Businesses need to do everything they can to get a competitive edge. They hire the best employees, they spend a significant amount of money in research and development, and they have marketing campaigns across countless channels. An ISO 9001 certification is another tool that businesses can employ to get an edge.
What is ISO 9001? It is an international standard that involves creating and maintaining a Quality Management System. It ensures that a company has policies, processes, and procedures to ensure that the products and services offered by a business meet regulatory and customer needs.
While achieving certification is not simple, it can be done – and many industries are eager to get it.
Some of the top industries that get the certification include:
- Information Technology
- Hospitality
- Healthcare
- Engineering
- Construction
- Manufacturing
Knowing the benefits of the ISO 9001 certification can make it easier for business owners to understand why they should make it a priority to obtain.
Reason #1: Improve Productivity
There are always issues when it comes to productivity, regardless of what industry a business is in. Sometimes it has to do with insufficient processes and sometimes it has to do with a lack of training programs for employees.
While there are plenty of ways to boost productivity, ISO 9001 can help dramatically. This is because there are standards that will help a business to stay more organized. Audits can be done to learn about existing processes and recommend better ones to ensure that everything operates more productively.
Reason #2: Enhance Profits
Often, businesses can start to lose money without even realizing it. The money is lost because of insufficiency within the operations, high employee turnover, and more.
By having a Quality Management System in place, companies ensure that some processes and procedures are followed regularly. Companies that have ISO certification conduct more internal audits to highlight issues.
When the business runs smoother, it’s easier to profit. And, with more audits, issues that could cause problems to the bottom line are caught sooner.
Reason #3: Provide a Safer Work Environment
Every employee has the right to a safe working environment. In the U.S., OSHA offers various rights and protections to workers. Some guidelines can be followed and training is available so that employees know how to do their jobs.
ISO certification can ensure that employees are guaranteed an even safer environment due to comprehensive training and protocols. It can also include various risk management systems to prevent and even eliminate workplace accidents.
When employees are kept safer, they are happier and more likely to stay working for a company.
Reason #4: Establish Trust
Consumers today want to trust the businesses that they work with. Obtaining the ISO certification is a way to establish trust because there are policies and procedures in place.
ISO standards have become so important that many vendors will require certification to develop a partnership.
Reason #5: Provide Better Customer Service
When businesses have ISO standards in place, it allows them to eliminate various issues that can occur. They offer more consistency as well as higher quality products and services to customers. The needs of the customer are turned into a higher priority through the various policies and processes.
In turn, customers offer more loyalty to those companies because trust and consistency have been repeatedly proven. Ultimately, a business can benefit in several ways from obtaining ISO 9001 certification. It can help them with their business, their employees, and their customers. Starting with the certification process can be overwhelming, but some consultants can help every step of the way.
