A key factor for any business to thrive is understanding the needs and wants of its customers and implementing procedures that meet these needs and wants.
Certifications such as the ISO ensure business adhere to standardized procedures. Though there is no requirement to obtain an ISO certificate, businesses of any size, form or industry can benefit from the recognition they receive on completion.
In this blog post, we deep dive into what it really means to be ISO certified and why it could make all the difference to your business.
What is ISO?
The International Organization for Standardization or ISO for short, is an independent, non-governmental international organization.
ISO standards ensure that management systems, manufacturing processes, services, or documentation procedures meet all the requirements for standardization and quality assurance.
Main certifications
ISO 9001 – Quality Management Systems - The organization has implemented and maintains a quality management system focused on the customer and meeting the customer’s requirements
ISO 14001 – Environmental Management Systems - The organization has implemented and maintains an environmental management system focused on reducing environmental impact and managing its environmental aspects
ISO 45001 – Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems - The certified organization has implemented and maintains an Occupational Health and Safety management system focused on reducing accidents and risks
ISO 27001 – Information Security Management Systems -The certified organization has implemented and maintains an Information Security management system focused on information security controls
ISO 37001 and ISO 37301 – Anti-Bribery and Compliance Management Systems - The certified organization has implemented and maintains an Anti-Bribery and Compliance management system focused on preventing bribery and meeting Compliance obligations
There are many other ISO certifications that you can find here.
Benefits of having ISO Certification
As we mentioned above, ISO certification is not a requirement. The ISO helps to level the playing field in business through standardization. Here are a few of the benefits of becoming ISO certified:
Keep up with industry standards & meet customer needs
Customer needs change regularly and you must be able to keep up with changing demands to stay relevant. ISO reviews its standards at regular intervals and updates its regulations to match the current industry trends and safety procedures.
Maintain consistency & quality
ISO certification provides a highly standardized procedure for management, processes, services and documents which will provide a high level of consistency to certified organizations. In turn, with this high level of consistency you can be sure that quality will also improve in these areas.
Authority & trust
ISO certification provides a tangible form of credibility to back up the good work that your business does. Credibility builds your business as an authority figure within your industry, and this in turn increases trust within your business relationships. Remember to display your ISO badge on your website.
How to get ISO certified
You know what ISO is, you’ve looked at their main certifications, and seen some of the benefits, but how do you go about actually getting certified?
The process involves time and effort but has great rewards once you establish your processes. The first step is to develop and implement a management system which adheres to your desired ISO standard. For example, we chose to follow the ISO 27001 standards as that is the certification we aimed to achieve.
You’ll need to begin by preparing documents, records, training, and establishing regulated processes. It’s useful to monitor this and gather any data you can for review.
Next you need to verify the system by conducting an internal audit. Here you can identify strengths and weaknesses of your current system and make any adjustments.
Finally, you need to submit your system for external review through an auditing body to ensure it complies with the standardized regulations.
Aproove is ISO certified!
As you may have noticed, Aproove is now ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certified! The ISO 27001 certificate demonstrates our ability to effectively manage the security of assets such as financial information, intellectual property, employee data, and information entrusted by third parties.
Want to find out more about getting your business ISO certified? Find out more directly from the ISO website.
