The recent work-from-home mandate has triggered a paradigm shift in working practices for many people, and driven digital transformation for organisations as a whole.
During this time, Risk Management firm Assent has continued to work with clients remotely, helping them achieve, and maintain, ISO Certification.
In our annual customer feedback survey, issued over October and November 2020, we asked how important ISO Certification is for organisations during the pandemic. Here are the results!
In the Current Climate, How Important is ISO Certification?
Over 35% of respondents said ISO Certification is MORE IMPORTANT now, while no-one said ISO Certification was less important.
This is a significant indication of the value organisations place in their ISO Certifications, at a time where resources may be tightening and priorities have to be managed.
Why is ISO Certification Important?
While each organisation has their own unique reasons for achieving ISO Certification, we believe these are the key benefits ISO Certification is providing at this time:
ISO Certification for Winning New Business
ISO Certification has always been used as a tool to win new business. Not only does it provide a differentiator against competitors, but many ‘buyers’ use ISO compliance when tendering a contract, to reduce down the field of respondents.
Organisations may find that they fall at the first hurdle if they don’t hold the relevant ISO Certificates.
At this time winning new business is an essential part of building a resilient organisation for the future.
ISO Certification for Managing Business Risks
ISO Management Systems heavily feature the theme of risk management, while some such as ISO 27001 for Information Security or ISO 22301 for Business Continuity are specifically designed to manage a particular set of risks.
Change brings with it both risks and opportunities, and the pandemic has certainly driven organisational change.
So ISO can be used as a framework, regardless of certification, to manage risks (and opportunities), ensuring that teams are working collaboratively to protect the business.
Additional Resources to Implement ISO Management Systems
During the first UK lockdown in March 2020, we saw many organisations turn their attention to ISO and step-up their efforts to achieve certification.
We believe this was driven partly by the economic slowdown which made more time & resources available for working with our ISO Consultant remotely.
Certification Bodies have also adapted to this new way of working, as we discussed in our blog: Will my ISO Audit Still Go Ahead?
Now is the Time to Achieve ISO Certification!
We believe NOW is a great time to start your ISO Certification project.
Our consultants can work with you remotely using video conferencing and screen sharing tools to guide you step-by-step through the process.
And with certification bodies also working remotely, facilitating a remote audit of your management system is easier than ever.
Find out more about the ISO Certification process or contact us to get started!
