Communication procedure requirements for ISO 9001:2015

Communication procedure requirements for ISO 9001:2015 provide a framework to guide the internal and external communication regarding quality management in an organisation. Your company’s communication procedure should provide an overview of the quality management issues to be communicated and who should communicate them. At Citation Certification, we offer the training you need to comply with clause 7.4 communication requirements.

Contents of communication procedure

The communication procedure of any organisation demonstrates its approach towards internal and external communication. Here are aspects that your organisation must consider when establishing a communication plan for quality management systems:

What to communicate

It’s essential to identify the type of Quality Management System (QMS) related issues you intend to communicate. The issues may include quality management system requirements, quality policies, processes, objectives, customer satisfaction and the organisation’s QMS performance.

Frequency of communication

Specify when to communicate based on the urgency, scheduled meetings, staff shift patterns, and the information’s significance. Depending on what you intend to communicate, you may decide to convey the information yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly or daily.

For instance, you may opt to provide financial and operational communication daily and communicate structural changes quarterly. In most cases, your company’s contractual or legal guidelines might also influence when to provide QMS information.

Audience

The communication procedure should specify whom the QMS information should address. The audience can be anyone within the organisation or external stakeholders, and it depends on the topic of discussion.

For example, you can communicate your company’s commitment to the quality management system to all employees or convey financial information to employees in the finance department.

How to communicate

You can use different communication modes, and some will work differently depending on the topic of discussion, frequency of communication, and your audience. The most common delivery modes include face to face meetings, videos, power points, newsletters, manuals and emails.

Who will communicate?

The communicator can be anyone within or outside the organisation, depending on the severity of the communication. It could be an external agency, quality manager, team member, public relations agency, employee representative or a supervisor.

Although you don’t have to document your QMS communication procedure, creating a communication matrix is advisable. You may also opt to establish a communication plan if two or more parties are responsible for communicating quality management-related issues.

The role of quality managers in QMS communication

Your quality manager is responsible for ensuring effective communication to top management regarding the effectiveness and performance of the QMS. Some of the responsibilities of quality managers in QMS communication include:

• Communicating the status of the organisation’s progress towards achieving QMS objectives
• Coordinating external communication regarding quality management
• Ensuring quality management system performance is included in the audit reports
• Maintaining and controlling records relating to the organisation’s quality management.

Communication procedure is a requirement for ISO 9001:2015 and relates to other ISO management standards like ISO 14001 and ISO 27001.