Who should be on your TQS team?

There’s a simple answer to this question.

It depends.

It depends on where you are in your TQS development journey. It depends on how large your organisation is. It depends on how you are approaching the way you use the TQS. It depends on how quickly you aim to gain the TQS.

You might need more than one team, or you might need to change your team during the life of your TQS project.

However, you will need the following at some point in the development process.

The big guns

You will need senior management support for your work with the TQS. Some of the changes that you are likely to need to make must be made at the highest level, so you need backing and support at that level.

This might mean that your most senior person is on your team. It might mean that a member of the SMT is on your team.

The beavers

You will need people who will just keep on working on the TQS. They will be building up people’s understanding of what you are doing. They will be keeping their teams and their colleagues moving in the right direction. They will be modifying their practice to ensure you meet the requirements of the standard. They might be rewriting your processes. They might be reworking your employer journey.

They might not have a high profile, but their work will make all the difference to your success.

The promoters

Some people are good at helping other people to understand what your organisation is trying to do. These people are your promoters.

Your promoters might be working with people within your organisation. They might be working with your employers. They might be working with your stakeholders, including the relevant Sector Skills Councils.

Whoever they are working with they keep on explaining why it’s important to gain the TQS, what your organisation will gain from being certificated, how your reputation will be built as a result of certification and how you will be even more responsive to the needs of employers as a result of your success.

You need a number of promoters on your team.

The application writing team

The application writing team is an important team. It is this team that makes or breaks your application.

There are four principal roles in this team: the principal writer, the principal reviewer, the principal evidence gatherer and the project manager.

You need a minimum of two people in your application writing team. This team needs time and space to allow it to succeed.

I’ve written before about the application writing team. There is a link to that post below.

The whole organisation team

Sooner or later you need to ensure that you take every one with you, so that you can be confident that every one endorses your work with employers and with the TQS.

So now’s the time to think about who is on your team and if you need to shake it up.

See also:

Preparing the senior team
What, no team? – big mistake number three