Listening and Evaluating | Assessment

Using visual components such as colour codes (the traffic light system) and plain text evaluations facilitates a quick and intuitive assessment during audits. This can be especially useful for instantly appraising the condition of facilities or processes. The traffic light system effectively supports categorising results into 'good', 'moderate', or 'poor'. For instance, in a retail store audit, the cleanliness of the sales floor could be assessed using a traffic light system: green for 'clean', yellow for 'acceptable, requires spot cleaning', and red for 'inadequate, needs cleaning'. Such visual assessments allow the auditor to quickly and accurately judge the situation.

Another important component is the ability to have different evaluation expressions within a single question, all following the same rating scale. For example, in a manufacturing plant, a question regarding adherence to hygiene standards might offer various response options, each targeting the same evaluation scale but highlighting different aspects of safety. A question about room cleanliness might include both an assessment of the overall condition and a specific evaluation of floor cleanliness.

Sometimes, it's necessary to have multiple evaluation positions for a single question to capture different circumstances separately. This is particularly useful in assessing complex situations where multiple elements need to be considered simultaneously. For example, in assessing the first impression in a supermarket entrance area, deviations might include both the order (boxes in the way, displays askew, etc.) and cleanliness aspects (dirty floors, smudged windows, etc.).