#207 Management Review – The Fallacy Of The Annual Event

If you've ever implemented an ISO Standard, then the term Management Review will be familiar to you. It's a mandatory part of the implementation process, and a crucial tool for monitoring continual improvement. Somewhere down the line, it's become a bit of a myth that a Management Review needs to be an annual meeting. That is simply not the case, while required by the Standard, it's very flexible on how this could be achieved. In this episode Ian discusses the purpose of Management Review, including what you should be including and getting out of the review and breaks down the fallacy of the annual event. You'll learn · What is the purpose of a Management Review? · What are the common misconceptions about Management Review? · How Management Review supports other clause requirements · What are the inputs for Management Review? · What are the outputs of a Management Review? Resources · Isologyhub · How to conduct a Management Review · How to get the most out of your Management Review In this episode, we talk about: [02:05] Episode Summary – Ian discusses the real purpose of Management Review, and dispels the myth of the annual event. [02:35] What is the purpose of a Management Review?: Management Review is a requirement of all ISO Standards. It's main purpose is to check if your Management System is fit for purpose, and what needs to be updated to ensure it aligns with your businesses objectives and strategic direction. In short, it's there as a check to see what's working well and what's not working well, in addition to continual improvement considerations. [03:30] What are some common misconceptions about Management Review?: Some common misconceptions include:- · That it's simply a formality – Rubber-stamping things and missing out on the opportunity to effectively monitor management system progress · That It must be once a year · Having to review everything in excruciating detail i.e. all audit findings · The need to update the risk assessment and re-jigging scores · That you must review and update your SWOT/PESTLE · Or review and update all management system documentation · That it's the perfect opportunity to re-write a policy There is a time and place for all of these, and you could tackle some of this in a Management Review if you really want to, but that is not the main purpose of a Management Review. [04:50] How Management Review supports other clause requirements - Leadership: If we take ISO 9001 as an example, the Leadership clause states: "Top management shall demonstrate leadership and commitment with respect to the quality management system by: a) taking accountability for the effectiveness of the quality management system e) ensuring that the resources needed for the quality management system are available g) ensuring that the quality management system achieves its intended results" These requirements at first glance may seem like they'd require a lot of effort and monitoring of many different factors, but in actuality they can all be satisfied through effective Management Review. [05:55] What involvement is required from top management? As stated in ISO Standards:- "Top management shall review the organization's management system, at planned intervals, to ensure its continuing suitability, adequacy, effectiveness and alignment with the strategic direction of the organization." Top management also have involvement in the following elements of implementing and maintaining a management system: · Context · IPs · Risks/Ops · Objectives · Policy · Support · Operation · Performance monitoring Management Review relates specifically to 'performance monitoring', but that in of itself will include elements of all the other clauses within the Standard, and many of those require top managements involvement on some level. [07:45] The fallacy of the annual event – The Management Review clause specifically states that a Management Review should be 'carried out at planned intervals'. Many had interpreted that as once a year, which has been the prevailing myth for decades. Looking at the Standard, no where does it say 'once a year', planned intervals means it could be once a month, it could be once a week, it could be a set points during the summer. When deciding on these planned intervals, take into consideration the nature of your business, the size of your business, the risks associated with it and the maturity of your Management System. This will determine how frequent the Management Review should be, as it will differ for every business. [09:10] Examples of Management Review frequency – Ian has worked in an organisation where they had a rather grand Management Review process, where top ...