Employing a software platform for your ISO implementation can be one of the best moves for your company; making the necessary information for your management system readily available at the fingertips of your employees when they need it for improved application of your processes. It doesn’t matter if you are applying software for your quality management system (QMS), environmental management system (EMS) or occupational health & safety management system (OH&SMS) here are some secrets to making your software implementation more successful:
1) Make a plan
Don’t just expect that you can install the software and everything will be done. One of the biggest benefits to implementing ISO software for your management system is the ability for everyone to access the software to find the information they need to do their jobs and to enter the records necessary to demonstrate the tasks were completed. Some things to consider when implementing ISO software are:
- Do you have the necessary computer resources for everyone to use?
- How will you deal with records from before the implementation?
- How will you roll out the implementation to employees?
- Who needs access to certain information? What different secure access groups do you need?
Having a plan for implementation can be the difference between a successful software roll out and an utter failure. Talk to the experts at Effivity for help with making your planned software integration a success with cloud based and on-premise installation option.
2) Don’t forget to train everyone
Your employees know how to perform their jobs, but that doesn’t mean they will understand right away how to use the software. Since your software implementation will be the new way for you to control the documentation the defines your processes, and the new tool for maintaining your records or process completion, all of your employees will need to know how the software works, how they access the software to perform their jobs, and how they enter records to demonstrate process conformance. Don’t take for granted that all of your employees will be able to figure out the software for themselves, show they what they need to know. Organizations can benefit immensely from a professional and free on-boarding training provided by Effivity customer success team.
3) Integrate your information
Since you will be training employees that the new software will be the one place to go for all the information they need to do their jobs, make sure this is the case. Some companies have one system to control their QMS documentation and another for their health & safety information, but this will only cause confusion amongst those who need to know the process information and could potentially lead to important tasks being missed. Make sure that you integrate all of your necessary information into your software so that it becomes the one stop for job information that it should be.
4) Share the change with your customers
ISO software, when implemented properly, will improve your overall performance and customer interaction; so why not share this improvement with your customers. Like any big change that you make to improve customer satisfaction your customers will be interested in what you are doing to make their lives better, so let them know. In the long run your improved customer satisfaction can be a great sales draw, and in the short term if you do run into any small problems along the way your customers will be more forgiving if they understand what you are doing to improve their experience. Don’t keep your customers in the dark.
5) Take advantage of the complete software package
Many companies who implement a software package will only use a portion of the package, try to maintain legacy systems for other jobs, and then have problems when they try to merge information about their management system. Keep in mind that the software package has been designed to link between the many different modules, and the best way to ensure that your records and reports are complete and accurate is to use the entire software package as it was intended to be used. Effivity offers a comprehensive ISO 9001 QMS Software, ISO 14001 EMS software OHSAS 18001 health safety software, ISO 22000 FSMS Software and an integrated management system IMS Software.
6) Use your reports wisely
Your ISO software has been configured with many common and necessary reports that can give you a dashboard of crucial information on how your management system is performing. Don’t ignore this critical information. Learn what is available out of the box with your software to gain a better knowledge of your ISO management system implementation. With the standard reports, you can more easily tell if your management system is effective, efficient and improving; and in time you can also create custom reports to help you better understand your management system.
7) Be prepared for change
While integrating an ISO software for your management system is a big change in how you maintain the documentation for your business, keep in mind that it will not be the last change you ever need. One of the key principles of any management system is to find improvements, and improvements mean change. So, don’t look at implementing your ISO software as the end of your management system improvements, look at it as the beginning of a new way to change and improve your system for the long-term benefit of your company.
Your management system is the core business system you have, so make sure that the software you use to manage the information you need give s you the benefits you desire. Implementing ISO software is not only a better way to manage your management system, it can also be a driver for improvements that will make your company better in the long run.
Why not visit Effivity.com and start a free trial today?
