This article is based on an interview with Brian Taylor - ISO compliance officer for PYB.

ISO 9001 is an international standard for quality management systems (QMS). The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) sets the criteria for the best QMS. Any organisation can use it, regardless of their size or industry. It covers critical areas such as continuous improvement, customer satisfaction, and process efficiency. 

A clever way to boost compliance with ISO 9001 is to work with a HubSpot partner that has certification in it. A company with this crucial hands-on experience with ISO 9001 can help you stay compliant. Every interaction focuses on reaching your compliance objectives and improving your business. This article explains the challenges of ISO 9001 and how HubSpot helps.

The Most Common Challenges Organisations Face in Achieving ISO 9001 Compliance

To understand ISO 9001 is to understand what quality means for this standard. Indeed, the definition of quality here can apply to all the ISO standards. The ISO’s definition of quality is the “degree to which a set of inherent characteristics (or distinguishing features) of an object”, such as a person, process, product, organisation, resource, system, or service, “fulfils requirements”.

Here are the areas where organisations face challenges in this respect:

1) Understanding the Requirements of ISO 9001

Some organisations wrongly believe the requirements are about quality testing. Quality management entails “looking at your full process and ability to deliver what you say you can deliver to the customer”. You must do quality checks and reviews to check everything within this area. Things to consider include:

• What process do you have to take on sales?
• How do you capture the client’s requirements?
• How do you deal with changing requirements?

The standard’s purpose is to create a scope. The scope states what processes your business delivers. Also, it highlights whether you cover the requirements.

A company with ISO 9001 certification has had an external auditor, such as the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), test the processes and see if they are consistent. They also check that the methods effectively deliver customers' products or services. This quality assurance reassures customers that the organisation has processes to provide the product or service.

2) Documentation and Record Keeping

There are two main problems with documentation and record keeping. Some organisations will review ISO 9001 and write a document covering every aspect. Consequently, the document ends up “looking like a university assignment” and is so big nobody reads it.

In reality, the standard does not require you to document everything. It requires you to understand how to implement it and control the process. For example, if you have a sales process, you must write everything down at every stage. You must also update it manually as you go along, which is time-consuming.

It’s worth noting that you might need different information and requirements. It all depends on whether you are a product or service organisation. You must also show how you control these processes and records. You can also use a CRM system, such as HubSpot, to help you manage everything.

3) Training

Training is vital to managing ISO 9001. Your documentation needs to be at a level where any person working for an organisation can look at somebody’s job and know what to do next. One easy way of looking at it is, “Write down what you do so that anybody can do your job.”

An example would be purchasing something for your company from another organisation:

• What form do you use to raise a purchasing request?
• What phone do I need to use?
• Where’s our list of suppliers?
• Which suppliers do we use for this product?
• How did I raise a purchase order against them?
• What’s the credit limit?
• Are there any specifics to know about the particular supplier?
• Who can authorise this purchase order?
• When will I receive the item?

The company must train people in these different processes. Once trained, they do not have to refer to the document that details everything. The document is an ideal aid to ensure that training is the same for everybody.

Companies must remember that work processes can change for different jobs at this stage. Someone who does a job repeatedly may change it slightly. An audit can determine what has changed. The company can update the process in the documentation.

4) Resource Allocation for Audit Preparation and Management

The ISO 9001 standard stipulates that management must provide the right resources for the employees to do their jobs and meet the standard. These resources can include the correct forms or certain people available for the tests.

Instructing people to carry out tests or paying external companies can cost businesses money. Using HubSpot may seem expensive for companies. However, what it gives businesses back in return is a more cost-effective way to manage compliance for companies.

For example, with HubSpot, companies can use it as a collaborative tool to:

• Record a deal
• Record all conversations you have with a contact
• Other colleagues can get involved from different departments
• You can pull in a technical person and create a new thread
• The communication continues seamlessly for the customer

Compliance can be challenging for companies if they don't have a CRM. Some may still be using spreadsheets and other legacy tools. Also, if somebody goes on holiday, you might be unable to access their desktop. Nobody can do anything for the customer until your colleague returns from holiday and can update everybody.

Using HubSpot allows you to manage multiple touchpoints and demonstrate compliance with ISO 9001. Once you have set everything up correctly, you can conduct regular internal audits to ensure compliance.

5) Creating a Continuous Improvement Culture

Continuous improvement is a crucial area of the ISO 9001 standard. Companies must act on things they say they will do. For example, employees in company meetings can sometimes say they will do something to improve the business. However, sometimes, this needs to be followed through.

Creating a continuous improvement culture at work can help you identify essential gaps in your processes. It’s an excellent way to keep your commitment to ISO 9001 by continually looking for ways to improve. You can then take the necessary steps to integrate it into your business.

For example, create an area in the CRM for customers to bring up issues via tickets. This process can help you identify areas you have missed. Also, other areas of information management on the CRM can send notifications before things become outdated so you can take quick action.

Also, whenever you hire a new supplier, you must check their compliance criteria for ISO 9001. You can integrate your suppliers into your HubSpot CRM to ensure they meet all requirements. With suppliers and in all areas, HubSpot can give you a feedback loop so you can continually improve your compliance measures.

How HubSpot Can Help Companies Meet ISO 9001 Compliance

As a Diamond HubSpot partner, we know how to use HubSpot to meet ISO 9001 compliance. We are HubSpot experts, but our ISO 9001 certification gives us an edge. We love helping clients discover HubSpot’s unknown capabilities and boost QMS compliance.

Here is an overview of how integrating HubSpot can help streamline your business process and boost your ISO 9001 compliance:

• Enhanced documentation and record-keeping
  HubSpot's automation capabilities can improve every aspect of compliance. For example, when a sales enquiry comes in, you can add a deal, capture all related information, and tailor the information to record what you want. You can do this with automated workflows, data tracking, and document controls.
  
  
• Improved communication and collaboration
  HubSpot can be a centralised platform for everything your company uses daily. Centralising your communication channels can improve collaboration with team members and further boost processes.
  
  
• Customer complaint management
  It's important how your company deals with complaints. You can centralise your compliant records on HubSpot and automate any follow-up actions. These processes can help improve customer satisfaction and potentially “turn” an upset customer into a regular one.
  
  
• Streamlined process management
  Once you have broken down all your processes, you can streamline them further with HubSpot. You can do this by using task management and process mapping.
  
  
• Enhanced customer satisfaction tracking
  Using HubSpot, your employees can benefit from real-time customer feedback and analytics. It doesn't matter which department contacts the customer; all the data is there. This real-time information ensures customers receive the best possible service and avoids awkward conversations with employees.
  
  
• Supplier management
  As mentioned in the article, managing your process for dealing with external companies is crucial for compliance. You can use HubSpot as a supplier database and evaluation tool.
  
  
• Continuous improvement
  This area is one of the fundamental principles of ISO 9001. HubSpot can help you project manage anything, and you can benefit from using incident tracking and feedback loops.
  
  
• Internal Audits
  As a centralised system, HubSpot can be used to conduct internal audits. Additionally, it offers features such as audit scheduling, checklist management, and reporting.
  
  
• Project Management
  HubSpot can help you monitor all your projects to ensure they are on time and within the detailed scope. This way, you can be sure your company is doing everything possible to comply with ISO 9001.

Futureproof Your Business With HubSpot and ISO 9001

Excellence in quality management is the main goal here. You can boost compliance and gain even more for your business when you achieve that. HubSpot can help you get there. You can also improve customer satisfaction, enhance collaboration, and boost communication. Additionally, you increase efficiency and productivity and create a culture of continuous improvement.

Working with an ISO 9001-certified partner gives you access to quality management expertise. Your compliance with ISO 90001 will be more than boosted; it will be spot on. You can also enjoy standardised processes and enhanced marketing and sales efficiency. All these areas lead to improved business performance and increased sales.

So, what’s stopping you? Contact us at PYB to discover how ISO 9001 certification and HubSpot can help your company. This standardised approach can lead to compliance brilliance!

If you’d like to learn more about ISO accreditation for your business, please get in touch with brian@isoguy.com.