2020 Calendar Chaos? How to fix it.

So, you've been a little distracted the past few months?  Has your business shifted focus from# strategic, long range planning to tactical execution?  Perhaps some of your team have been furloughed?  Perhaps most of your staff (including your #internal auditors) are now WFH (working from home)?  This may work to keep essential tasks on track, but what about your internal #quality audits?  Have they fallen behind?  

The bad news is, the more they fall behind, the more likely your entire internal audit process will weaken altogether.  It's already challenging enough to keep a dynamic and motivated team of auditors together and keep them on schedule, let alone following up with the necessary #corrective actions and verifications.  Add a global pandemic, civil unrest and hurricane season (for us in the south), and you've got chaos for sure. 

But the good news is, it's never too late.  Even if you have to play some catch up.  Even if you nearly have to start again from the beginning (which even in the best of times, many organizations find themselves having to do before they really get traction with their internal audit process).

In times like these, the biggest question I hear is, "yikes, it's really fallen behind and I don't know where to start to rebuild".  If you don't know where to start getting your organization "back on track", ISO9001:2015 gives some great guidance in element 9.2.2.

"The organization shall: a) plan, establish, implement and maintain an audit programme(s) including the frequency, methods, responsibilities, planning requirements and reporting, which shall take into consideration the importance of the processes concerned, changes affecting the organization, and the results of previous audits;"

I suggest you start there.  Ask yourself, which processes are most important?  Have there been any changes recently (uh, duh, yeah!).  And finally, take a look back at your last audits.  Was there anything that really needs a follow up ahead of what would otherwise be on the schedule?  This will help at least prioritize where to start over everything else in an attempt to revitalize the whole system.  And it will be most appropriate to report findings to management and request resources for those areas that are most important.  

Second biggest question, "I'm pretty much down to a skeleton crew of auditors now.  How do I rebuild?  I don't have time to do the audits myself, and I don't have time to retrain a whole new crew of auditors".

I'd like to offer a solution!  Choose and assign the audits you need done using whatever your current process is, and then arm your internal auditor squad with a great tool to help them get the job done.  ISO9001 in Plain English is an easy-to-navigate powerhouse of information which translates every section of the wordy, obscure requirements of #ISO9001:2015 into plain English so your auditors know what to look for.  

And I'll offer to take it a step further.  Contact me and I'll take a step back for you and customize a proven Introduction to Internal Auditing video training course that introduces them to ISO9001:2015, presents best practices for internal auditors and gives them an overview of your organization's specific system, schedule and forms.  Paired with ISO9001 in Plain English, you'll be able to recruit internal auditors, give them training, and provide ongoing access to an easy-to-navigate powerhouse of information so that they can get the job done every single time.  This will be a repeatable resource you can use again and again, every time you introduce a new internal auditor onto your team.  

If your organization needs to revamp or shore up its internal audit system, these two tools can help!  Or perhaps your internal auditors just need a resource to help them be more effective.  Contact me for a custom course and/or supplement your current system with ISO9001 in Plain English.  

Today is the day to start getting back on track.  And as always, keep improving!