The Consultant Relationship in ISO Certification
Consultants play a significant role in the ISO certification ecosystem. They help organizations prepare their management systems for certification, guiding them through documentation, implementation, and internal auditing. When the organization is ready, the consultant typically recommends one or more certification bodies.
This referral relationship is important for CBs. Consultants who have positive experiences referring clients to a CB continue to refer. Those who have frustrating experiences, with communication gaps, lack of visibility, and administrative friction, refer elsewhere.
But the relationship between consultants and CBs must be carefully managed. ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 Clause 5.2 requires certification bodies to manage impartiality. The consultant's role in preparing the management system means they have a vested interest in the certification outcome. The CB must ensure that this interest does not influence the audit process or the certification decision.
The Consultant's Frustration
Consultants who refer clients to certification bodies commonly report these frustrations:
No Visibility Into Status: After referring a client, the consultant has no way to track the certification progress. They call the CB, email the planner, and sometimes contact the client directly to piece together what is happening. This is time-consuming and makes the consultant look uninformed to their client.
Information Delays: Consultants learn about audit findings, delays, or problems long after they occur. By the time they find out, their ability to help the client respond effectively is diminished.
Administrative Friction: Every status inquiry requires a CB staff member to look up the information and respond. This creates work for the CB and delays for the consultant.
Communication Gaps: The consultant is not included in communications between the CB and the client. They are relying on the client to forward relevant information, which does not always happen.
These frustrations are not trivial. They affect the consultant's ability to serve their client and their willingness to refer future clients to the CB.
The Impartiality Challenge
The obvious solution might seem to be including the consultant in all communications and giving them full access to the certification file. But this creates impartiality problems:
- •Audit Finding Visibility: If consultants see audit findings in real time, they might coach the client on responses, undermining the independence of the client's corrective action process.
- •Auditor Pressure: If consultants can see auditor assessments before they are finalized, there is a risk of pressure on the auditor to modify findings.
- •Decision Influence: Consultant visibility into the committee review process could create, or appear to create, influence over the certification decision.
ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 Clause 5.2.7 specifically notes that the CB must not state or imply that certification would be simpler, easier, faster, or less expensive if a specified consultancy organization were used. The relationship between the CB and the consultant must be managed to prevent any appearance of favorable treatment.
The Consultant Portal Solution
Certiva addresses the consultant relationship through a dedicated consultant portal. This portal provides the right level of visibility without compromising impartiality.
What Consultants Can See:
- •Application Status: Whether the client's application has been received, is under review, or has been accepted.
- •Audit Schedule: Upcoming audit dates (once confirmed and communicated to the client).
- •Phase Status: The current phase of the certification process (e.g., "Stage 2 audit completed, in review").
- •Certificate Status: Whether the certificate has been issued, renewed, or is pending.
- •General Timeline: Expected milestones and approximate timelines.
What Consultants Cannot See:
- •Audit Findings: Specific nonconformities, observations, or other audit findings are not visible in the consultant portal. This prevents coaching or interference with the client's response process.
- •Auditor Notes: Internal auditor assessments, observations, and working papers are not accessible to consultants.
- •Committee Deliberations: The committee review process, including individual reviewer assessments and decision rationale, is not visible.
- •Detailed Audit Reports: Stage reports and detailed audit documentation are not available through the consultant portal.
- •Other Clients: Consultants see only the clients they referred, not other clients of the CB.
How This Builds Referral Relationships
The consultant portal transforms the CB-consultant relationship:
Self-Service Status Tracking: Consultants can check client status at any time without contacting the CB. This eliminates status inquiry calls and emails, reducing the CB's administrative burden and the consultant's frustration.
Professional Experience: The portal provides a professional, digital experience that reflects well on the CB. Consultants associate the CB with competence and organization.
Transparency Within Boundaries: The portal provides enough visibility to keep the consultant informed without crossing impartiality boundaries. This balance is appreciated by consultants who understand and respect the certification process.
Referral Tracking: The CB can track which consultants refer which clients, providing data for relationship management and marketing.
Scalability: As the CB grows and works with more consultants, the portal scales without proportional increases in administrative effort.
Setting Up the Consultant Relationship
When a consultant begins referring clients to the CB, the setup process in Certiva is straightforward:
- 1. The consultant is registered in the system with their contact information and portal access credentials.
- 2. When a client is referred by the consultant, the referral relationship is recorded in the client's record.
- 3. The consultant gains automatic portal access to the status of their referred clients.
- 4. The portal views are pre-configured to show only the information appropriate for the consultant role.
There is no additional configuration needed. The information boundaries are built into the portal design.
Maintaining Impartiality Documentation
The consultant portal also supports the CB's impartiality documentation:
- •Clear Separation: The existence of a defined consultant portal with specific information boundaries demonstrates that the CB has a systematic approach to managing consultant relationships.
- •Access Records: The system logs consultant portal access, providing evidence that consultants did not have access to inappropriate information.
- •Procedural Compliance: The portal enforces the CB's procedures for consultant management without relying on manual controls.
During accreditation assessments, when assessors examine the CB's management of impartiality, the consultant portal provides tangible evidence of systematic controls.
The Business Impact
CBs that implement consultant portals report several business benefits:
- •Increased Referrals: Consultants who have positive experiences refer more clients. The portal's transparency and professionalism encourage continued partnership.
- •Reduced Administrative Load: Status inquiries from consultants drop significantly when self-service access is available.
- •Stronger Relationships: The portal demonstrates that the CB values the consultant relationship and invests in making it work.
- •Competitive Differentiation: Few CBs offer dedicated consultant portals. Those that do stand out in a market where consultant referrals are a significant source of new business.
Ready to eliminate consultant communication friction while maintaining impartiality?
Book a demo at getcertiva.com and see how Certiva's consultant portal builds stronger referral relationships with the right information boundaries.