To be an effective auditor, understanding the following auditing tips and tricks is helpful, whether it is a third-party or second-party audit.
How to Be an Effective Auditor – 8 Tips and Tricks for Auditing
1. Make the auditee a member of the audit team
Let the auditee feel that he is a member of the audit team, and avoid such opening remarks, “don’t worry, we’re not here to audit you, but to audit your system.” Instead, it should say, “we have to conduct an evaluation of the process to identify the deficiencies of the process or opportunities for improvement. For this, we need your help. I hope you will take us through the whole process and explain how it works. We may need you to answer some questions or show some relevant records. If there are any deficiencies or you think there will be improvement measures to make the process better, we are also willing to listen. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. OK? ” Such an opening statement sounds more sincere, truly reflects the role of the auditee, and makes the auditee a member of the audit team. The application of this rule should make the auditee not only willing to accept the audit but also willing to actively assist the factory audit.
2. Use funnel approach in the interview
When talking with the auditee, the auditor can ask three types of questions: open, closed, and clarifying questions. At the beginning of the evaluation, ask some general open-ended questions. Auditors get much more information from open-ended questions than closed-ended questions and then use clarifying questions to make up for omissions. Closed questions need to be answered yes or no, or clearly right or wrong. Therefore, the auditee has a greater chance of “breaking the halberd and sinking the sand” when answering closed-ended questions. In this way, open, closed, and clarifying questions constitute our so-called funnel interview strategy. Using the funnel method can improve the audit efficiency, obtain the most information in the shortest time, and make the auditee feel safer. Gradually relax and actively cooperate in the interview with the auditor.
3. Be an active listener
The importance of active listening cannot be overstated. An experience often mentioned is that auditors should spend only 10% of their time talking and 90% of their time listening. Although most of these wrong communication will not have a significant impact on daily communication, the wrong communication in the audit will have a destructive impact on the reputation of the auditee and the auditor. In short, an auditor must be an active listener.
4. Never let the auditee select samples
Many auditors ask the purchasing manager to give examples of suppliers who provide nonconforming products. In this way, the auditee can choose the sampling by itself, and in this way, the problem will never be found. It is advisable to review the receiving department before reviewing the purchasing department and find several examples of purchased products through the records of the receiving department. If the auditor wants to realize this requirement in the interview with the purchasing manager, he can clearly ask the purchasing manager to show the file records of the supplier problems found in the receiving department during this visit. The auditor should check each question on his checklist and ask himself, “how will I verify the auditee’s answer? Do I know what is needed and how to choose the sampling?” If the answer is uncertain, the auditor should develop a verification strategy and include it in the checklist.
5. Always confirm your audit findings with the auditee
Before leaving, the auditor should always inform the auditee of the audit findings. This is especially important when you think you have found a nonconformity. Inform the audit findings to avoid invalid findings caused by poor communication. Remember, 70% of all communications are misunderstood. Trained auditors can greatly reduce the probability of misunderstanding if they actively listen. But in fact, sometimes we just don’t understand what the other party wants to express, or the other party doesn’t understand us. Sometimes, we think we have found nonconformities, but in fact, we have not found them. Communicate with the auditee on the spot before ending the auditing or when problems are found. This will give the auditee the opportunity to correct any misunderstandings that may invalidate the discovery and protect your interests as an auditor.
6. Don’t forget the basics
Don’t record useless content. What is useless content? The useless content here refers to the audit findings of an administrative nature that have no actual impact on the performance of the management system. Such examples include obvious clerical errors, the absence of a “not applicable” mark in the blank without requirements or unnecessary circumstances, and omissions in administrative supervision that can be clearly and easily corrected. Because these details sometimes violate relevant requirements, how can auditors avoid writing them into the report? The simple answer is, don’t forget the basics. Focus on important requirements, problems, and performance, and don’t focus on or deliberately look for small problems that don’t make much sense.
7. Provide sufficient background information in the report
Auditors must always keep in mind who they are writing non-conformance reports for. Not for the audit project manager or other auditors, but for the manager of the auditee or the person in charge of the audited process, and for the manager or process person in charge of the auditee who needs to take corrective measures. The manager or process leader may not be present when the auditor finds the problem, which means that the audit report must be clear and can be directly traced to the requirements violated. The description of the problem should not leave any doubt. It must point out what the problem is and why it is considered to be a violation of the requirements.
8. Specify the advantages
Shouldn’t the auditor affirm the excellent performance of the auditee? The answer is yes. The auditor should point out and acknowledge the excellent performance of the auditee, especially when such excellent performance represents real best practice. However, the rules for doing so must be targeted. When giving praise, the key is to point out the specific practices worthy of praise. Auditors rarely have enough time to comprehensively and deeply evaluate the whole system or process, nor can they be sure that the whole audit object is really good. Instead, specify what you find outstanding. This excellent performance may be the control of electronic documentation in place, or the method used to inform document users of document changes.