ISO 9001 Certification Facts for the Small Business Owner: Principles (Demo)

Compliance with international standards like that of ISO isn’t just for industry giants in competition with one another—even small or medium enterprises can reap the benefits that an ISO certification can offer. For one, getting ISO 9001 certification could help you make sure that the products and services you offer are constantly on par with the widely accepted standards of quality. Customer Service An article by Michelle Bangert in Quality Magazine has it that the main goal of the ISO 9001 standard is to provide quality customer satisfaction:

ISO 9001:2008 aims “to enhance customer satisfaction in supplier-customer relationships,” according to the ISO website. Note that it says nothing about making business more complex or adding a lot of unnecessary paperwork. The focus is on the customer. Customer satisfaction is the main reason companies get ISO 9001 certification, followed by market need, mandated customer requirement, and self-declared conformance, according to a July 2011 ISO survey that received 11,722 survey responses from 122 countries. The survey found that the most important benefits of ISO 9001 were improved customer satisfaction and standardized business processes.

In other words, it aims to help businesses live up to quality management principles like: Customer Focus As already mentioned, this means that businesses should build a good relationship with customers by meeting their needs and gearing services on these needs. It’s also important to make sure that the products manufactured and services provided always seek to surpass customers’ expectations. Involvement It’s also imperative that companies boost up their employee involvement when it comes to the overall function of their enterprise. When everyone works for the success of each project, there’s much less chance of failure, and therefore overall quality can be ensured. Involvement also results in better accountability among the workforce. Improvement Another of the essential principles of the ISO 9001 certification says that active, regular improvement is the key to a successful and high-quality enterprise. The benefits of an ever-growing company can be pretty overt: flexibility, better management practices, and of course, an improved ability to adapt to changing market situations and new opportunities. If you keep up with ISO 9001 certification principles, you’ll find that your business would be more receptive to your customers, more concerned for every cog that makes your organization tick, and open to constant development and improvement. (Source: Management: Make ISO Work for You, Quality Magazine)