It’s a question I get asked quite often:
“Does my business need ISO 9001?”
And my answer might surprise you.
I don’t think every business needs ISO 9001 certification. But I do think every business should work as though it has it. There is an important difference between the two..
Does Your Business Actually Need ISO 9001 Certification
Only you can really answer that question.
Before deciding to go for ISO 9001 certification, I think you need to ask yourself one simple question:
What will having ISO 9001 actually gain my business?
For some businesses, the answer is very clear.
It might help you:
Tender for contracts that you currently can’t access.
Meet a customer or supply-chain requirement.
Work with larger organisations.
Demonstrate that you have robust systems and processes in place.
Give potential customers greater confidence in your business.
Stand out against competitors.
Support your plans for growth.
If certification is going to open doors, remove barriers or help you achieve your business goals, then ISO 9001 could absolutely be worth pursuing.
But I wouldn’t tell a business to get ISO 9001 simply so that they can put the badge on their website.
There needs to be a reason for doing it. Certification takes time, effort and money. So, like any other business investment, you should understand what you expect to get back from it.
That return doesn’t necessarily have to be directly financial. It could be better opportunities, improved credibility, stronger customer confidence or access to markets that weren’t previously available to you.
The important thing is that ISO 9001 should have a purpose for your business.
Should Your Business Work As Though It Has ISO 9001?
Now that is a completely different question.
And my answer is a resounding YES.
Whether you are a one-person business, employ ten people, have 100 employees or operate across several countries, the principles behind ISO 9001 simply make good business sense.
Forget the certificate for a moment.
At its heart, ISO 9001 is about understanding:
What your business is trying to achieve.
What your customers expect from you.
Who is responsible for what.
How your key processes work.
What could go wrong and how you manage those risks.
Whether your people have the right skills and knowledge.
How you control important business information and documents.
How you deal with problems when they happen.
How you know whether your business is performing properly.
How you learn, improve and move forward.
None of those things should only matter to a business because it wants an ISO certificate. They are simply part of running a good business. And importantly, working to ISO 9001 principles does not mean creating mountains of paperwork.
A one-person business does not need the same systems as a multinational organisation. Your processes and controls should be proportionate to the size, complexity and risks within your business.
For a small business, that might mean having a handful of clear processes, keeping the right records, reviewing performance regularly and making sure important information isn’t just stored in the owner’s head. As the business grows, those systems can grow with it.
In fact, putting them in place while the business is still relatively small can make growth considerably easier.
ISO 9001 Certificate Or Not - Build A Business That Works
This is the part of ISO 9001 that I think sometimes gets overlooked.
ISO 9001 shouldn’t just be about passing an audit.
Used properly, its principles can help you build a business that is less reliant on individuals, more consistent and easier to manage.
If a member of staff leaves tomorrow, does somebody else know what they do?
If you suddenly win a large new customer, could your existing systems cope?
If something goes wrong, do you know why it happened and how to stop it happening again?
Can you quickly see whether your customers are happy, whether your suppliers are performing and whether the business is achieving what you expected?
And perhaps one of the biggest questions for a small business owner:
Could somebody else understand how your business operates without everything having to come through you?
That is where good systems, processes and controls start to become really valuable.
So, does every business need ISO 9001 certification?
No.
That decision should be based on what certification will actually achieve for your business.
But should every business work using the principles behind ISO 9001?
Absolutely.
From a one-man band to a multinational company, having clear processes, understanding your risks, listening to your customers, measuring what matters and continually improving is simply good business practice.
You might not need the certificate to run your business well, but you can certainly benefit from the thinking behind it.
So, what does this mean......
If you’re wondering whether ISO 9001 certification would actually benefit your business, or you simply want to understand how well your current systems and processes are working, get in touch. We can have a straightforward conversation about where your business is now, where you want it to go and whether ISO 9001 has a part to play.
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