Are professional accreditations a key part of the decision making process?

Whether you come across a potential new supplier online or because of a referral from someone you know, the first question we almost always ask ourselves is whether we feel it is the type of business we want to work with.

Their website will be the first qualifier.  Do they provide the type of services I need?  Is their list of services supported by client testimonials and cases studies?

Personal referrals will of course go a long way, especially if they come from someone we trust.

But what about the next level down?  What is behind the marketing material and your friend/colleague/contact’s recommendation?

This is where professional qualifications and accreditations could provide an additional level of security.

What is a professional accreditation and why is it essential?

According to the dictionary definition, an accreditation is:

‘The action or process of officially recognising someone as having a particular status or being qualified to perform a particular activity’.

Achieving this official recognition is never easy.  It requires hard work and a genuine desire on the part of the holder to improve their operations, structure and service so as to meet the levels their customers deserve.

It is also an official recognition of the hard work they’ve had to put in to get to this stage of their business’ life and the experience they’ve built up along the way.  And experience – or, more importantly, the track record experience creates – is the ultimate success criterion for the judges as they decide who does and who doesn’t receive their accreditation.

To use an everyday example, we wouldn’t buy food unless we knew it was safe.  This is why our restaurants and take-aways work so hard to achieve the best possible hygiene score.  If you saw a zero or a 1 in the window, would you risk it?  No, you’d keep looking until you found a 4 or a 5!

The same goes for a professional service.

But, instead of a higher number, you need to see they have successfully achieved and maintained the relevant accreditations.  Just as you wouldn’t pick a take-away without seeing they meet your desired standards, you shouldn’t trust your business and your commercial future to a service provider who can’t to do the same.

In terms of what an accreditation does, of course it’s primarily there to show you that your potential supplier takes their responsibilities seriously enough to meet the very highest standards set by their profession, their sector and their customers.

However, the fact they have the right badges should also reassure you of their:

Reliability

If they don’t meet the required standards, they will soon lose their accreditation as those awarding the certification won’t tolerate poor service being provided in their name.

Quality

Accreditation required the provider to prove they not only provide the highest quality products and services, but also provide this level of quality of service consistently.

Value

This doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the cheapest.  It does however mean they provide the best value for money in terms of balancing quality, reliability, accessibility, responsiveness and added extras against the price they charge.

Service

You need your suppliers to deliver what they promise on time.  You also need them to talk to you regularly to find out what they need to do and/or what they have that will improve the way they look after you.

Security

Accreditation is only awarded to businesses with a proven track record and a strong foundation.  If you can’t confirm your potential supplier’s current financial position, you could lose a significant amount of money if they find themselves with cashflow problems or worse, go bust.

But what about Right Digitals Solutions’ professional accreditations?

In terms of our own accreditations, we have exceeded all the professional standards you would expect an established workplace technology and communications specialist to meet.  These include:

ISO 27001, the leading international standard focused on information security developed to show the holder knows how best to protect information in a systematic and cost-effective way using information security management systems.

ISO 9001, this leading quality management standard shows the holder meets a long list of quality management principles including a strong customer focus and a dedication to maintaining the highest management standards and driving continual improvement.

ISO 14000, an environmental management award that shows the holder is doing everything they can to minimise the effect their business has on the environment.

Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus.  These are government and industry backed schemes  that show the holder has done everything they can to protect themselves against the growing threat of cyber-attacks.

As a business that has access to many of our clients’ data this is essential as it shows we have identified any vulnerabilities and taken every action to eradicate them and insulate our clients’ data against possible hacking and phishing attacks.

Microsoft Silver Partner, an award given by Microsoft to business they feel demonstrate the highest and most specialist ability to deliver specific business solutions whilst offering the best customer service.  It denotes the holder is in the top 5% of Microsoft partners worldwide.