What is the ISO 37001 Standard and How Does It Work in Your Organization?

Corruption and bribery have become some of the most common problems in the business world these days. Besides hindering employee productivity, workplace bribery incidents can also be the reason behind the failure of a brand. However, obtaining an ISO 37001 certification may help you. But what is the ISO 37001 standard? Well, the ISO 37001 standard is globally recognized for ABMS (Anti-Bribery Management Systems). Implementing this ISO standard in your organization shows that you take serious measures to keep your company away from corruption and bribery-related matters.

The ISO 37001 standard outlines several processes and policies on anti-bribery for organizations to help them detect and avoid workplace bribery as well as deal with it when takes place. Besides that, it also defines the steps companies should take to prevent workplace bribery while checking and addressing any instances of the practices.

The ISO 37001 criteria validate that a business has taken proper bribery prevention procedures, including training, financial & commercial controls, top-level leadership, bribery risk assessment, investigation, the sufficiency of due diligence, audit, and reporting.

Obtaining an ISO 37001 certification comes with a set of standards that organizations must follow for managing their anti-bribery systems and keeping corruption away.

Let’s dive into the blog to learn more about ISO 37001 and how it works in organizations.

What is the importance of ISO 37001 certification for ABMS?

They are as follows:

1. Achieving an ISO 37001 certification helps organizations ensure transparency by keeping all stakeholders informed of your organization’s stand on bribery and ethical business practices.

2. Implementing the ISO 37001 standard in the business promotes ethical business practices.

3. Obtaining an ISO 37001 certification helps organizations to sustain and take action against workplace bribery and corruption to protect the business from losing customers and goodwill.

4. The ISO 37001 certification acts as a hallmark of trust and quality services by making your organization comply with the legal regulations. ISO 37001-certified companies show more reliability and trust with potential customers and business partners.

5. Organizations pursuing an ISO 37001 ABMS certification refuse to pay any bribes and thus, save money by not dealing with expensive courses.

6. Having ISO 37001 in place provides a framework to identify, control, and address potential threats that can affect the company’s reputation for an effective and efficient ISO 37001 ABMS.

What are the principles of the ISO 37001 certification?

They are as follows:

1. Process Approach to understand and execute activities to increase delivery efficiency by understanding the capabilities of the company and determining the resource constraints before taking any action.

2. Customer Focus to improve the betterment of the customers and interested parties. It can also help companies sustain customers, ensure communication on their requirements by monitoring across the organizational levels, and increase customer base.

3. Improvement to maintain the brand’s current performance level and keep on developing it through proper training to employees and letting them know how everything happens with that track besides reviewing and audit planning, recognition and acknowledgment, and implementation, which can lead to improved process performance.

4. Leadership achieves quality objectives by establishing a unity of purpose that aligns their policies, resources, strategies, and procedures. It will then result in better coordination of your organization’s processes to develop a culture of integrity and trust, providing staff(s) with the required training, resources, and authority to act with accountability.

5. Relationship Management to achieve a well-managed supply chain by managing relations with relevant interested parties, including the providers. It won’t only provide you with a stable flow of products and services but also decide the relationship with the interested parties.

6. People Engagement to involve people efficiency across all levels by communicating with your staff(s) about their needs within the organization, recognizing people’s contributions, learning, and improvement, and sharing knowledge and experience.

7. Evidence-Based Decision-Making to make decisions by evaluating data and learning from previous mistakes to bring better efficient solutions.

How to find the right third-party ISO 37001 experts for your organization?

There are many third-party ISO auditing firms nationwide.

However, they are not the same, even though they offer similar services across the country.

Then how can you find the right one to implement ISO 37001 in your organization?

Well, consider the following factors when you are looking for a third-party ISO 37001 auditor:

1. Check the expertise and reputation of the team beforehand.

2. Ask the team about their understanding of the ISO 37001 standard.

3. Test the knowledge of the team on the latest ISO 37001 requirements and guidelines.

4. Ask about the estimated cost and timeline for the ISO 37001 implementation process.

5. Look for client testimonials and portfolios on the ISO 37001 certification process.

6. Check the ISO certifications of the third-party ISO 37001 auditing firm.

7. Ensure that the third-party ISO 37001 auditors are educated with valid certificates.

Take away

Bribery has become one of the biggest challenges in the world these days. Hence, implementing the ISO 37001 standard has become a necessary practice for organizations. We hope this blog can help you understand what is the ISO 37001 standard and how it works in organizations.