A business needs a Management System to become certified. The purpose of a Management System is not only to obtain certification or accreditation status but is intended to continually improve a business’s processes in order to enhance customer satisfaction, i.e. to ensure the necessary controls are in place to prevent anything from going wrong with regards to products and services that may impact on customers.

Establishing a Management System means documenting all the required Procedures and supporting documentation pertaining to it. This is normally done through in-depth sessions and interviews with the relevant key personnel of a business, i.e. Process-owners, Department Heads, Top Management, etc. It also includes a review and approval process with the highest level of Top Management prior to implementation.

The implementation of a Management System entails introducing improved or new methods, controls, and the necessary documentation to all the business processes, once approved. This includes process-specific training of employees including awareness training regarding the Management System requirements, its purpose and benefits, and how it impacts customer satisfaction.

The most important aspect of any Management System is that it should be user-friendly and value-adding to a business and not to please the Certification Bodies and/or the external auditors, i.e. it must work for the business and its employees, be practical, and must make sense, and most importantly, everybody must understand why it is needed.