14 Ways to Continuously Improve Through ISO 9001 & Other Standards
We know the pains associated with compliance management. 2023 marks our 20th anniversary, so we’ve spent our fair share in the trenches with our clients, working through actions that the can sometimes feel as pleasant as doing your taxes, switching insurance providers or getting a tooth pulled. To make requirements management even more challenging, your customers continue to demand certifications to new or changing standards. And then there’s the dozens of ISO technical committees that review standards every 5 years or so for consideration of upgrading. One man’s pain is another man’s business. At Concentric Global, this is where we shine.
Compliance management and continuous improvement does not have to be miserable work. Imagine having a friendly and knowledgeable expert by your side to guide you through your journey. That's what our ongoing support is all about. From the initial stages of formulating how to make your business more systematic, through certification and beyond, you can count on us to support your quest to get to the next level. Regardless of where you are today. And believe it or not, we will likely have a little bit of fun along the way. Seriously.
What does ONgoing support look like?
Here are 14 ways we can help you take your management system to the next level, regardless of where you are right now.
1. Getting Started: We'll start by taking a look at what you're already doing and where there are gaps. Most organizations are doing more than they realize to meet standard requirements, but a gap assessment will define where you are now vs. what is needed for compliance. Management system development depends on a lot of factors. Most organizations can get from step 1 to a certificate in-hand within 6-12 months, with the right guidance. Sustainability is KEY, so choose your guidance wisely.
2. Your Custom Plan: After a gap assessment is conducted (usually 2-3 days), we will create a custom implementation plan based on in-house resources vs. outsourcing, the maturity of your operations, “tribal knowledge” vs. a formal information system, and various other factors. From this assessment grows a simple CI Implementation Plan with action items, assignments, priority ranking, due dates, progress tracking, etc.
3. Paperwork Check: ISO 9001, for example, requires some paperwork. But not a lot. Especially in the 2015 version. We'll help you create and/or update your documents, where needed, to make sure they're in tip-top shape. We have 100+ proven benchmarks - tools, templates, checklists, procedures, spreadsheet and other software tools - to expedite meeting documentation requirements.
4. Team Training: Everyone on your team should know what their specific roles, responsibilities and contributions to your CI journey are. They also need to know how to stay compliant with requirements within their roles, and how to best use these standards to improve the work performance in their respective areas. We'll help with the translation of requirements from “ISO-speak” so everyone's on the same page. We will also explain why a specific requirement exists; the spirit of the control if you will.
5. Making Things Better: We'll work with you to find areas where you can make your processes more efficient, mitigate risks, reduce waste with lean thinking, optimize process performance and create a better working environment. It's all about identifying and standardizing best practices while bringing harmony to the various initiatives business leaders have to juggle.
6. Checking In: Regular checks are essential. We can help with your audits to make sure you're following the rules you, your customers and the international standards require. We will also give you tips along the way on how to make incremental improvements based on the practices we’ve observed over 20+ years in the business. Thanks to today’s remote meeting solutions, most support and management processes can be evaluated remotely, ultimately saving time and money. Cha-ching!
7. Management Meetings: Your top dogs and organizational leaders will need to have regular chats about the overall health of your various processes, as well as the system as a whole. We'll help you organize those meetings so they run efficiently, ensure action items are traced through completion, and communication is effective. Communication habits, or lack thereof, is a frequently missed opportunity. We’ll help you design your optimal cadences, from daily stand-up meetings to quarterly Town Hall meetings.
8. Measuring Progress: We'll help you keep an eye on the numbers and data to make sure you're on track with your targets and adjusting quickly when you’re not. Through tools like our Process Measures Dashboard - part of our 12 Tools methodology - process performance indicators (PPIs) are easily visualized so each respective process owner can report on their areas of responsibilities. Each PPI should be mapped to the higher-level key performance indicator (KPI) with a clear understanding of how the local work you do is connected to the long-term success of the business.
9. Managing Risks: Various standards, including ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and IS0 45001, care about how you manage risks and opportunities for improvement. We'll help you spot and deal with any potential issues through simple tools for capturing, indexing and prioritizing risks and opportunities so you do not feel overwhelmed. We recommend using the Assess > Index > Analyze > Prioritize > Act approach.
10. Certification Check: Prior to your initial certification, surveillance or re-registration audits, we’ll conduct a pre-assessment to ensure you are ready. If you're already certified, we'll make sure your certification status remains in good standing by helping you with internal and external audits. Need a check of a key supplier or due diligence on a prospective supplier? We do that too.
11. Solving Problems: If something's not going right, we'll help you fix it so you're back on track. One of our sharpest skills is root cause analysis (RCA). Don’t continue to suffer from the same issues day after day. Our problem solving workshops solve complex problems while teaching your team how to fix future problems on your own.
12. Keeping Records: We'll help you keep all the records you need and create reports to share with others based on the control of records requirements by each respective standard. We’ll also help you maintain your records control program so you can easily retrieve information when it is needed.
13. Keep Getting Better: Management systems design and maintenance isn’t just about meeting standards. It’s about getting even better at the right things at the right time. We'll help you with that too through a strategic view of continuous improvement using a realistic view of available resources.
14. We're In This Together: We'll check in regularly to see how things are going and make changes when needed. Count on us for a 10-minute call or a 10-day immersive onsite project when the time is right for you. From group training to 1-on-1 leadership coaching, we are a trusted and stable resource with over 20 years of experience in supporting some of the world’s most successful organizations.
In a nutshell, we're here to ensure your business not only meets standard requirements but keeps shining brighter and better every year. Compliance to ISO standards can be a catalyst for boosting how your business grows, how you keep your customers happy, and how you grow your share in the market. Consider us a partner on this journey. We've got your back! 😊🌟
For more information about management system deployment and project management, check out our blog titled 10 Steps to Management System Deployment.