Throughout recent business history, quality has been defi ned by many meanings, measures, and mantras. The "quality movement found its roots in post-World War II Japan and has evolved over time to feature a host of initiatives and disciplines including quality circles, the Baldridge Awards, voice of the customer methodologies, ISO standards, and the concept of continuous improvement known as kaizen.

Today, the quest for identifying and improving quality has accelerated, spurred on by ever evolving methodologies and initiatives such as "total quality management (TQM) and Six Sigma. But quality is more than the sum of tools or methods used to influence or evaluate. Quality today is defined as the level of commitment and satisfaction the customer perceives from a product or service.  Achieving true quality requires that customers and suppliers set realistic expectations and agree on what quality is, how to measure it, and how to achieve it. This is particularly true of Human Resources Outsourcing (HRO) relationships, which continue to evolve, from a purely cost-reduction proposition to a strategic business imperative, where quality of service and quality of experience are emerging as the premier indicators of overall quality.


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