Running a business in India is not easy; there are too many challenges in every form. It is becoming ever so difficult to retain a client and this was my biggest concern. It takes a lot of effort to market the product and to convince a prospective client to take your services. When you lose that client for a reason based on quality, it really is a hard swallow. The best way to recuperate is to understand your company’s weak points and work on increasing the level of efficiency, but this is not an easy task. There are many problems that are undetected in your system and it is quite a tough task to understand and solve such problems.
I realised that implementing a quality standard might be the change I need the most. This would ensure better delivery and more commitment towards the client. Also, this way the employees would feel that the company is more quality driven instead of anything else. The first step was to understand the different processes that are being implemented in our company and the steps involved. Since we were not a big company, we did not have too many processes documented. It was more or less an understood step of getting things done. When we started understanding the different steps to it, we figured out a lot of loop holes in the system and how we can improve profitability with a few simple steps.
Also, we realised that small changes can bring about a big difference in the overall profitability of the company. We had to not change a lot really; we just had to figure out the different systems and plans that had no procedures. Once this was completed, it was only about implementing what was natural to us – processes.
One of the biggest flaws I found in my system was that of data threat. Believe it or not, many organizations around the world are choosing a standard certification added to their business to highlight the level of commitment in providing a secure infrastructure for data as well as business critical applications. Now, quite obviously, the most critical asset that lies within a company is its data and information. You simply cannot take a chance with something like this. I read a lot about the advantages at http://www.irqs.co.in/information-security-management-system.html. This is when I decided to implement ISO 27001 certification.
When you have such a certification in place, you are guaranteed better performance of the company overall. The main reason behind this is better functioning and efficiency in the company. You profitability increases and you have better margins to work with. Because of the streamlined processes that are in place, you will have lesser worries on data risk and damage.
Quite naturally, more companies would want to invest in your organisation as they know information security is not a worry. In today’s market, it is one of the most worrying factors. There are so many possible threats and a client would want to know that he is taken care of before he wants to associate with your brand.
Marketing your company becomes quite easy too. Today, you would have to press hard to have your company be recognised without such an association, however marketing your company would become so much easier when you have a standard like this in place. Top companies would not have apprehensions before listening to what you have to offer because you are being backed by such standards.
Moreover, such standards would add a high level of professionalism to your company too. Your employees would ensure higher levels of customer satisfaction as they know they are working for a professional company. The certification would provide more clarity and assurances to clients and employees alike. These quality assurances can make the difference between a mediocre company and a large profitable one.
You have to ensure that this level of quality is always maintained though. You would have to constantly monitor the processes that are being followed and the lapses that are possible. Imagine how easy it would be for you to convince interested leads when you would have such international standards in place. You would not have to worry about retaining your clientele too. Having such a certification changed my approach and the fortunes of my company.