Savvy Tips to Hire an ISO Consultant

Hire an ISO Consultant that is a Superhero…

In order to get an ISO certification, one must be able to get a consultancy of an experienced and well-trained ISO consultant.

An ISO consultant can “sink” or “sail” you through the ISO certification process.

If ISO consultant doesn’t know about ISO standards, standard’s compliance, non-conformists, and re-certification process then only a holy miracle will get you ISO certification.

If your hired ISO consultant fails to understand the procedures and standards then it will probably result in wastage of your time and money because that way you won’t be getting ISO certification.

On the other hand, if you take help from an experienced and a well-trained professional for your ISO Certification, you don’t have to worry about compliance of your current management system with other ISO standards because well-trained and experience ISO consultant will ensure to help you redesign or modify your current management with your team to the maximum compliance to other ISO standards.

Hire an ISO Consultant Right for the Job for ISO Certification

1- Your In-House Team Versus ISO Consultants’ Team

If your organization needs to develop the current management system in accordance with ISO standards that means your in-house team will be having very little familiarity with ISO standards and its compliance.

If that is exactly the same situation in your organization, then we would recommend you hire an ISO consultant to hire a knowledgeable and experienced because that ISO consultant will be on a higher level than your in-house team.

Ask yourself a question that if your in-house doesn’t know about ISO standards and its compliance then how can your newbie in-house team will be able to achieve ISO certification within defined timelines.

Most probably you will be thinking that by proper training and post-evaluation tests, your in-house team can become capable to help themselves get ISO certification then it is must for us to inform you that there is a significant chance that your team can achieve ISO certification but will take so long-time period that can affect your profit margins negatively.

2- Risk of Time and Money Wastage

A hired delegated team of ISO consultants will ensure to get your organization ISO certified within timelines and obviously this is what they get paid for. Getting ISO certification is not everyone’s cup of tea.

Relying on your less experienced and less ISO familiar in-house team may lead to complete failure to comply with ISO standards thus resulting in complete drainage of your time, energy and money.

On the other hand, an experienced ISO consultant knows what needs to be done to get ISO certification within as little time as possible and will eliminate maximum ambiguities and non-conformities in your current management thus increment in your chances to get ISO certification.

3- Better Real World Implementations & Suggestions by ISO Consultants

Your in-house team might get immune to observing loopholes in your system.

They might have gone blind to indicate the leak points in your current management system. When you  hire an ISO consultant, he or she will be able to pick those loopholes efficiently and will also make all the necessary improvements or modifications in your current management system making it easier to get ISO certification within as less time as possible.

What to Consider to Hire an ISO Consultant

ISO certification process can be a very daunting journey without getting involved an experienced and knowledgeable ISO consultant. Following are the attributes that need to be considered while hiring an ISO consultant for your company’s ISO certification:

1- Relevant ISO Certification Skills Set

ISO consultant should have knowledge about all versions of ISO standards and its practical application. Manufacturing and service providing firms differ from each other and so their internal operations too.

The right ISO consultant must be able to understand all types of management styles which means he/she should be able to decipher formal and informal management styles and should be able to perform gap analysis by doing Internal audits, ensure and report all highlighted gap closure.

2- Experience and Track Record

While hiring an ISO consultant, consider educational background and degrees.

For relevant experience, don’t just get satisfied by looking at the number of years and number of clients only. Instead see the success rate of the project on which the ISO consultant worked, look into the type of clients with which the ISO consultant worked in past years.

For further verification, you can check on their references and past case studies.

3- Pricing & Ability to Meet Deadlines

The pricing of ISO consultancy depends on few factors depending on the type of organization like the size of the organization, the number of employees and the level of employee engagement leading to effective teamwork.

Small to medium companies usually get ISO certification within less time period thus incur a lower cost as compared to bigger companies.

Big companies that get basic training and design their management system in accordance with ISO standards takes a longer time period to get ISO certified thus incurs a higher cost as compared to smaller companies.

During price agreement, it is important hire an ISO consultant and discuss your budget and their pricing to get your organization ISO certified.

To see if the client will be able to meet the deadlines for ISO certification, do look into their past projects’ success rate within defined timelines.