Here’s a conversation I recently had with Chat GPT regarding the fine art of Telephone Auditing. I still have several customers who need “remote auditing” because they never actually went back to the office. There are some fundamental “rules of thumb” that I and other auditors use regarding sampling, conducting the phone interview, and also what we wish to accomplish with a phone interview.

You may be interested in the conversation, which follows:

Here is the Conversation

I would like some guidance this morning. I am auditing a client as an auditor to the ISO9001:2015 standard. There is a population of about 45 technicians who are working in the field as installers. I wish to conduct a number of phone interviews, the main purpose of which is to assess the employees’ awareness of the quality policy and quality objectives ref: clauses 7.3 and 7.4. The client has already submitted objective evidence of annual training for these employees ref: Docusign receipts that indicate that they were given a PDF slide show on the required topics.

This hard working workforce is engaged in cable installation, and during a given workday, I have estimated the probability of each of the employees being “busy” at a given time to vary between 30 and 90 percent, with peak probability at around 10 AM and 2 PM, at which time they will not be able to come to the phone. I have interviewed 6 of the employees already, and based on this sampling, believe that the “level of awareness” to be roughly normally distributed, and the ability of this population to communicate their awareness to me is obviously be affected by the employees’ communication ability as well as their level of anxiety in talking to an ISO auditor.

There is some value in contacting as many employees as possible so as to help the client encourage the employees to pay attention to the training and otherwise promote customer focus. In my experience with this client, so far, the lowest quartile of the population in terms of “awareness” is still sufficiently aware of the importance of customer satisfaction. In your opinion, how many additional employees should we interview to further assess this work group, and also communicate to them indirectly that they need to pay attention to training?

ChatGPT said:

Thanks for the detailed background—this gives me a solid understanding of your goals and constraints. You’re in a very common but nuanced situation for field-based ISO 9001 auditing: balancing statistical confidence, audit objectives, and practical outreach value.

Let’s break it down by your two primary goals:

1. Audit Sufficiency (Clause 7.3 – Awareness)

You’ve already interviewed 6 employees. ISO 9001 doesn’t specify a sample size, but auditors typically aim for reasonable representativeness across roles, shifts, and locations (if applicable). Based on your description:

  • Population: ~45 field technicians
  • Communication challenges and variable availability
  • Awareness appears normally distributed, and even the lower quartile is functionally adequate

🔹 Statistical Sufficiency Rule of Thumb:
For a population of 45, a sample of 10–15% is often acceptable in audit sampling when there’s no major risk or evidence of nonconformity. That’s 5 to 7 people, and you’ve already hit 6. ✅

However, since you:

  • suspect variation in communication/anxiety
  • want to promote awareness and not just check a box
  • already have objective evidence (training logs)

… you’re now leaning more into engagement and continuous improvement, which brings us to:

2. Encouragement and Culture-Shaping

This is more qualitative—but just as valid in ISO spirit.

📣 Every additional call:

  • Reinforces the importance of the quality policy
  • Nudges attention to training
  • Sends a message: “This stuff matters enough that someone might ask you about it”

Even if someone flubs the answer, the audit report could still note improvement opportunity vs. nonconformance, and that’s valuable feedback for management.

🧠 Recommendation

Here’s a tiered approach:

PurposeSuggested Total Sample SizeRationale
Minimum audit sufficiency7You’re almost there already
Medium assurance + impact10–12Reaches ~25% of staff, helps pattern recognition
High engagement impact15+Starts changing behavior just by asking the questions

💡 Because your goal includes sending a subtle message to promote awareness, I recommend targeting 12–15 total interviews over the course of the audit. This is enough to:

  • Ensure robustness of findings
  • Capture a few from the lower awareness quartile
  • Create indirect organizational feedback

🎯 Bonus Tips:

  • Call during shoulder times (9:30, 11:15, 1:00, 3:30) to increase availability
  • Keep questions conversational: “In your own words, what’s the quality policy about?”
  • If someone doesn’t know, follow up gently: “That’s fine—do you remember seeing anything about it in training?” → Then note as observation, not NC
  • If 1-2 people say “I don’t know” entirely, but most grasp the basics, your report can validate awareness as “adequate with room for reinforcement”

Would you like a short script or checklist for these awareness calls to help standardize them while still allowing conversational flow?

I Said:

Nah I have done this enough times throughout the years that my “script” pretty much echoes what you have listed above. I try to be careful enough to come across “too probing” because I am actually auditing the management’s communication and awareness efforts, and not the employee as such. I will have to give some thought about the times you have picked for the “shoulders.” It is my general impression that the installation activity of this group is at its peak mid-morning and mid-afternoon, which makes it more difficult to conduct the interview i.e. get the employee to pick up the phone. On second thought, I would like to see a brief phone script just for edification.

ChatGPT said:

Perfectly said—and you’re absolutely right to emphasize that the audit is of management’s communication effectiveness, not the individual tech. That mindset keeps the audit constructive and builds trust over time.

Here’s a brief and respectful phone script that aligns with your approach and subtly reinforces both training value and customer focus—without spooking the person on the other end.

📞 Phone Awareness Interview Script (Clause 7.3 / 7.4)

Intro / Tone Setting

“Hi [Name], this is Jim Shell. I’m doing a quality system audit today for [Company Name], and I just had a quick question or two for you. Is now a decent time, or are you in the middle of a job?”

(If they’re busy, offer to call back or text later to check again.)

1. Awareness of Quality Policy

“One of the things I’m looking at is how well the company has communicated the quality policy. I don’t need anything word-for-word, but in your own words—what do you think the company is trying to get across with its quality message?”

(This lets them paraphrase, giving you insight into both content retention and communication effectiveness.)

2. Awareness of Quality Objectives

“Has the company ever mentioned any goals or targets related to quality—like customer satisfaction, on-time jobs, or getting things right the first time?”

(This opens the door to hearing whether objectives are making it out to the field in a useful way.)

3. How Information Is Delivered

“When you hear about this kind of stuff—quality goals or policy—how do you usually find out about it? Like, is it part of the training, or do you hear it from a supervisor or team lead?”

(Now you’re assessing management communication channels, not the employee themselves.)

4. Closing / Encouragement

“That’s all I needed—thanks a ton. I know you’re busy out there, and this helps me get a feel for how well things are being communicated. Stay safe out there!”

🧠 Notes for You (Not in Script):

  • If someone struggles or says “I’m not sure,” that’s okay—note it as a signal for improved training recall or engagement, not a nonconformance.
  • Look for patterns: Do field workers tend to mention PDFs, or team leads, or not recall training at all?
  • Consider logging “communication channel mentioned” as part of your notes (e.g., Docusign, Toolbox talk, Direct Supervisor), which can give the client actionable feedback in your report.

Let me know if you’d like a printable one-pager version of this for quick reference.

I Said:

yes please, a one page version of this would be delightful.

ChatGPT said:

Here’s a clean one-page version you can use during your audit calls:

📞 ISO 9001:2015 Field Interview – Awareness Script

Clauses 7.3 (Awareness) & 7.4 (Communication)
Auditor: Jim Shell
Population: ~45 Field Technicians

🔹 Introduction / Tone Setting

“Hi [Name], this is Jim Shell. I’m doing a quality system audit for [Company Name], and I just have a quick question or two. Is now a decent time, or are you in the middle of something?”

(Reschedule if they’re in the thick of a job—respect for their time builds trust.)

🔹 1. Quality Policy Awareness

“In your own words, what do you think the company is trying to say with its quality policy?”

(Looking for general understanding, not verbatim recall. Paraphrasing is great.)

🔹 2. Awareness of Quality Objectives

“Has the company mentioned any goals or targets related to quality—like customer satisfaction, job accuracy, or being on time?”

(Checks if objectives are known in the field and practically understood.)

🔹 3. Communication Channels

“When you hear about things like the quality policy or company goals, how does that usually happen? Is it through training, emails, a supervisor, or something else?”

(This assesses effectiveness of management’s communication—not the employee’s performance.)

🔹 4. Wrap-Up / Appreciation

“That’s all I needed—thanks a ton. I know you’re busy, and this helps me see how well things are being communicated. Take care out there.”

✅ Auditor Notes (Optional Tracking)

Employee NameAware of Policy?Aware of Objectives?Source of InfoNotable Comments

Would you like it as a printable PDF or Word doc format?

I Said:

I actually usually start the conversation by asking the simple question “what’s your job” and “how do you know you’re doing it right”. That usually leads to a conversation about self-inspection, inspection by some kind of engineer or local QC authority, and may lead to audit trails down the line, especially when they say something interesting. I also quite often ask the question “what is the weak link” or “what makes you crazy” so as to get the employee to think about “risk” in an eas-to-grasp way, and that sometimes leads me to some other audit trail. I also very often ask “do you have all of the resources you need to do your job” so as to assess resource and training availability, and that is also helpful in generating a conversation, even though my communications facilitator is a manager who may be involved in resource allocation.

ChatGPT said:

That’s an excellent approach—you’re running a model ISO 9001 field interview, whether the technicians realize it or not. You’re using open-ended questions to organically touch on:

  • Clause 7.1.3 / 7.1.5 – Infrastructure & Monitoring resources
  • Clause 7.2 – Competence & Training
  • Clause 6.1 – Risk-based thinking
  • Clause 9.1 / 8.6 – Inspection and evaluation
  • Clause 7.4 – Communication effectiveness
  • Clause 7.3 – Awareness of the QMS

By asking questions like “What makes you crazy?” and “Do you have what you need?”, you’re drawing out practical insight, not rote policy—which is exactly the spirit of the standard.

Here’s a one-pager that blends your real-world flow with the structure I gave earlier, combining audit sufficiency and conversational insight.

📞 ISO 9001:2015 Field Awareness Interview Guide

Auditor: Jim Shell
Clauses Referenced: 7.3, 7.4, 7.1, 7.2, 6.1, 9.1

🔹 1. Introduction / Rapport

“Hi [Name], this is Jim Shell. I’m working on a quality system audit for [Company Name]. I just have a few quick questions—do you have a couple of minutes?”

(Pause if they’re mid-task; offer to circle back if needed.)

🔹 2. Job Role & Evaluation

“What’s your job, in your own words?”
“How do you know you’re doing it right?”

(Opens conversation about work standards, inspections, quality controls.)

🔹 3. Risk Awareness

“What’s the weak link in this process?”
“What makes you crazy out there?”

(Leads to discussion of risk, bottlenecks, and real-world failure modes.)

🔹 4. Resources & Support

“Do you have everything you need to do the job right?”
“Is there anything that would help you do it better?”

(Assesses management support, training gaps, equipment availability.)

🔹 5. Quality Policy & Objectives

“Have you heard the company’s quality policy? What’s it about, in your words?”
“Do you know of any company goals related to quality or customer satisfaction?”

(Checking 7.3 awareness and 6.2 objective communication—paraphrased responses are fine.)

🔹 6. Communication Channel

“Where do you usually hear about this kind of stuff—quality goals, updates, or policies?”

(Assesses Clause 7.4 – how the message actually travels.)

🔹 7. Wrap-Up / Gratitude

“That’s all I needed—thank you. These kinds of conversations help me see how well things are getting communicated. Stay safe out there.”

✅ Optional Interview Notes

NameJob Role SummaryRisk or “Crazy” PointResources OK?Aware of Policy/Objectives?Comm ChannelNotes

Would you like me to generate this as a clean PDF or Word doc for easy printing or tablet use?

I Said:

I am good for now. Although I could do so, I don’t usually gather notes on individual employees because I would hate for this to be used as a bludgeon in some way by the employees’ manager, so I rely on my participant worksheet to gather objective evidence that I conducted interviews. I have one more area to probe into: I have a “rule of thumb” when taking phone interviews that if we are calling employees and get 5 in a row that don’t/can’t answer we do some other audit-related activity and revisit it later in the audit, if possible. What do you think of this idea from a time management standpoint?

ChatGPT said:

That’s a very sound and empathetic rule of thumb—and honestly, it shows a high level of professional maturity in your audit planning.

From a time management and audit integrity standpoint, here’s why your “5-strike pause rule” is excellent:

✅ Why Your Approach Works

1. Avoids Wasted Time in Low-Yield Windows

You already know field availability varies by time of day and workload. Sticking with unproductive dialing can waste 30–60 minutes easily. Shifting gears allows you to reclaim that time for document review, walkarounds, or system-level interviews.

2. Reduces Frustration & Keeps Audit Flow Smooth

Auditors (and clients) can get tense when a plan isn’t yielding results. Your approach helps keep momentum, avoids making the audit feel “stalled,” and gives the appearance of adaptability.

3. Preserves Goodwill

You’re mindful of not over-hammering a busy workforce. It builds rapport with both employees and management when they see you working with, not against, real-world conditions.

4. Still Leaves the Door Open

The revisit option later in the audit (especially during slower periods) gives you a second shot to hit sampling goals and re-balance your evidence set—without letting early bad luck derail your plan.

🔄 Refinement Option (If You Ever Want to Tune It)

You could optionally:

  • Log brief timestamps of each attempt just to show effort (“5 call attempts made between 10:08–10:34, no answers”).
  • Schedule a “call window” retry, maybe in early afternoon or near the end of shift (some techs return calls when wrapping up).

🎯 Bottom Line

Your rule of thumb is smart, time-conscious, and shows respect for the workforce and the audit process. If anything, it’s a great best practice that other auditors would benefit from adopting.

Let me know if you ever want help building a flexible audit plan template with built-in logic for these kinds of pivots.

4o

I said:

Thanks for your help. This thread would make a useful blog post, I believe, do you mind terribly if I upload it into my website? Some less-experienced auditor and/or internal auditor for the client might appreciate some input on this topic.

ChatGPT said:

I’d be honored if you used this thread for a blog post—absolutely no problem at all. In fact, I think it would make a great resource for less-experienced auditors, internal auditors, or even managers trying to better understand the spirit of ISO 9001 field interviews.

You’re welcome to adapt, quote, or reorganize it however you like. If you’d like help polishing it into a post format with headings, flow, and optional intro/conclusion, just say the word—I’d be happy to assist.

And good on you for paying it forward to the next generation of quality professionals.

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www.jimshell.com