Human Resources, Finance and Administration in ISO 9001

i would like to know what types of procedures to be developed if a company wants to include Human resources, Finance and Administration departments in the ISO 9000 certification process.

I have prepared a Human Resources manual for HR department, which gives a broader policy on recruitment, training, leaves, deputation, transport termination etc. and also formats are there.

Similarly for Finance department I have prepared a procedure for purchases, purchases involving capital expenditure, auditing etc.

Are there any more procedures to cover in this area

Can others enlighten me please

Venkat,
Our intent is to omit the Marketing and Financial Departments from ISO. I don't see anything in the standard where there may be a requirement to include these. These are areas where you decide how to improve your customer base and profitability. Our consultant has indicated that they are not necessary for ISO registration. Not doubting him, I have looked for a connection between the standard and those departments. Be careful of overkill. You have enough to do! JMHO. Others?

There is no requirement in the standard. However I dont see anything wrong to include these. This is because we are talking of business processes. This need not necessarily include technical areas only. Other areas can also be included. For example, HR is not involved in day to day production. But recruitment and training they are involved. ISO talks about training.

Similarly finance is involved because we have approved lsit of vendors based on quality of the materials, timely delivery and cost factor. The cost factor is decided by finance.

I dont see any reason why we should grant immunity to administration, HR and finance departments from ISO. By doing so we are giving room to them to do as they wish and work in an adhoc manner.

When one section of an organisation complies to a standard procedures and quality system, why not others?

They also should learn what is quality. This willpave the way for total quality maangement in gthe organisation

[Jim Biz]

energy??

With the new "process approach" can you justify omitting all Marketing & Finance actions as "core inputs" or customer satisfaction outputs - to the business process??

Seems to me both would have impact on continual improvement and customer satisfaction. - And because of these inputs - in the Marketing or Financial managers would be most suitable to be selected as Management rep ?

Regards
Jim

Venkat,

I made no mention of excluding HR or Administration from the processes. They have certain responsibilties that are alluded to in the standard. Your decision to include all departments in the scope, is just that. Your decision. Your post solicited ideas about some areas that you may have missed. While your intentions are honorable, I have always followed the KISS principle. If it's not a requirement, don't make it one. You provide Auditors with additional information that becomes auditable. JMHO.

The decision to make it auditable or not can be decided at a later date. Have the process set and implemented for all departments

That is the goal

Jim,

If you look hard enough and deep enough, you can “justify” including just about anything. I don’t condemn those that want to go above and beyond. It really comes down to personal choice. I say if you have the time and resources, do it. Imagination and interpretations abound. It just seems like a stretch, to me, to include Marketing and Finance Departments in the scope of our ISO. This is my own personal take:
Marketing traditionally focus on broadening the Customer base by developing strategies to compete in the marketplace. Hence the word “Marketing”. Their aim is to find New Customers. Hardly, Customer Satisfaction as I know it. (More later)
The Finance Department is like a bank. Hence the word “Finance”. They take in and manage the cash/assets. They also provide the resources for Managers who have determined they need this or that because of requirements. Purchasing is tasked with the selecting vendors based on cost, reliability and history, so it’s a stretch to say Finance is involved. Sales/Application/Project are responsible for providing reasonable quotes to Customers, with an eye on the profit margin. So, again, it’s a stretch to say Finance is involved.
Customer Satisfaction. My understanding, by looking at other resources, is that this pertains to all after sale Complaints/Feedback, which in our case involves anybody with a phone in a position to receive feedback or complaints. Other Customer Satisfaction initiatives such as Surveys and other measuring methods (repeat orders, increased orders, etc.) are the responsibility of our Sales team. Our procedure will address the various people responsible and the method of reporting this information for management Review. Neither the Marketing or Finance will have a role in measuring Customer Satisfaction.
Their possible participation in Continuous Improvements initiatives simply eludes me. But, I guess, if you Continuously Improve everything, that’s a good thing. Hey, I can use it.
Finally, the Marketing and the Finance Managers do not have a clue what ISO is and there's not enough time left in my career to train them to fill the MR function.

[E Wall]

From my undersanding of Venkat's posts the effort is related to 'Standardizing the Processes related to the HR, Marketing and Financial Departments' and is intent on adding them to the ISO Certification Scope as a means to hold the related management accountable.

IMHO, discuss this with your top management, leaving the decision to them whether or not to include in the ISO Scope. I also see problems relating with dissassociated departments if you have accountability issues and no internal audit scheme for them, but have to agree with Energy that these processes not included in the ISO requirements would be better off if held separate.

Best Regards, Eileen