Integration of management systems – why do companies fail?

The implementation of internationally recognised management systems has become unavoidable in today’s business world. Companies also have to provide various forms of certification. Elfriede Giard, chief executive officer of the World of Ethics Group of Companies, provides insight into why management systems should be integrated and warns against pitfalls.

Traditionally, organisations appoint a person to be responsible for the development of a management system and to facilitate its implementation.

Many organisations will start with the certification of a particular management system of choice, and add other certifications to the portfolio as legislation and standards change – or other requirements pop up.

These changes in demand are approached differently by organisations, with some giving the responsibility of a second or third management system’s requirements to another individual and others adding the responsibility to the incumbent person’s portfolio.

Irrespective of the approach, the requisite skills within the organisation can make the difference between success and failure. Technical knowledge of the subject matter is important, as the organisation will rely on its systems expert to lead the organisation in this discipline.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has, over the past decade, tried to align the standards as much as possible, implementing the same structure and framework. But why do organisations still fail when embarking on the road of management systems integration?

Several key aspects lead to this failure and have been identified as the pitfalls for companies integrating various management systems:
• Lack of management commitment;
• Lack of an integration strategy;
• Lack of training and awareness;
• Inability to understand and integrate cross-functional activities;
• Lack of key performance indicators and metrics; and
• Silos in the organisational structure.

Lack of management commitment is one of the main reasons for failure, not only of a particular management system, but also when systems integration is required. Often the decision to integrate systems is done hastily as it becomes a sudden business requirement and is enforced by key decision-makers or headquarters.

Most ISO standards today require top management to ensure that the intended results are achieved. If the leadership of the organisation does not take ownership and clearly show support and leadership in the discipline, the workforce will never embrace the management system requirements.

This is linked to the second reason: the lack of an integration strategy. If top management does not understand the requirements of the standards and the intended outcomes, no clear integration strategy will be driven at an executive level.

Before an organisation decides to integrate management systems, the leadership of the company must understand the requirements of each of the management system’s standards that they require to integrate, as well as the intended outcomes of each. Only then will they be able to define an effective strategy, which will drive integration of the different management systems and still achieve the intended outcomes of the individual standards.

In understanding the intended outcomes of the required standards, the correct resources (human resources, financial resources, software systems and tools) will be made available and ultimately result in successful integration.

A common mistake is to expect a person with a very specific skill set, in food safety for example, to suddenly take on the responsibility for other disciplines, such as occupational health and safety or environmental management.

As the drivers of these management systems are very different, an organisation needs to ensure that the person with the responsibility for integration receives the required training on the other standards and disciplines. This not only applies to the individuals who have the responsibility for the integration, but is also extended to top management and the workforce. If the responsibility for integration is shared between different people, it still requires that each one receives the required training.

The inability to understand and integrate cross-functional activities often leads to duplicated efforts and inefficiencies in the business processes, such as policy setting, inspections, internal audits, management review, document management and training.

It is also important to understand the unique context of an organisation before starting the strategic planning. Establishing the context means defining the external and internal factors that the organisations must consider when they manage risks. Organisations often fail to define context clearly, which has a direct impact on the effectiveness of their defined management systems and required integration.

A lack of key performance indicators and metrics often results in the failure of management systems, as the organisation does not define the intended outcomes. With the integration of management systems, this aspect is often neglected and results in organisations failing to see the real impact of the various management systems and their integration.

With the integration of the management systems, there is more often than not one system that is the main focus, and can easily be seen from the performance indicators and metrics that are used to measure compliance and effectiveness.

Key performance indicators and metrics are required for all disciplines that are covered in the management system. It does not mean that some indicators cannot be used across all the disciplines, but some indicators are unique to a specific discipline and need to receive appropriate attention.

Silos constitute another pitfall, for example, when numerous people within the organisation have the responsibility of running the management system.

There is a distinct difference in running and implementing systems parallel to one another versus integrating the systems. It is important that barriers be removed between the disciplines before integration is attempted, and that the integration strategy is defined and communicated with clear roles and responsibilities. Communication is key.

There are many benefits to integrating multiple management system requirements into a single system, but many organisations have failed through not addressing the pitfalls at the start.

My advice: go back to the basics; define your processes rather than writing procedures to address standard requirements; and in defining your processes, ensure that you incorporate the management system requirements. It will thus become easy for all levels in the organisation to embrace this.

If you define the goal, you can define the path to the goal. Some paths will take you on a detour, but ultimately they will lead to the same destination.