Business

The Benefits of Outsourcing to ISO9001 Certified Companies

The business world is more competitive than it’s ever been, and to succeed, company’s need to make the best use of their resources. In any company the greatest efficiency and profitability comes from focusing productive energy on core competencies, not on distractions that it can simply and easily dealt with by hiring another specialist!

The economic principle of ‘comparative advantage’ explains why it’s expedient to focus on the things that bring in the most profit and this principle holds true for the most complex of tasks, for example computer programming, down to the simplest, for example cleaning.

In either case, experts are faster and more efficient!

The most successful companies in the world have taken the principle of comparative advantage to heart, and irrespective of what field you are in, your productivity and profitability will benefit from focusing time and energy on core business functions rather than dealing with secondary or supportive tasks, and there’s two main reasons why this holds true.

Firstly, outsourcing simplifies management processes because it makes your business lean and focused. Your management team can give more attention to your expert employees, you have fewer processes and people to manage, and if the supporting outsourced tasks are adequately done, you have fewer processes to manage and less problems to deal with.

Secondly, outsourcing results in cost savings. As a business, if you try and handle non-core functions on your own, you need to hire people, train them, provide them with office space, purchase equipment for them, pay their salaries and benefits, etc. On the other hand, if you outsource the non-core functions, all you need do is negotiate a good deal with a reliable contractor and write them a cheque. The job gets done, and the law of comparative advantage means you should be able to make more money spending the same time on your core competencies.

Why ISO9001 Certified Companies Help Assure Competence and Problem Free Outsourcing

Given the advantages of specialisation and the law of comparative advantage, it’s clear that outsourcing is vital to the success of modern businesses in competitive markets. But what happens if the companies you outsource to fail to perform your supporting tasks effectively?

Your productive processes break down and any theoretical advantage you gain from outsourcing is lost. In simple terms, outsourcing is only economically advantages when it’s done by competent and professional suppliers that your business can rely on. This is where the value and assurance of engaging a contractor with an ISO 9001 certification is of tremendous value.

The whole point of the ISO9001 QSM is to boost customer satisfaction. Simply put, the ISO9001 QSM obliges companies to set up processes and procedures that are geared towards improving the quality of the services that they deliver to their customers.

The ISO9001 Quality Management Systems require companies to adhere to the following basic principles:

  • That the requirements of the customer should be the primary focus of the company.
  • That the company should have a strong and competent leadership team which strives to meet established objectives.
  • That the company should have a workforce that is well trained, well-motivated, competent, empowered, and dedicated.
  • That the company should set up clear processes for doing things, and it should have a systematic approach towards everything.
  • That the company should set up goals, and that it should strive to make continual improvements to its service delivery.
  • That the company should follow a fact-based approach when it comes to decision making.
  • That the company should relate well to other businesses, including its suppliers, subcontractors, and partners.

For any company, complying with the ISO9001 Quality Management Systems is no easy task. To acquire and to maintain the ISO9001 certification, a company has to develop operating procedures and management systems that comply with the principles of QSM (Quality Management Systems). To maintain certification, periodically they must demonstrate to an independent Auditor from International Standards Organisation (ISO) that their management and operational procedures are equivalent to worlds best practice, as defined by ISO 9001 principles. If a company cannot meet, or fails to comply with these standards, its certification is revoked.

The time, effort and money it costs companies has led many people to question the value of acquiring an ISO certification. That’s a fair question as the certification process does require significant investment. Many sceptics have argued that profitability should trump customer satisfaction. However, the findings of various research reports on the practical value of the ISO9001 QSM, demonstrate that gains in efficiency and the ability to satisfy customers lead to real bottom line benefits including:

  • Notable improvements in competitive performance in the market.
  • Reduced churn and greater customer longevity.
  • Greater productivity and efficiency
  • Creation of competitive advantage, which is reflected in higher brand recognition and increased sales.
  • Improved morale, leading to reduced staff turnover and an ability to develop valuable employee IP equity in staff.
  • Improved communication within departments
  • International recognition and acceptance because of the ISO9001 certification.

Among all the benefits of the ISO9001 QSM, perhaps the most important one is that it improves everybody’s perception of the company. In order to fully implement a QSM, a company has to fundamentally change its culture, its values, and its practices. This kind of change can take some time to set in, but when it does, it’s transformational and changes everyone’s perceptions of the company, employees, customers, and management. Although the ISO9001 QSM doesn’t guarantee a company’s success, at the very least, it primes the company for success.

A Simple Example of Outsourcing a non-core function to an ISO9001 certified company
Cleaning is probably the most outsourced non-core business requirement worldwide. No matter what kind of business you are in, you need your premises to cleaned. But, it’s also something that you shouldn’t be focusing too much time or effort upon. You certainly don’t want to be supervising cleaning staff, creating schedules, or dealing with their daily requirements. Outsourcing to a contract cleaner is the obvious answer. When interviewing cleaning companies, by stipulating that they must have an ISO9001 Certification, you can be relatively assured that their services will be focused on customer satisfaction and therefore professional enough to be reliable and consistent. You can find ISO9001 Certified companies for all professions, all over the world, on this website, even ISO9001 certified cleaning companies.