Effective Management Systems Start with Training and Competency

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Published on: June 28, 2019

When we first start working with a new client organisation, what we often see is:

A variety of policies, procedures, work instructions, guidelines, templates etc., stored in multiple locations, and across a few different platforms, without any framework to define how they’re used and how they add value to the way the business is run, combined with,
Internal audit reports which have just been completed to satisfy the “Internal Audit” section of a management system standard.

Often the individuals responsible for managing the documented information of the business and the nominated Internal Auditors haven’t completed any kind of training, and they’ve just been asked to “Look after the documentation” or “Do an internal audit to show to the external auditor when they visit once a year”.

What a lot of management teams don’t realise is, if they:

Put some planning into the Management System structure and Internal Audit process,
Put their Management System “Managers” and “Internal Auditors” through some formal training, and
Focus the Internal Audit program on areas of the business where improvements are needed

Their Management System and its Internal Audit process transforms into an amazing framework for continually improving each business process – one process at a time!

Implementation – doing it right the first time

When an organisation first decides to set up a more structured framework for their business processes to work more harmoniously, having key members of the Management Team trained as Lead Implementers to an international business framework such as ISO 9001:2015 provides structure, proven management principles and effective control mechanisms to work with.

When key members of the management team are trained as a Lead Implementer in an ISO framework, clarity and a systematic approach will prevail, keeping the project on track, with clear outcomes to work towards.

Internal Auditing – making it effective for continual improvement across the business

A competent Internal Auditor can assist the Management Team in effecting continual improvement and managing change via focussing the audits on identified areas with issues, and raising “Opportunities for Improvement” for action by the process owners, requiring verification of effectiveness by their managers.

On the flipside, an untrained Internal Management Systems Auditor can do more harm than good in an organisation. If they don’t yet have the training and competence to conduct effective internal audits, they could end up identifying what they believe to be issues, which aren’t – wasting time and effort in unnecessary investigations, flaring up internal politics, or causing reputational damage across business departments.

Being a management systems auditor isn’t just about checking effective application of a business process. There are auditing principles which an untrained internal auditor may not even be aware of, which are crucial to the effectiveness of the audit process itself. These are:

Integrity – the foundation of professionalism
Fair Presentation – the obligation to report truthfully and accurately
Due Professional Care – the application of diligence and judgment in auditing
Confidentiality – security of information
Independence – the basis for the impartiality of the audit and objectivity of the audit conclusions
Evidence-Based Approach – the rational method for reaching reliable and reproducible audit conclusions in a systematic audit process

If the auditing principles are not known, and not applied, the audit process itself is flawed and cannot be effective to the benefit of the organisation

Training and Competency is how we can provide our Certification Readiness Guarantee!

We’ve been in business since 2007 and every client organisation we’ve taken through a system development project for Certification Readiness has achieved certification first time!

We’re so confident we can achieve this consistent result, project after project, that we offer a Certification Readiness Guarantee!

We can offer this because we know that all of our consulting teams are trained and competent to:

Implement effective management systems via our proven planning processes; and
Conduct effective audits on management systems.

Imagine being able to attain that level of certainty with all of your business process outcomes!

What would that look like for your business?

Which type of training for each role in the organisation’s management system effectiveness?

Any organisation embarking on a business management system development and/or improvement project will need knowledge and competencies across the following key areas:

The Project Team needs to know how to plan, develop and implement the business management system(s) – see our Lead Implementer course for ISO 27001.
The Management Team needs knowledge of the intent of the chosen management standard to work to, so they are able to effectively review the adequacy of documentation and effectiveness of implementation throughout the project and upon completion.
The Internal Auditing Team needs effective auditing skills to enable them to facilitate continual improvement – see our Lead Auditor course for ISO 27001.
All personnel in the organisation needs an introduction to and basic understanding of the management system standard that the organisation is choosing to conform to.

As an Australian trusted provider, our eLearning training courses are developed and provided by our educational brand ICExperts Academy, and via our partnership with PECB. Our courses are suitable to organisations of all sizes and industries, as well as individuals. Click here to find out more about our training courses.

ISO Certification Experts Training Courses

Call us now on 1300 614 897, email us, or book your online FREE strategy session to discuss a tailored training solution for your business.

About the author

Erica Smith

Managing Director at ISO Certification Experts

Erica is the Managing Director of ISO Certification Experts and ICExperts Academy. She has been helping businesses with their ISO Certification needs for over 20 years. Erica is also a Certified trainer, implementer and auditor for the ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO 27001 standards. Erica primarily heads up the day-to-day operations of the businesses, and is also a current member of the Standards Australia Committees: QR-008 Quality Systems and ISO 9001 Quality Management Brand Integrity.

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