Page 13 - Enterprise Engagement and ISO Standards eBook

Enterprise Engagement and ISO Standards

Chapter 2

ISO Engagement Standards: Why Now
Research and Potential Implications

In 2015, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) issued an update to its
widely followed 9001 standards that included the addition of new Quality Management
Principles. This document outlines the fundamental conditions necessary for an organization
to sustain high levels of quality and performance. While not officially part of the 9001
standards, and general in nature, the report recommends that organizations can benefit by
beginning now to find their own tactical strategies for baking these principles into their
organization.

In outlining next steps, the report advices: “This document provides a general perspective on
the quality management principles underlying ISO’s quality management standards. It gives
an overview of these principles and shows how, collectively, they can form a basis for
performance improvement and organizational excellence. There are many different ways of
applying these quality management principles. The nature of the organization and the
specific challenges it faces will determine how to implement them. Many organizations will
find it beneficial to set up a quality management system based on these principles.” In other
words, ISO says there is no reason for organizations to wait until formal standards are
created to start applying these principles.

The report also states that these principles apply to many other standards and will be
coordinated to align with management principles used by other ISO certifications.

Now that ISO has approved a formal working group to create formal standards on
engagement, the Quality Management Principles provide a clear foundation upon which to
create the more granular standards. Anyone familiar with the Enterprise Engagement
Alliance’s framework and implementation process for Enterprise Engagement will see a
clear overlap related to the focus on engaging all constituents – customers, employees,
distribution partners, vendors, communities, etc. – and the need to integrate and align
these efforts across the organization. “Having such a clear blueprint from ISO could make
the job of creating standards easier,” says Bruce Bolger, EEA founder and project leader for
the ISO Working Group on Engagement. “We believe the document provides a very clear
roadmap for standards.”

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