Companies are choosing to pursue ISO Certification in quality, safety and environment - but why go to the trouble?
”ISO was founded with the idea of answering a fundamental question: “what's the best way of doing this?”
https://www.iso.org/benefits-of-standards.html
There is an investment in both time and money, and a premium effort involved, so why should organizations pursue ISO certification?
For many organizations, the answer is the "rubber stamp". A business' website can display the ISO (or registrar's) logo on their marketing materials and it demonstrates to clients, and the public, that you operate according to internationally established best practices. The validated shortcut to demonstrably high standards is especially useful when bidding on work - often a fiercely competitive process, and one in which such an advantage makes the investment worthwhile. Validation = more business. When I am encouraging registration for a client, this is the explanatory route I favour out of simplicity, but I gradually stress the less tangible (but more important) benefits as we work together to implement a management system.
”International Standards mean that consumers can have confidence that their products are safe, reliable and of good quality.”
https://www.iso.org/benefits-of-standards.html
What are the important benefits, anyway? If an ISO certificate is the same either way, does it really matter if an organization cares about the precepts of those standards, or is it sufficient to go through motions? Ultimately, this is about loss prevention and control. The better an organization internalizes the practices, the better they'll yield results. Standards aren't onerous just because, they provide a roadmap to better anticipate outcomes and control the negative ones, calculate risks and continuously improve. All relevant goals for any organization looking to grow and succeed!
But the extra work...?
Completing paperwork as audit season looms is a dreaded and unenviable task in many organizations. The person responsible has a heck of a job, cobbling together records to satisfy the many general requirements before the Auditor arrives. However, if the systems you have laid out are consistently attended to and well-implemented, there is no reason to stress at audit time. This is one of the key values a good consultant provides. Moreover, good systems mean things run smoother, fewer calamities are encountered and your operation becomes more scalable.