Meet Our Partners - Blackmores

23 July 2021

This month, the NQA spotlight is shining on our partner, Blackmores. Vanda Bell discusses their expertise in a range of widely used ISO standards.

What standards can you help NQA clients with?

ISO 9001 - Quality Management Systems
ISO 27001 - Information Security Management Systems
ISO 27701 - Personal Information Management (PIM)
GDPR - General Data Protection Regulation
ISO 20000 - IT Service Management
ISO 22301 - Business Continuity Planning & Management
ISO 14001 - Environmental Management Systems
ISO 45001 - Occupational Health & Safety (formerly OHSAS 18001)
ISO 50001 - Energy Management
ISO 44001 - Collaborative Business Relationships
ISO 55001 - Asset Management Systems
PAS 2060 - Carbon Neutrality

+ many more

About your company

Blackmores was founded in 2006 by Melanie Blackmore and is based in Letchworth, Hertfordshire.
We help businesses to optimise and systemise their business to raise standards and achieve ISO certification.
We have a team of 14 consultants in the UK, plus 12 international associates, with backgrounds and expertise in quality, environmental and risk standards.

At Blackmores we are a friendly, dynamic and results driven organisation passionate about raising standards and committed to ‘going above and beyond’ for our clients.

We work with all kinds of businesses from small start-ups to multinational corporations and make sure that you get the bespoke service your business needs.

We support our clients every step of the way from reviewing your companies' policies and procedures to gaining ISO certification.

We have also developed a weekly podcast called The ISO Show to share ‘tips for success’, dispel some of the myths around ISO Standards, and help you to achieve certification. There are over 65 on there so far and we are adding new topics all the time.

Why do you like working with NQA?

Blackmores have a long-standing relationship with NQA and have 15 mutual clients currently. NQA respond quickly to client feedback and are very proactive with their marketing messaging around updates and changes to certificates and were particularly proactive during the challenges faced by all businesses during recent times.

Our consultants have taken part in the webinars and training sessions that have been provided and look forward to continuing with this in the future.

The NQA Consultant programme has also been supportive with regular meetings and follow up recorded sessions for when the business needs take over and we are unable to attend. The structure and content are particularly useful. I look forward to getting back to face-to-face sessions as the networking is always useful and not quite the same over a screen.

Top tip for people looking at certification?

Know which certificate is going to add the most value to your business and take the time to read the standard cover to cover before embarking on implementation.

Many SME’s take the opportunity to establish their processes around recognised international best practices and use the ISOs to their advantage as their businesses grow. By adopting this approach and utilising a UKAS accredited certification body such as NQA, ISO certification can provide access to tenders and opportunities to undertake work for Governmental / Public sector bodies, including government buildings, schools, hospitals etc.

ISO Certification is often a prerequisite of larger organisations and main contractors. Those businesses that have invested in ISO certification not only stand out from their competitors but are more likely to win business.

What do you find is the most common point of misunderstanding regarding certification or specific standards when visiting clients?

The biggest challenge our consultants face tends to be around the lack of leadership, which filters down. If top management think that ISO certification is just a badge / certificate to hang on the wall, then failure within 2 to 3 years is almost guaranteed! Read that again!

Top management need to demonstrate their involvement by setting objectives, endorsing and promoting the company policies and providing resources.

Other challenges include:

The certification process steps (e.g. stage 1, stage 2)
The difference between the consultancy support that Blackmores provide and certification that NQA provide.
The importance and benefits of UKAS accredited certification that Blackmores and NQA both recommend.

For more clarification on any of these points please just give us a call and we will be happy to discuss them with you.

Is there anything else you'd like to let our readers know?

ISO’s promote being a customer focused business. This helps our clients to firstly understand their client/customer requirements and deliver projects, services or products that hopefully exceed these, thus helping the SME to grow its reputation and win repeat business.

By working with Blackmores in the first instance to ensure you are ready for the NQA Auditors, our mutual clients are testament that this Partnership will prove to be an outstanding investment in terms of improved efficiency and profitability.

For more information please visit us at:

Website: https://blackmoresuk.com/

Are you considering NQA Training but not sure which way to turn or which course to book? Our Journey Guide will will point you in the right direction.

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* Disclaimer:

NQA does not provide consultancy in order to remain impartial from management systems implementation.

NQA shall not imply that certification would be simpler, easier, faster or less expensive if a consultancy listed on the ACR is used.

ACR Consultants shall not imply that NQA certification would be simpler, easier, faster or less expensive if their services are used.

NQA remains impartial from our partners on our Associate Consultant Register and does not endorse one partner over another.

‘Our consultants’ do not work for NQA, they work as independent bodies in partnership with us through our Associate Partner Programme. In accordance with the accreditation standard ISO 17021-1:2015 NQA does not provide consultancy in order to remain impartial from management systems implementation.