ISO certification is more than just earning a certificate, and it requires continuous maintenance to both retain certification and drive effective improvements.

Over the course of your 3-year certification cycle, you will need to ensure your Management System is regularly updated and reviewed so that it remains relevant to the way you're currently working. That in addition to annual tasks such as internal auditing and management review, it can be a lot to keep on top of.

Which is why some turn to external ISO Support.

In this episode, Steph Churchman explains what ISO Support is, the challenges of managing ISO internally and the benefits of external support.

You'll learn

·      What is ISO Support?

·      What tasks can you outsource

·      Challenges of managing ISO internally

·      What are the benefits of ISO Support?

Resources

·      Isologyhub

·      ISO Support Plan

In this episode, we talk about:

[02:05 ] Episode Summary – Steph explains what is meant by ISO Support, explains the challenges with managing ISO internally and the benefits of engaging in external support.  

[02:20 ] What is ISO Support? ISO certification involves a 3-year cycle, where you will be subjected to an annual Surveillance audit by your certification body. On year 3, you will need to undertake a recertification audit, which will determine if you can keep your ISO certification.

During that cycle, you will be required to complete annual tasks such as internal auditing, documentation updates and management review to ensure that your management system is effective in driving continual improvement.

ISO Support is a service provided by an external party to help facilitate the management of these annual tasks, usually undertaken by a dedicated ISO consultancy.

[03:40 ] What tasks can be outsourced? To learn about what tasks can be outsourced, check out a previous episode.

[03:55 ] ISO Management Challenge #1: Internal auditors not being comfortable about auditing their peers - It may be the case that certain individuals do no get on, however if someone manages a key process or area of the business, they still need to be audited.

There's also the chance for auditors to be misunderstood, or have trouble getting the answers they need from auditees. Auditing requires the ability to effectively communicate and make yourself understood. It's quite common for auditees to ask for further clarification on questions asked, so you need to be able to work with them so that they understand what you're really asking.

[04:45 ] ISO Management Challenge #2: Internal auditors not being particularly objective or impartial when auditing leadership – It can be hard to be impartial towards leadership, even if it is ultimately in their best interest! These dynamics can be habitual, but by not pointing out genuine issues or opportunities for improvement, you dimmish the purpose of the exercise.

This also involves any leadership being receptive to feedback given. If this hasn't been taken well in the past, it's understandable for individuals to be hesitant doing so again, even if it's a necessary part of the process.

[05:35 ] ISO Management Challenge #3: Fed up with paying for training for a high turnover of internal auditors - Internal Audi