem like standards are discussed everywhere, yet they are so difficult to find in the wild of the business world? It’s like saying the word will bring them into existence. It has really become another buzzword said in meetings to light up eyes and make the speaker sound like they possess some intricate knowledge. Throughout my career at multiple companies, ranging from dozens to thousands of employees, one thing that was always discussed in some form was the idea of standards. All with varying levels of standard implementation. Some with none whatsoever, to others where the vice grip of the standards impeded any chance at utilizing new technology or more efficient workflows. With all the enthusiasm and attention given to standards, very few companies actually implement any, let alone make sure they are being followed and used correctly.
The concept of a standard is pretty straightforward, and I like this description best: “guidelines set to ensure consistency in its products, processes, and brand image.” It’s not really a novel idea, and one would assume that every company would want to have these in place to ensure, at the very least, that their product is meeting the quality expected by themselves and their customers.
What makes standards so intriguing to businesses but so rarely utilized? Countless factors can go into why standards have not been set within a company. Here are a few of the more prominent reasons:
- Many times it is getting the buy-in from leadership to allot a budget for the time and resources it takes to implement them. They love the sound of having these guidelines in place, but then realizing they come with a cost and that there is no immediate return on setting standards can scare them off. It’s not that there isn’t an immediate return—it just may not be as clear-cut as they would like.
- Once you have leadership on board, coming to an agreement on what those standards should be can also be a huge hurdle and a very time-consuming task for a company. It can lead to countless meetings of very busy people that, in the end, accomplish nothing if agreements can’t be reached. If this keeps happening, your whole movement to implement standards is most likely going to stall.
- The other side of the coin is that you may not have any people with a strong opinion on what the standards should be. This could be because people in leadership roles lack the experience or expertise to advise on specific standards. A lot of times in that situation, they would rather not voice an opinion than risk a wrong one that will then be documented for the foreseeable future.
- Another is that the company just isn’t mature enough yet. Many young companies won’t even have standards cross their minds, seeing them as a nice-to-have rather than a true necessity. They tend to have more of the wild west philosophy that as long as things are getting done, let it be done however.
Despite these challenges, implementing standards doesn’t have to be an overwhelming task. The key is starting with a clear strategy and commitment to follow through. Companies that successfully navigate these hurdles consistently outperform their competitors in quality, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. The difference lies not just in having standards on paper, but in building a culture where they’re actively practiced and continuously refined.
At Superior Technologies, we pride ourselves on the standards we set within our company, for ourselves, and for our partners. We put emphasis on research, training, and practice to find the best standards to be sure that we can deliver the most optimal guidance and product that has come to be expected of us.
In the next article, I will discuss methods and ideas to get past these hurdles. I will also discuss the numerous benefits that setting standards within your company will bring.
