5 Vital Steps of Obtaining ISO 20000 Certification

by Isabel Blamey Professional writer

Summary

If you think this is the high time you should improve your IT service management system, you must consider ISO 20000 standard. This article will help you develop a right understanding of this ISO standard.

Most of the world famous marketing experts opine that customers are always right. Well, this is true until you are unfortunate enough to have a frustrated consumer. However, we can never deny the advantages of successful customer service. In fact, 33% of Americans have admitted they prefer switching their service provider companies just after experiencing a not so satisfying service. According to a survey, U.S companies are losing almost $62 billion per year due to poor customer services. Clearly, these companies need to pay special attention to customer care services. In this context, it is important to note that ISO 20000 certification plays a vital role in the overall improvement of customer services, data centers, and other IT companies.

If your business offers customer services or any kind of IT services, you must consider ISO 20000 standard. In this article, I am going to tell you what is this standard and how a company can maintain compliance with the standard.

ISO 20000 Standard- What does it Mean?

ISO/IEC 20000:2018 is the latest version of the IT Service Management System Standard. It defines the basis for a dependable IT service management system. The core requirement of the standard is the implementation of an effective Service Management System or SMS. This system should support the service management infrastructure including the planning, designing, support, and operations of the system. You can gain a deeper insight into the customers’ needs. Whenever you have a clear understanding of what your customers need, you will be able to deliver satisfying services.

This standard will enable you:

• To gain ongoing visibility

• Better IT Services

• Ensure Continual Improvement

Most of the companies, these days, consult with quality assurance services for gaining accreditation to the ISO 20000 standard.

Now, let’s look at the five stages that can take you closer to the certification to ISO 20000.

1. Draft a Proposal

If you want your company to get certified, you need to draft a proposal. This proposal must state the information about your organization, number of people associated with the scope, main objectives of your business etc. Always remember, the certification body you will hire in the next steps will audit your system on the basis on this proposal. Therefore, it must be a detailed and lucid proposal. You can estimate two more things from the proposal. These are:

• Time required for the certification process

• Expense of the certification process

2. Arrange Certification Audit

Now, let’s come to the most vital part of the process that is crucial for gaining the ISO 20000 certification. In this step, you need to find out a dependable and ISO authorized certification body. This step can be divided into two phases, such as:

Phase 1

The certification body you have chosen must have an audit team. This team should make an effective audit plan covering all the issues, which need to be reviewed. This plan should include:

A list of names of the persons who will be interviewed

I. Date of the audit

II. Time of the audit

In this phase, the auditors are going to carry out an assessment of the documents produced by your company; for instance, the major processes, technical details, and everything associated with the Management System. In this phase, you need to plan for the next phase in advance.

Phase 2

The audit team should make an audit plan just like the previous phase. In this phase, the audit team will review everything, which is pending in the Management system and the operational implement processes. After conducting this audit, the audit team will generate a report based on their review.

These two phases are mandatory only for those organizations, which have made this attempt first time. The main aim of these two phases is to determine whether the IT Service Management Service works efficiently or not.

3. Obtain the Certificate

Well, if you cross the previous steps successfully, you will be entitled to the certification in this stage.

4. Be Prepared for Surveillance Visits

Since an ISO certification is valid for three years, you need to face surveillance visits during this period. Whenever a company obtains the certification for the first time, in the first two out of the three years, they will be facing several audits. Therefore, it is important for you to be prepared always.

5. Arrange Recertification Audit

Once you have gained the certification, it will be valid for three years. After three years, your certification will expire. Then, you will have to deal with a recertification audit to retain the validity of your certification.

Once you are determined to gain the certification, nothing can stop you. You need to be systematic and organized. That’s all!

Author Bio

Though a writer by profession, Damon Anderson prefers to describe himself as a player who loves to play with words. He has worked as an ISO consultant for a decade. During this phase, he had been associated with a number of reputed quality assurance services. He has produced a pile of blogs on ISO 9001 certification, ISO 27000 certification, and ISO 20000 certification.