Accredited certification delivers real added value
by IAF Communications and Marketing Committee
To gain a
clearer understanding of the ‘value’ of accredited certification, IAF
carried out a survey of businesses in 40 different economies. The survey
aimed to clarify the drivers for seeking certification, the factors
involved in choosing a certification body, and the extent of any benefit
derived from the certification process.
A full report of the results can be downloaded from the IAF website.
Over 4,000 responses were received from businesses of all sizes
operating across a diverse range of industries. While the majority of
respondents were responsible for managing quality within their
organization, over a quarter of respondents were either finance
directors, marketing managers or other senior management personnel. This
indicates that the value of certification is recognized across the
spectrum of business functions, and not just in the traditional quality
management arena.
This is positive news for accreditation bodies that invest a
significant amount of time and resources in raising awareness of the
benefits of accredited certification among businesses, government
departments and regulators. The primary motivation for this is to enable
organizations to make an informed choice on which certification bodies
they use. Using an accredited certification body should assure the
organization that it will get the business benefits and value it pays
for. But was this recognized by those who responded to the IAF survey?
The real value of certification
Over 80% of all respondents reported that certification had added
value to their organization. As a more quantifiable measure, around half
of all participants have seen an increase in sales as a direct result
of the certification.
Internal business improvement was given by nearly half of all
participants as the main driver for seeking certification, while
approximately one third said it was a requirement of their customers.
However, respondents overwhelmingly stated that certification was
important to their customers. Despite only 12% citing it as the main
reason for gaining certification, over 80% confirmed that certification
had helped them meet national regulatory requirements.
Taken together, these figures indicate that certification is
something that organizations are choosing to seek, primarily to improve
internal operations and to provide customer confidence, rather than
something that is done begrudgingly merely to tick compliance boxes.
It’s not just the larger companies that are realising these benefits
though, as nearly two thirds of respondents work in SMEs, half of which
have less than 50 employees.
How important are certification bodies?
Over 90% of those who took part in the survey confirmed that their
certification body was accredited by a recognized accreditation body,
with nearly three quarters stating that accreditation was either
essential or very important in their line of business. Only 3% reported
that accreditation was not important. When asked about the importance
of the certification being covered by the IAF Multilateral Recognition
Agreement (MLA), 35% stated that the acceptance of their certification
in overseas markets was very important.
The survey also revealed that the vast majority of organizations use
certification bodies that are based in their local economy, with less
than one in 10 seeking certification from an overseas organization. To
help them through the process, 60% of respondents reported that they
commissioned the services of an external consultant.
Is there value for money?
While the survey identified that achieving certification could be
fairly complex, businesses rated the competence of accredited
certification bodies highly, and confirmed that the time to navigate the
process met with their expectations. Asked whether the certification
bodies provide value for money, 62% of respondents agreed.
Summary
The findings of the survey confirm that businesses are generating
significant benefits and added value from accredited certification. Not
only is it being used as a tool to deliver internal business improvement
and to meet regulatory compliance, but businesses confirm that it has a
positive effect on revenue. Given that the majority of businesses that
responded to the survey (57%) employed less than 249 people, accredited
certification clearly benefits small to medium sized organisations, as
well as large multinationals.
Businesses taking part also reported high levels of satisfaction with
the certification process in terms of the timeframe to achieve
certification and the competence of the assessment teams. Given these
positive findings, businesses perceive accredited certification as
providing value for money.
Nearly all of the businesses that took part in the survey (91%)
selected an accredited certification body, providing an assurance that
these organisations have the required competence and impartiality to do
so as evidenced by fulfilment of international standards and
requirements.
The IAF has an ongoing initiative to capture feedback from the market
in order to deliver value added outcomes, and so we would like to thank
those who took part in the survey. IAF would also like to thank
Databuild, a leading independent market research company, for their help
in developing the survey and approving the results.
