Who is ready for the ISO norm?
The ISO Norm for Market, Opinion and Social Research was launched in May. Enrique Domingo, past president of the Spanish market research association ANEIMO and coordinator of the international adoption process, advises on how to implement the new international standards.
By Jos Havermans
All market researchers, says Enrique Domingo, should learn the number 20252. It is the number of the ISO (International Standards Organisation) norm for market research. “Having ISO standards in place shows our clients and society that our industry is committed to providing the highest service quality, self control and self-regulation,” says Domingo, who coordinated adoption of the ISO 20252 Norm. Domingo is chairman of the ISO Technical Committee 225, in addition to his position as managing director of Synovate Iberia and West Africa. Having ISO norms in place will not only convey professionalism and reliability, the standards may also ensure the market research industry will be spared harsh laws curbing the freedom to conduct research, as a sign of responsibility in front of regulators, he points out. The first plenary meeting convened by the Technical Committee was held in July 2003 and EFAMRO, the association representing European trade associations funded the project. They were approved in February 2006, and launched in May, one of the fastest standard developments in ISO history.
How many countries have signed up so far?
"There are 22 member countries of the technical committee whose national ISO institutions unanimously voted in favour of the norms. These countries were involved in developing the norms and represent above 90 percent of the global market research market. The adoption process will differ from country to country. In countries that already had national norms, associations will have the choice between replacing these with the ISO norm, or keeping the national norms and adding ISO as a supplement. We have no preference. Most countries, such as the UK, prefer to substitute their national norms with ISO. But standards that are specifically geared toward national peculiarities will always have a place in addition to ISO norms."How should agencies implement the ISO norm?
"This will be very different for multinational agency networks and small local agencies. To become ISO certified, an agency has to ask an accredited auditor to assess whether it meets all requirements, such as having a quality system in place, keeping proper records, training of interviewers, giving feedback to employees, reporting to clients on project progress and key decisions and all other quality procedures. Multinational agencies can do this separately for every market they’re operating in, making it a costly operation or collectively as a single operation. I assume that most big agencies will begin certification in the most important markets and those where the certification process will be easiest."Do small companies apply the same system as big companies?
"There’s one single norm, which is exactly the strength of ISO. For small agencies it may be difficult to deal with the complexity of the quality system. On the other hand: their business would probably not be viable without a clear set of norms and standards. One can hardly survive in today’s competitive market. Implementing ISO Norm should be seen as a valuable and probably indispensable investment. If you don’t have strict quality protocols in place and make mistakes as a result of it, costs of non-quality would rise probably even higher. "How long will it take to implement?
"If senior management is genuinely committed to delivering good quality and service, implementation can be very fast. Still, it might take several years for a committed company starting from zero to become fully ISO certified. Most already accredited companies will implement ISO when their regular audit is due. Very few will speed up auditing processes to move to ISO Norm ahead of time. So it can well take a couple of years before the entire industry will have implemented ISO."What will clients gain by ISO?
"ISO norms will strengthen the quality of insights and other services delivered to them. They will see more consistency and compatibility in the handling of international projects. Ultimately, the ISO Norm will safeguard the quality and good practice of the research partner they work with."How will ISO sanction agencies violating the Norm?
"Perfection is not possible. There will not even be one company where an audit will identify no mistakes. There’s always a small number of ‘non-conformities’, as flaws are called in ISO jargon. These issues are identified as part of the quality assurance process and need to be addressed and resolved. Even in case auditors find major non-conformities, they will always give the perpetrator time to try to resolve the problem. Companies that fail to address these issues lose their ISO accreditation certificate. These steps are not published but the agency must of course stop claiming it is ISO certified. Agencies that lost their ISO stamp can always apply for certification again, once they feel they’ve corrected their mistakes and rebuild their quality system."What happens next?
It is part of the normal ISO process to constantly adjust and update the norms. Standards change because markets are also constantly evolving. Every two years, a revision of the market research ISO 2252 Norm will be made and changes will be published when needed. In addition to this, at any point in time members of the technical committee responsible for the ISO norms can table an issue for discussion.You’ve coordinated the ISO adoption process since 2003. Will you now resign?
"I am chairman of the ISO technical committee TC-225 until 2008 and I intend to complete my five year term. We are currently developing standards for access panels and internet research, which we intend to include as a second Norm together with ISO 20252 as soon as possible."Need help with implementation?
Agencies seeking help with implementing ISO norms should contact their national market research association. If there is no association available, they should go directly to the national standard bodies that operate as the natural channel for ISO norms. These organisations should have all relevant information to assist companies get ISO-certification.For more information, go to the page of the Technical Committee 225 on the ISO website.
Countries involved
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Participating countries
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Observing countries
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Liaison
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| Algeria | Italy | Austria | EFAMRO |
| Argentina | Japan | Egypt | ESOMAR |
| Australia | Korea | Iran | WAPOR |
| Brazil | Mexico | Morocco | |
| Bulgaria | Russian Federation | Romania | |
| Canada | Serbia &Montenegro | Thailand | |
| Czech Republic | South Africa | Turkey | |
| France | Sweden | Uruguay | |
| Germany | United Kingdom | ||
| Israel | USA | ||
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