There have been many words written about "Integrated Management Systems". Whilst the ideal of integrating many management systems into one format, with common language and common methodology is a good one, it is not the full story. The ultimate aim of all management systems is continuous improvement. This is critical not only as a tool to achieve bigger and better objectives year upon year, but in today's rapidly changing business environment continuous improvement should be viewed as integral with the very survival of an organization. An organization must change and grow and develop at an unprecedented rate just to keep from sliding down the slippery slope of global advancement and disappearing into oblivion, like so many countless organizations do every year.

The ultimate aim of all continuous improvement is an acceptable level of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Like the Sword of Damocles, the threat and the promise of CSR hangs over our heads. Organizations that fail to achieve an acceptable level of CSR will find themselves constantly struggling to "keep-up" with changes to environmental regulations, health and safety legislation, employment law, British Standards and a host of other regulatory factors. This will result in spending a lot of time, money and effort catching up and implementing Corrections, Corrective Actions or Preventive Actions. (What's the difference?)

Not only are Improvements by far the easiest and cheapest way to stay ahead of the game and move upwards in the CSR stakes but they are the one thing that an organization must have in order to realize a pre-defined level of Corporate Social Responsibility. In fact, they are really the one missing ingredient from most Management Systems and the thing that produces the most profitability, stability and corporate harmony.

Another way of looking at this is to consider the progression from a Management System to full and sustainable CSR. The starting point for achieving CSR is to operate a Management System. This could be a Quality, Environmental, Health and Safety or Information Security Management System. Using the management system as a starting point, an organization should them aim to press forward on three main and mutually supportive fronts. The management system at its first inception allowed compliance with a stated standard (e.g. ISO 9001, ISO 14001, etc). As it is used it will change and grow. However, if corporate effort is put into proactively seeking areas where improvements may be made, then the three main areas of the organization will develop and strengthen. These areas are People, Processes and Culture and when they are all individually proficient and mutually supporting, their collective output becomes predictable and pre-determinable. Their improvement is related to CSR as shown below.

Key Benefits

Being ahead of the game gives a feeling of confidence about the future
The confidence to set bigger and more meaningful corporate goals, with a greater assurance that they can be achieved and maintained
Less effort spent on "fire-fighting" things that have already gone wrong
Improved Marketing Opportunities
Increased staff retention due to "corporate culture" where everyone is part of a dynamic team
No "surprises" or panicking when new legislation or regulations come in to force
Increased profitability - not only a benefit but a key cornerstone of the corporate strategy

Project Outline

The way that EQM Ltd consultants carry out their work leaves you in no doubt that you are dealing with a consultancy of the highest order. We can consult with you to identify systems and processes, the implementation of which will lead to a greater standing in the CSR stakes.

Key areas of a project of this nature include attendance on site for a number of days to consult with the members of staff that carry out the tasks and with senior management to identify and document the business processes. This is consultancy at its best. The larger the company, the longer this phase of the operation will take.

This is followed up by a debrief of the process owners and the senior management to ensure that there is "buy-in" for the objectives of the project and to pass across our findings. This will be in a simple check list format to assist with ease of implementation.

Finally, there will be a follow up visit several weeks later to ensure that the changes have been implemented effectively, that the changes are being effective and to ensure that the requisite level of Corporate Social Responsibility is being attained (or is on target to be attained) and that it is sustainable (or will be). If required, EQM can continue to support your organization with additional follow up or surveillance visits, thereby becoming an integral part of the identification of improvements process.