How ISO 9001 Registration Improves Management

Excellence doesn’t just happen on its own

Published: Tuesday, December 22, 2015 - 16:00

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Company managers have a lot on their plates. It’s a tall order to handle daily operations, inventory, staffing needs, training, deadline and quota expectations, and a bevy of other duties. The best managers know enough to delegate certain responsibilities which can help maintain organizational efficiency, but at a certain point there are too many variables to keep track of.

What’s worse is when a management team lacks consistency. Let’s say one manager prefers things done in her own certain way, but another manager has his own set of principles. The result is that there are two competing processes happening in the same facility, so when a mistake inevitably occurs, no one can be completely sure how it happened or how to fix it. There’s no consistency, no audit trail, and no accountability.

Registration to ISO 9001 can eliminate that uncertainty by establishing a coherent standard by which managers can measure their procedures and streamline processes, according to ISO’s quality management principles. Read on to find out how.

The customer comes first

Ultimately, managers are only successful if they’re meeting clients’ needs. No matter how well the manager performs her duties, none of it matters if the customers are unhappy. ISO 9001 emphasizes taking actions to measure customer satisfaction, link company goals to client expectations, build customer relationships, and forecast clients’ future needs.

Be a better leader

Leadership is about balance. It’s about knowing when to give orders and delegate responsibility, when to step aside and allow others to take initiative, and when to simply let your work ethic dictate your expectations. Being a leader is not about establishing dominance, and great leaders are experts at empowering people to go above and beyond. ISO 9001 values employee engagement at every level, focusing on respect, communication, and shared values.

Become process-oriented

Build better processes, and you’ll build a better organization. Managers who focus strictly on the end result may be tempted to take shortcuts, deviate from standards, or ignore protocols. When that happens, not only do tasks get overlooked, deadlines pass, and expectations go unmet, but it also may be impossible to go back through the steps and identify what went wrong. ISO 9001 is all about the process, especially in its latest incarnation.

“The earlier versions of ISO 9001 were quite prescriptive, with many requirements for documented procedures and records,” explains ISO 9001 subcommittee chair Nigel Croft in a recent ISO news item. “In the 2000 and 2008 editions, we focused more on managing processes, and less on documentation. We have now gone a step further, and ISO 9001:2015 is even less prescriptive than its predecessor, focusing instead on performance.”

Continuous improvement

There’s no such thing as perfection; an organization can always be more efficient, reach for higher customer satisfaction, and better engage its employees. Managers can’t be satisfied with fixing a problem in a process, or reaching a baseline goal. Instead, they should be focused on raising the bar—and ISO 9001 can help. The standard stresses education and training, building higher goals across the organization, tracking projects, and rewarding progress. Additionally, managers who use hard data have an easier time making measurable improvements. It’s hard to know exactly how a company is performing if there are no metrics in place to mark growth.

Seeking registration to ISO 9001 is a sure way to improve management because it establishes norms and procedures that align with the best practices named here. Additionally, clients associate ISO 9001 registration with quality control and a commitment to success—and happy customers make for happy managers. By streamlining processes and providing companywide cohesion, ISO 9001 registration will bring out the best in management.

About The Author

TÜV SÜD America

2016 marks the 150th anniversary of TÜV SÜD—a premium quality, safety, and sustainability solutions provider that specializes in testing, inspection, auditing, certification, training, and knowledge services. TÜV SÜD America, a subsidiary of TÜV SÜD AG, is a business-to-business engineering services firm providing international safety testing and certification services. Founded in 1987, TÜV SÜD America has more than a dozen locations throughout North America. Operating under the brand names of Product Service, Management Service, Industry Service, Automotive and PetroChem, TÜV SÜD America has partnered with thousands of companies throughout the NAFTA region, assuring product and management systems excellence, and acceptance in the global marketplace.