Page 23 - Enterprise Engagement and ISO Standards eBook

Enterprise Engagement and ISO Standards

Chapter 4

ISO Standard 10018 on People Management

There are already many ISO standards that affect the management of people – employees,
suppliers, customers, or otherwise. While most of these standards are aimed at driving
quality and consistency, standards also address some of the critical elements of employee
engagement. For example, ISO standard 10018:2012, described in more detail below, states:
“It is critical to identify, develop and evaluate the knowledge, skills, behavior and work
environment required for the effective involvement of people with the necessary
competence.”13

While the ISO has addressed elements of employee engagement in some of its standards,
the process is not complete. The ISO standards that include mention of employee
engagement so far focus largely on skills, safety, measurement and quality, and only touch
on other important elements such as productivity, retention and wellness. Moreover, ISO
standards do not yet address the notion of “enterprise” engagement, either as a cross-
organizational cultural initiative, or as a process aimed at multiple stakeholders beyond
employees.

The Enterprise Engagement Alliance’s proposed new standard was based on the assumption
that increased pressure from investors for formal engagement practices, as well as the
compelling economics of having a highly-engaged organization, warranted a formal
approach to engagement that could be audited and measured.

While it could be three years before these formal standards are created, the ISO TAG 172
responsible for ISO 9001 quality compliance has already published two documents that
provide interested organizations a head start on best practices related to the
implementation of an engagement process and what that might look like in organizations.
The first is Quality Management Principles (See: ISO Engagement Standards Why Now,
Research and Potential Implications and ISO Standard 10018 on People Management). The
second is ISO 10018, standards created in 2012 to provide a roadmap for implementing the
ISO Quality Management Principles. These standards are now up for revision and reportedly
will be changed to focus specifically on issues related to quality management.

13 International Organization for Standardization, International Standard 10018, 2012

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