List of questions to ask an ISO 9001 consultant

A robust Quality Management System (QMS) will help your organisation manage its documents, processes, procedures and responsibilities so that you can effectively achieve your quality objectives. ISO 9001:2015 is the most recognised QMS standard globally, and as of 2019, more than one million organisations worldwide have acquired the ISO 9001 certification.

The effective implementation of ISO 9001 will help your organisation, irrespective of your industry or size, to actively enhance your processes and organisational productivity whilst driving continual improvement over time.

Acquiring the ISO 9001 certification gives organisations the ability to provide products and services that consistently meet customer, statutory and regulatory requirements. Additionally, it facilitates opportunities to enhance customer satisfaction by ensuring that you thoroughly understand the needs of your clients and reduce any errors. For more information you can read ISO 9001 certificate.

The other benefits of implementing an ISO 9001 QMS include improved decision-making by ensuring that you can detect and identify any problems that may arise and go on to apply corrective actions promptly.

The ISO 9001 also enables you to identify opportunities for process improvement, reduce any nonconformities and make cost savings.

However, the technical jargon that is present in the ISO 9001 standard makes it difficult for you to implement the recommendations into your daily practice. This is why it becomes crucial for your organisation to choose a competent ISO consultant.

Choosing an ISO consultant proves to be a pivotal decision as it influences the efficiency and effectiveness of both your implementation and certification process.

It is critical that you hire a consultant who not only has a thorough understanding of the standard but also has experience in optimising as well as implementing the QMS for organisations of the same size as yours and from the same industry.

Hiring an ISO 9001 consultant with good communication skills is also imperative as you will be regularly meeting to discuss, review, formulate, strategise and carry out internal audits.

The good rapport between you and your chosen ISO 9001 consultant creates the foundation of trust, which is a necessary prerequisite for all future interactions, smooth implementation of corrective actions and the development of anticipatory interventions. In this article, we list the questions you must ask before hiring your ISO 9001 consultant.

Benefits of using an ISO 9001 consultant

Hiring a reputable, experienced, and knowledgeable ISO 9001 consultant will ensure that your organisation implements a well-designed and bespoke QMS that achieves certification with minimum hassle. Additionally, it ensures that your organisation has employees that are well trained in maintaining and improving the system.

Moreover, ISO 9001 consultants bring an outside perspective that can help highlight any potential gaps in your processes and present innovative ideas on how to approach these issues, ensuring that you meet all your legal requirements and the recommendations of ISO 9001 standards.

Moreover, as consultants are contracted employees, they will not be distracted by other tasks, projects or issues, meaning that they will dedicate their time to solely ensuring the effective implementation of your QMS within the agreed time frame.

Questions to ask before hiring your ISO 9001 consultant

• What is your experience in the chosen industry sector?

It goes without saying that it is always important to ascertain whether your potential ISO 9001 consultant has the necessary experience in interpreting and implementing the requirements outlined in the standard.

Additionally, it is imperative that they have experience in designing a QMS for organisations in a similar industry as your own.

This is because an ISO 9001 consultant that specialises in a specific industry sector that is different from yours may feel completely isolated and will falter in understanding the best practices within yours. Moreover, it is also important that your consultant understands your markets, types of customers and what drives customer satisfaction in your sector.

• Can you show us examples of the QMS that you have created?

Going through the previous case studies allows you to gain a decent understanding of the methods and the approach that your potential consultant will use when they are designing your system.

Pay attention to the manner in which they present the documentation and their style of writing to ensure that they have a tight grasp on interpreting the recommendations of the standard.

A note of caution, it is necessary to beware of any ISO 9001 consultant that openly shares the documents from their other client’s system, as this is a breach of consultant-client confidentiality. Maintaining client confidentiality and privacy is a key indicator of a reputable and professional consultant.

• How do you plan to implement the Quality Management System?

It is always beneficial to thoroughly discuss how your potential ISO 9001 consultant plans on implementing your QMS by focusing on the steps and sequences that they will follow.

This also helps highlight the level of participation they will require from your employees, allowing you to better understand their expectations.

By understanding the expectations, you can fully commit to or reject the proposed plan. A note of caution is to be wary of any consultant that promises to deliver a ready-to-certify system that has little input from your employees as the results will not be customised or favourable.

• What is the total cost of your services?

It is necessary to ask this question to eliminate the risk of any hidden fees that may drive up the cost of implementation.

The price quotation of your consultant should outline what is included under the fees, the expected timeframe for successful implementation, and the whole fixed cost of the implementation.