ISO Auditor Questioning Techniques

One of the fundamental skills of an auditor is to be able to extract the information you need from an auditee, it is not a game of cat and mouse but more of a friendly conversation about what someone does during the day.

We can all ask simple questions but the trick is to ask them in a way that puts the auditee at ease and feel that they can answer questions openly without criticism. Auditors are not there to judge people but to seek compliance against a set of requirements based on an organisations management system.

There are good methods and bad methods for asking questions and although this would have been a core skill discussed during any ISO Lead Auditor course it’s always good for a refresher and will also help any new auditors out there who are still getting to grips with auditing.

Questioning Sequence

I will always start the conversation with a short introduction about what I am doing, I ask the auditee if they have been through this kind of thing before and then just explain what I am about to do. Simply asking them to talk you through the process puts them at ease as they can talk about something they know a lot about very easily. I don’t ask to see any specific jobs or ask any probing questions until they have talked me through the process from start to finish. After I have the process clear in my head i will then start to look at specific job evidence and ask specific questions.

In asking questions on a particular process or activity, try and follow the PDCA sequence to ensure they are not only DOING the process but also MEASURING the process performance for improvement. When related to auditing, PDCA may apply as follows:

PLAN — ask how the process or activity is planned including, where appropriate, the objectives and plans to meet the objectives

DO — ask how it is performed — what — who — how etc. and what records are kept. You should always focus on the records as these provide the evidence of implementation. This part can be thought of as the “mechanics” of the audit

CHECK — ask how the process or activity is evaluated — what checks are in place etc. e.g. — look at inspection & test results or audit results — as these are principal sources of information on the performance of the product (service) and process

ACT — ask about what action is taken if there is problem and / or to achieve improvement — are there any recent improvements in the process or activity.

Auditors use three basic information gathering techniques when conducting an audit, i.e.:

• Asking questions
• Listening
• Looking (including reviewing of documents, records and at the process / environment)

Questioning Techniques

Different questioning techniques can be used to help the auditor gather information from the auditees. When to use each technique depends very much on the situation and how the auditee is responding. For example; is the auditee not free with the answers, not giving away much information, or, is the auditee open and forthcoming in discussion, adequately describing the activities under review?

Below are some common questioning techniques along with some of the benefits of each.

You should always start the conversation or question using the “Open” questioning technique. This allows for free conversation from the auditee and they will answer the question in their own style and format. You can extract a lot more information from an open question by only asking one simple thing.

By careful with the phrasing of questions. The auditor can answer a multitude of points by asking a single question e.g. “How do you check all incoming post?” This invites the auditee to describe the system. During the answer supplementary questions can be interspersed such as, “Why do you do that?”, “When is this done?”, “How do you report defects?” etc.

It is important to be clear on the reasons why you are asking the question before you ask it. The auditee may well ask you “why are you asking me that question?”

A “closed” question is always good at the end of the conversation or to clarify some points so you are clear in your understanding. “So just to clarify, you do this….?” That will either get a yes or no answer. If you get a yes then you have understood the process correctly, a no will require further clarification.

Top Tips

• A good audit of a process will always start with an open question and end with a closed question;
• A mixture of other questioning techniques is also beneficial to get a deeper understanding of the process and activity;
• Do not be afraid to say “I don’t understand” and ask for further information;
• Be attentive and focus on the conversation not taking lots of notes, interaction with the auditee is vital for an effective audit;
• Compare answers given, with answers to the same question from another auditee;
• Silence can encourage the auditee to give further information;
• Know what the procedures or standards require so that you are clear in your own mind what constitutes acceptable answers and acceptable evidence.