After what’s undeniably been a challenging number of months, your business may now be looking to get back on track and start preparing for future success.
However, determining where to start and how best to tackle the months to come can be overwhelming and daunting, with many businesses now grappling with the prospect of ‘bouncing back’ in such unfamiliar circumstances.
For those in this position, you certainly aren’t alone. It is, however, well worth keeping in mind that the strategic action you take now will inhibit a crucial role in influencing your business’ performance down the line. Thus, it’s the perfect time to consider whether ISO certification is for you, even more so if business is quieter than usual and, because of this, you have a little extra time to put back into making your business the best it can be.
If you’re not sure where to start, conducting a COVID-19 gap analysis can help your organisation establish clear direction; all the while giving you the means to take proactive steps towards achieving improved post-pandemic compliance. As many businesses have found, this investment won’t just help you survive the current climate, but also thrive in the near and not so near future.
But how can you determine if your business needs a COVID-19 gap analysis? Besides contacting our experienced consultants directly, reading the following article is a great place to start.
Why Might Your Business Need a COVID-19 Gap Analysis?
The existing business landscape is evolving even more quickly than usual, with strict restrictions being enforced amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
As an Australian business, ensuring you maintain compliance with these ever-changing requirements is vital in avoiding costly penalties as a result of your non-compliance and, more importantly, doing your part to control community transmission. This means not only taking action to protect your employees and customers but also, where possible, minimising your business’ contribution to the virus’ rapid spread among members of the general public.
But how can you determine what needs to be done to ensure your business remains compliant in a volatile environment?
By enlisting an industry professional to conduct a COVID-19 gap analysis that’s tailored to your business’ unique context and needs, you can take productive and proactive steps and, ultimately, make compliance a priority. In doing this, you can plan and prepare for the existing market demands in relation to coronavirus, as well as the long-term and ongoing impacts of this pandemic.
A key aspect of this is, of course, ensuring your business stays up-to-date on the latest safety regulatory requirements, all the while taking full responsibility for and understanding your role in reducing risks. By completing a thorough COVID-19 gap analysis and, respectively, becoming ISO certified, your organisation can do just that.
The Importance of a COVID-19 Gap Analysis for Your Business
With improved compliance, you’re not only actively demonstrating your commitment to managing new risks accordingly, but also introducing maintainable management systems that are adaptable in and relevant to the current climate.
When it comes to securing government and commercial tenders, in the months to come, evidencing that you have, in fact, implemented a suitable pandemic response will be imperative. This means that, if you fail to reassess and update your existing processes, you’ll likely struggle to be considered for and, ultimately, win, major tenders in future.
Beyond this, even if your business is already ISO certified, in response to the pandemic, to remain compliant, you will need to complete a COVID-19 risk assessment. This not only shows that you’re taking action to manage current risks, but also planning sufficient and appropriate responses for managing and alleviating future coronavirus-related threats.
With customers and prospects seeing that your organisation has achieved ISO certification with a standard or set of standards; all of which are credible and internationally recognised, you can build greater trust in your brand, which is all the more important in the current business environment.
How Does a COVID-19 Gap Analysis Work?
By completing this analysis, you can determine where there are gaps in your current management systems with regard to COVID-19 requirements. This will, consequently, help your business establish clear direction, defining where exactly improvement is needed for improved compliance and, ideally, the achievement of ISO certification.
At Integrated Compliance Solutions, our consultants can assist you in improving your systems as required in the current climate. In doing this, we can complete a thorough audit of your existing processes, write up-to-date policies, conduct risk assessments and more.
Typically, when completing a COVID-19 gap analysis, we follow a three-step process:
- Review systems and identify gaps
- Develop an action plan
- Amend systems to meet requirements
For more information about this service, or if this article has brought up any queries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team. We offer this service Australia-wide and can help you achieve compliance with a variety of ISO standards, including ISO 45001, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 27001.