7 essential skills quality assurance managers should have

The future belongs to those who boast versatile skills and the eagerness to never stop learning.

The world given its dynamic nature seems to be changing at a swift pace. The contemporary corporate world prefers skills to academic certifications. In fact, skills have become the real differentiating factor between hundreds of applicants that apply for a job.

Speaking of quality assurance managers, their roles within organizations have now amplified. It would not be incorrect to say that their job is among the most skillful jobs across corporate domains. What makes their roles even more indispensable is the befitting competition between businesses. No business today can afford to have any shortcomings in terms of quality. This is where they rather want to gain over their competitors. Quality has and always will be a competitive advantage for companies to have. Besides, the quality of customer experiences is as important as that of final products. As per some crucial customer behavior trends, 80 percent of consumers opine that customer experience is equally imperative. So, we should look at quality as a wholesome concept here. In this blog, we emphasize the essential skills that quality assurance managers should possess. These skills are salient for quality assurance managers to streamline their professional growth. Also, for those aspiring to be a quality assurance manager at a sprawling MNC, this blog is a perfect go-to guide. Moreover, you can turn your ultimate dream of being a top bracket quality assurance manager into reality with the best quality management certification. Without further ado, let us explore the prerequisite skills and traits.

Salient skills for quality assurance managers to have

1. Attention to detail
   If you have to be an efficient QA manager, you need to work on developing a knack for attention to detail. The key role of a quality assurance manager is to ensure maximum product quality and safety. For that, it requires the observance and analysis of every little detail. These details may be a part of the supply chain management or the manufacturing processes. Besides, a quality assurance professional also needs to ascertain compliance with risk management and other existing norms. You will also have to take up the responsibility of investigating procedures and standards. Therefore, uninterrupted focus and attention to every detail become vital for succeeding as a QA manager.

2. Ability to communicate with efficacy
   In today’s world, you need effective and impressive communication skills in almost every occupation. You need communication proficiency for in-house as well as the best work-from-home jobs. But for a quality manager, the significance of this skillset is greater than usual. As a QA manager, you have to communicate with various key stakeholders. These include those that are a part of production, compliance, supply, and change management. You have to update them in a regular manner about the amendments in norms and upgrades in basic standards. The better you are able to convey crucial information to them the more efficient will be the implementation. You have to educate your colleagues throughout operations to deliver the best quality. You will also be required to negotiate on internal standards and specifications at times. Thus, you need a strong hold over verbal and non-verbal elements of communication.

3. Strong analytical assessment
   As a quality assurance manager, you need to analyze different aspects and functionalities. This will be a part of your day-to-day responsibilities as competitive pressure thrives. You will have to work with different sets of statistics, processes, audit results, protocols, and so on. You will be analyzing these verticals of production and explaining them to others who are a part of the various operations. Having said that, you will require the prowess of strong analytical skills. Furthermore, the distribution of statistical input after an evaluation is also a segment of your KRA. The right combination of analytical skills and problem-solving will help you excel in your everyday duties.

4. Dynamic leadership skills
   Great leaders make great quality assurance managers. As a QA spearhead, you are expected to encourage constant changes and improvements in overall quality. Further, setting the benchmark for quality, safety and health is also a crucial part of your work profile. Needless to say, these critical job roles require firm leadership qualities. You have to lead with innovation and lead for sustainability. For everything that adds to the quality, you are the captain of the ship. You have to inspire changes, promote the significance of quality and appeal to the best productivity in your team members. To add, leadership skills will be important for supervising performance. Therefore, you will have to step outside your comfort zone and drive transformations.

5. Qualitative writing skills
   QA managers have to draft reports and also record statistical information. For that, a decent skillset in writing is a prerequisite. Further, you will also be writing management reports and technical reports in accordance with the charters shared by customers. We are not talking about creative writing skills here. As a quality assurance specialist, you need the ability to write down details and prepare reports with quality and in minimum time.

6. Understanding of customer requirements
   Effective comprehension is a skill in itself and it is a significant one for QA managers. QA managers ought to assess the requirements of customers in a worthwhile manner and deliver on them. You have to understand what your customers and clients need and then explain the same to the team that will ensure that the organization meets what is expected of it. If there are any loopholes in your understanding of customer needs, you will not be able to communicate the same to the team. So, you ought to pay attention to customer requirements and make notes if necessary.

7. Distinctive organizational skills
   Last but not least for sure, this skill set is indispensable for almost all professional verticals. From suppliers of raw materials to your team members and clients, you have to organize every resource and requirement in a worthwhile manner. In addition, you have to organize procedures as per norms and predefined standards. To add, you have to organize your monitoring of various operations and processes. Given that, your ability to organize is something that you would want to build on with each passing day. Great organizational skills will in fact uplift the efficacy of your overall performance. These qualities will further have a positive impact on your time management abilities.

To sum up, quality assurance managers need to first work on their qualities. The job description of a quality assurance manager may seem a little complicated at the onset. This is because as a QA manager, you have a long list of job duties and responsibilities to deliver on. But as long as you back your abilities and work on building the above skills, the chances of excelling are bright. With the above skills incorporated into your personality, this is a job you would love to go to every day. It is as challenging a job it gets and that is what we like the most, isn’t it?

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About the Author: Jessica Robinson loves to write interesting and knowledgeable blogs regarding business management, education and life to satiate the curiosity of her lovely readers. Currently, she is serving as a content manager at the ‘Speaking Polymath’. Every piece of content that she writes demonstrates her immense love and passion for her profession.

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