Getting ISO 9001 certified shouldn’t feel like demolition.

You’ve spent years building a business — with real systems, tools, and workflows. They might need fine tuning but don’t dump what’s working. 

If a consultant shows up with a folder full of templates and an attitude that everything must be redone – then you ought to dump him!

Your Business Isn’t Broken — So Don’t Let ISO Break It

ISO 9001:2015 is a flexible, principles-based framework designed to improve your existing operations, not replace them. Clause 4.4 – Quality Management System and Its Processes requires you to build your QMS around the processes your business already uses.

That means ISO is meant to capture and enhance your current way of working — not bulldoze it with someone else’s playbook.

But too many consultants still lead with templates, pre-filled forms, and recycled documentation. These might help you scrape through an audit, but they don’t make your business better. And they certainly don’t drive ownership or performance.

You’re Likely Already Doing 80% of What ISO 9001 Requires

Most businesses are already meeting many of the standard’s requirements — even if they haven’t written it down yet.

You probably already:

• Monitor customer satisfaction (Clause 9.1.2). Maybe you’re not recording it in a structured manner – and that’s one improvement ISO 9001 will help you.
• Hold team meetings to address performance (Clause 9.3)
• Train staff and define responsibilities (Clauses 7.1.2 and 7.2).
• Solve problems and take corrective action (Clause 10.2). Perhaps right now the CEO is owning this process. Whilts implementing ISO 9001, you might want to consider assigning this responsibility to someone else within your organisation. These are the small changes triggered by an ISO implementation which bring tremendous value.

So instead of rebuilding everything, a good consultant helps you translate what you’re already doing into ISO 9001 terms — and shore up the 20% you might be missing.

Don’t Replace What Works — Translate It Into ISO

An effective ISO 9001 consultant doesn’t show up with generic templates. They show up, listen to you and suggest tweaks so that your approach is more structured.

That process starts by:

1. Understanding your business context (Clause 4.1)
2. Identifying the needs of your customers and stakeholders (Clause 4.2)
3. Evaluating risks and opportunities (Clause 6.1)
4. Reviewing your actual processes and outputs (Clause 8.1)

From there, they’ll identify the missing links and help you fill those gaps with minimal disruption — often by simply making your existing methods more repeatable and measurable – even if the CEO is not on the ground pushing the ship forward.

Applying the Process Approach

One of ISO 9001’s core principles is the process approach (Clause 4.4 and reinforced in 8.1 – Operational Planning and Control). That means understanding:

• The inputs and outputs of your key activities
• The interrelationships between departments
• How consistent delivery is achieved
• Where performance can be measured and improved

By documenting the workflows you already use, assigning responsibilities, and setting measurable objectives (Clause 6.2), you gain clarity — not complexity. 

One powerful outcome of mapping your processes is the ability to assign ownership to each step of each process. This builds true accountability — which from experience – is so lacking in most organisations (big and small!).

And there’s another advantage — especially if you're using MS Frog. As you map processes and assign roles, the software generates a responsibility matrix for each job title. And the kicker? As you update processes over time, the job descriptions are automatically updated on MS Frog!

Final Thoughts: Build on What You Have

Don’t let an ISO consultant bulldoze what you’ve built.

You don’t need a new business. You need to show that your existing business works — consistently and measurably.

ISO 9001 is a tool for capturing and improving what you're already doing. When implemented properly, it doesn’t just help you pass audits — it helps you scale, delegate, and build customer trust.

With the right consultant, your ISO 9001 system will feel like it’s yours — not a burden.