How Australian Businesses are Driving Growth Through Compliance

According to the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), industry standards contribute heavily to economic growth in Australia:

“Over the 40 years to 2002, a 1% increase in the number of Australian Standards is associated with a 0.17% increase in productivity across the economy,” they say.

Further, the ISO cites the significant impact of standardisation on the Australian mining sector:

“According to the Canberra-based Centre for International Economics, a sampling of standards in the mining industry generate annual benefits between AUD 24 million and AUD 100 million.”

While these figures paint an impressive picture of the overall economic benefits of standards, they don’t explain the everyday, tangible benefits that small to medium businesses enjoy by implementing industry best practices.

Below we outline the top 3 ways Australian businesses are using compliance to drive growth.

The Business Benefits of Becoming Compliant to a Standard

Reaching compliance can benefit your business in a number of ways. Whether it be by driving efficiency in your business practices, setting up your business for consistent growth, or marketing your certification to build brand prestige, reaching compliance has as many benefits as the number of standards available.

These are the top 3 compliance benefits that Australian businesses are using to drive growth:

1. Avoid Errors and Improve Efficiency

We know that without an effective quality management system, businesses of all sizes leave themselves vulnerable to costly errors. For example, the European horse meat scandal of 2013 resulted in a reported 300 million pound loss for Tesco. Some industry commentators cited a lapse in quality controls as the main offender in the international fiasco.

This is a large-scale example, however the same principle applies to smaller businesses. For example, a waterproofing business without effective an effective quality management system can make a series of seemingly minor errors, which compound over the duration of the project. At completion, the building leaks, and the project goes well over budget.

For this reason, an increasing number of small businesses are becoming compliant to the ISO 9001 standard to minimise the chance of costly mistakes. Inspection and test plans are a common way these businesses ensure quality control.

2. Marketing Your Business

In a competitive industry, it can be difficult for small to medium businesses to stand out from the crowd. This is especially true if you have little room for a digital marketing programme in your budget. So any opportunity to promote the successes of your business should be used to the fullest.

Gaining compliance certification is an opportunity to demonstrate to your customers, clients and competitors that your business is dedicated to quality and continual improvement. Once you gain compliance certification, your business will be able to display a compliance badge on your website, tender documents or wherever else you see fit.

This compliance ’badge of honour’ also has a significant psychological effect on your potential clients. Take the Rainforest Alliance Certification badge, which you may have seen on coffee jars in the supermarket aisle. Symbols of quality like these are important at the point of purchase, and give your potential clients or customers a reason to choose you over your competitors.

3. Establish Trust

Like brand recognition, trust is extremely important to businesses in all industries. However, it can also be difficult to establish.

That’s why savvy businesses don’t ask you to take their word for it. Instead, they gain the recognition of already trusted businesses and establish trust through association. Reaching compliance with an internationally recognised ISO standard, and becoming certified to that standard, is a globally accepted recognition of quality.

Client trust is especially important in high risk industries like construction. Standards like ISO 9001, the international standard for quality management systems, are critical for businesses who need to demonstrate their ability to deliver quality work using safe practices. That is why a number of government construction projects are not open to tender for noncompliant businesses.

For more information on how certification to ISO 9001 can help grow your business, download the free information pack below: