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Internal Auditor - Performance Metrics

Discussion in 'ISO 9001:2008 - Quality Management Systems' started by Padym, Apr 4, 2016.

  1. Padym

    Padym Active Member

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    Hello All - I'd like to seek few inputs,suggestions on appropriate KPI indicators for an Internal Auditor role performance and effectiveness.

    Major tasks
    * solely managing and handling the entire Audit Lifecyle for ISO9001:2008 - primary tasks.
    * Other tasks includes
    - cordination during external audit for schedules, calendar invites,
    - Internal Analysis of CAPA by way of samples for few categories,
    - projects - like iso9001: 2015 revision.
     
  2. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    Internal audits don't need to be measured. They are PART of measurement and monitoring activities. There's no valuable metric to associate with internal audits.
     
  3. Padym

    Padym Active Member

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    Thanks Andy. Few questions to clarify. In this, how do show the performance or effectiveness of Internal Audit process or what that matter if its adding value or not to Organization Quality management system.
    From organization internal staff performance program , how do i showcase my performance over the period>
     
  4. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    You don't. Management do, through understanding how the audits have brought value to the reporting on the effectiveness of their processes.
     
  5. MCW8888

    MCW8888 Well-Known Member

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    Internal Auditor should demonstrate effectiveness by following the audit according to plan.
     
  6. Bev D

    Bev D Moderator Staff Member

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    I think there are performance assessments that can and should be done for internal auditors. this is no different than assessing the performance and competency of any employee...and with that there are constructive and destructive ways of assessing performance. This goes beyond mere compliance to a checklist or plan. Something I always look for in auditors is their engagement in helping teams get to causes and implement effective solutions. 360 feedback on the auditors is also a good way of assessing how they perform. Looking at their findings is also enlightening: are they trivial or impactful?

    I also think we apply continual improvement practices to our internal auditing processes and thus measuring the effectiveness of the process is of value. a highly effective auditing process is part of a process of continual assessment & improvement. for example I have found that an internal audit program that only issues trivial findings regarding trivial non-compliances not only doesn't add to the improvement of the operation - it sets up an environment of hiding things and contract lawyering that only decrease an organizations performance...
     
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  7. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    Great post Bev! To ally this thread to another recent post, regarding aligning a finding to a clause, the reported NC was "not following the SWI". There is little/no value in reporting such things. There is zero information on which management can act appropriately. If this type of thing is extrapolated across all audit findings (or content which is similar) then I'd wager that there's no perceived value in the IA programme, apart from maintaining certification.
     
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  8. Jennifer Kirley

    Jennifer Kirley Moderator Staff Member

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    An auditor needs the following to be effective (maybe not in this order):

    1) Technical knowledge
    2) Communication skills
    3) Interpersonal skills
    4) Administrative skills
    5) Analytical skills
    6) Problem solving skills
    7) Time management skills
    8) Customer focus

    There could be more as suits you.

    It is very hard to form KPIs around skills and capabilities like these. They are difficult to measure quantitatively. A rubric approach might partially accomplish it, but some of these skills are based on customer perception so measurement varies on the individual, and arguably also the challenges faced together. My boss once asked me: "How do you know you're doing a good job?" I had already gained a reputation for being pretty tough, so I had to think about this and finally answered, "Well, they don't run the other way when they see me coming."
     
  9. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    You might want to look into how internal audit contribute to the overall achievement of the organization's goals. It's all very well to attempt to see measurements which appear to justify why audits are "good" but that won't assist the organization achieving it's aims. So, take a look at the objectives of internal audits. What are they? To audit all ISO requirements once every 1, 2 or 3 years? How does this align with your org. goals? Or maybe to maintain certification? How does that align to performance? Or you could consider the number of audits done on time (to plan) - nope, not seeing anything to assist organizational performance here, either.

    However, if the audits are done based on risk and you validate for process owners that the audits confirmed processes were in control and risk is mitigated, then THAT assists in the achievement of organizational goals. So, it's going to require a good deal of insight into the management of the audit programme and its objectives...
     
  10. Nick1

    Nick1 Member

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    As a overall measure you can use the Management Review in which management gives her opinion on the management system. As mentioned before, it can be pretty hard to define clear KPI's. However, the effectiveness of the report can be used as a measurement point. If the report is a mere formality and doesn't show much prove of observations and/or evidence it could say something about the quality. You could, for example check if results from previous audits are included during this audit.
     
  11. QMSmaster

    QMSmaster Active Member

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    You may want ot startw ith KPI's on the audit process such as % of Audits completed on time, Corrective Action Closure Cycle Time, %CA's closed on-time, etc.
     
  12. tony s

    tony s Well-Known Member

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    In the spirit of continual improvement, feedback mechanism from the audited management can be devised. Auditors' performance criteria (i.e. expectations) can be established and rated upon by the audited management. Rating can go from a high of 4 (strongly agree) to low of 1 (strongly disagree). Performance criteria can include:
    • Auditors consulted the auditee in advance regarding a mutually convenient date;
    • Auditors clarified the purpose and scope of the audit;
    • Auditors are punctual and reports timely;
    • Auditors work within the agreed time schedule;
    • Auditors acted professionally and fairly;
    • Auditors conduct themselves with impartiality;
    • Auditors evaluated the evidences objectively;
    • Auditors clarified the findings before preparing the final report;
    • Auditors focus on matters of significance;
    • Auditors' findings bring about improvement in your area
    KPI's can be established from this feedback mechanism.
     
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  13. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    These have nothing to do with the actual audit process! Completed on time relies on the auditees' participation. The others are a function of the corrective action process!
    As I said, there are more important things to manage than audits being measured by some arbitrary KPIs...
     
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