If your company’s looking to boost profits by enhancing its business processes and improving efficiency, getting an ISO certification shall be one of your top priorities.
Whether it’s ISO 9001, ISO 14001, or industry standard like AS 9100, understanding the certification requirements can become a long, complex process especially if you lack the technical knowledge for it.
That’s probably why, in order to get the certification, it’s recommended to hire a consultant who knows a more efficient and quick way around the entire process. The question that arises though is whether you should hire a full-service consulting firm or a boutique consulting company to do the best job for you?
Here are 3 reasons why we think choosing a boutique consulting firm to help you with ISO certification may be a smarter choice for your company:
1. Specialized Services
Boutique consultancies usually don’t offer a broad array of services and this may seem like a disadvantage at first but it’s quite the opposite. A smaller staff size means a carefully selected team of experts offering a specialized set of services.
Every boutique consulting firm has a niche its picked out. This gives them an edge over a regular consulting firm as they gain more in-depth experience regarding the set of services they are offering.
In your experience with a boutique consulting firm, you’ll also notice they are far more flexible in matters as compared to bigger firms. With flexibility, comes their ability to work efficiently in a closely-knit team. Since a boutique consulting company emphasizes a set of specialized services, innovative and out-of-the-box ideas are always encouraged.
2. Lower Overhead Costs
Having a large firm means having a bigger space to accommodate your employees. It also means a higher number of senior management employees. This results in a high operational and overhead cost which may result in charging you with a hefty consultant fee.
Boutique consultants, because of their focused approach, carry a much lower overhead cost and this can result in competitive, yet affordable consulting fee being charged.
Although acquiring an ISO Certification in itself is a considerable expense, you won’t need to add an additional burden on your company with a heavy consultant’s fee.
3. Direct Communication
Bigger firms suggest more layers of management compared to the relatively flatter structure of boutique consultant firms. Bigger consultancy firms also have a lot of new staff coming in back and forth, and it’s much more likely that your project will be first assigned to someone with little knowledge followed by the senior management ‘reviewing’ the final work submitted.
In boutique consulting firms, however, the senior management is directly involved, offering a much more customized approach because of the fewer layers of management present. They give you more time, discuss your requirements in detail, pay a lot of attention to every part of the discussion and don’t rush through meetings.
Open and free communication is extremely crucial when you’re looking to hire a consulting company because acquiring ISO certification is already a huge expense your company’s bearing and the slightest error or mistake can cost you a fortune.
Obviously, it is easier to get a hold of people at a boutique consulting company, whether it’s for a quick update or for a short meeting. So, as a customer it’s an absolute no-brainer that you’d prefer to hire someone who is easily available and puts an active effort into retaining its customers.
At EQM Consult, we help you achieve compliance with ISO Certifications in Quality and Environmental Management Systems and to help you build credibility with your customers. To get in touch with our expert consultants, use contact form or drop us an email.
Ph.D. Beata Paliwoda
Founder and Owner of EQM. Environmental and quality consultant and auditor. Professional career built in Quality Assurance departments in various companies from the automotive, aerospace, railway industries, as well as a management systems consultant. Successfully completed many complex projects related to the implementation of management systems, process improvements and business transformation. Auditor of ISO 9001, ISO 14001, AS 9100, project manager of APM, lecturer at the Poznan University of Business and Economics, researcher on the effectiveness of EMS and QMS in organisations.
