ance” and “low performance”, then no chance is needed. If the it were rated with an average of “high importance” and “low performance”, then the company would know that its employees consider a clean kitchen sink an importance element of an office. The employer would also know that the kitchen sink is not very clean! Therefore, the employer should increase spending and focus on When people think about a survey tool, they normally think of Yes-No questions and multiple choices. The Quality Improvement Priority Matrix is a survey tool of a different nature. This article demonstrates how to use the QIPM tool to benefit your company and improve your business decisions.

A QIPM survey has many questions.
Each question has two specific items:
1) How important is this to you? and
2) How well is it currently performed.
For example, let’s imagine that a company wishes to survey its employees and identify what aspects of the office could be improved. One question in the survey might be “Kitchen sink cleanliness”. For this particular question, each survey participant would be asked to consider “Is it important to have a clean kitchen sink?” and “How clean is the kitchen sink?” As more employees respond to this question, the response will become more and more significant.

Once the data collection phase is complete, the analysis is done by using a 4-quadrant chart. One axis displays the importance of the item, from Low to High. The other axis displays the performance of the item, from Low to High. Based on the average importance and performance rating by the survey participants ( in our example, the employees), the chart will indicate what business decision should be made. If the average was “low importance” and “high performance”, then the employer could reduce funding to keep the kitchen sink clean. If the average Kitchen sink cleanliness was of “low importance” and “low performance”, then no chance is needed. If the it were rated with an average of “high importance” and “low performance”, then the company would know that its employees consider a clean kitchen sink an importance element of an office. The employer would also know that the kitchen sink is not very clean! Therefore, the employer should increase spending and focus on

1) How important is this to you? and
2) How well is it currently performed.
For example, let’s imagine that a company wishes to survey its employees and identify what aspects of the office could be improved. One question in the survey might be “Kitchen sink cleanliness”. For this particular question, each survey participant would be asked to consider “Is it important to have a clean kitchen sink?” and “How clean is the kitchen sink?” As more employees respond to this question, the response will become more and more significant.

Once the data collection phase is complete, the analysis is done by using a 4-quadrant chart. One axis displays the importance of the item, from Low to High. The other axis displays the performance of the item, from Low to High. Based on the average importance and performance rating by the survey participants ( in our example, the employees), the chart will indicate what business decision should be made. If the average was “low importance” and “high performance”, then the employer could reduce funding to keep the kitchen sink clean. If the average Kitchen sink cleanliness was of “low importance” and “low performance”, then no chance is needed. If the it were rated with an average of “high importance” and “low performance”, then the company would know that its employees consider a clean kitchen sink an importance element of an office. The employer would also know that the kitchen sink is not very clean! Therefore, the employer should increase spending and focus on

have a clean kitchen sink?” and “How clean is the kitchen sink?” As more employees respond to this question, the response will become more and more significant.

Once the data collection phase is complete, the analysis is done by using a 4-quadrant chart. One axis displays the importance of the item, from Low to High. The other axis displays the performance of the item, from Low to High. Based on the average importance and performance rating by the survey participants ( in our example, the employees), the chart will indicate what business decision should be made. If the average was “low importance” and “high performance”, then the employer could reduce funding to keep the kitchen sink clean. If the average Kitchen sink cleanliness was of “low importance” and “low performance”, then no chance is needed. If the it were rated with an average of “high importance” and “low performance”, then the company would know that its employees consider a clean kitchen sink an importance element of an office. The employer would also know that the kitchen sink is not very clean! Therefore, the employer should increase spending and focus on

Low to High. Based on the average importance and performance rating by the survey participants ( in our example, the employees), the chart will indicate what business decision should be made. If the average was “low importance” and “high performance”, then the employer could reduce funding to keep the kitchen sink clean. If the average Kitchen sink cleanliness was of “low importance” and “low performance”, then no chance is needed. If the it were rated with an average of “high importance” and “low performance”, then the company would know that its employees consider a clean kitchen sink an importance element of an office. The employer would also know that the kitchen sink is not very clean! Therefore, the employer should increase spending and focus on ance” and “low performance”, then no chance is needed. If the it were rated with an average of “high importance” and “low performance”, then the company would know that its employees consider a clean kitchen sink an importance element of an office. The employer would also know that the kitchen sink is not very clean! Therefore, the employer should increase spending and focus on improving the cleanliness of the kitchen sink.

We’ve observed an example of how the importance and performance chart can help a business owner (employer) identify whether or not an item needs to be improved. The concepts demonstrated in this article could be applied to many topics in the corporate environment. Both small and large companies could use the QIPM survey tool. Hopefully, the business will save time and money, and the employees will benefit by having a cleaner sink!