Founded by the Enterprise Engagement Alliance at TheEEA.org.

ISO Professional Certifications

ISO professional certifications are for professionals or consultants that audit/certify or develop of  ISO 30414 Human Capital Reporting and ISO 10018 Quality People Management conforming processes, but a consultant or company providing certification cannot be the developer, and vice versa.

To obtain a professional ISO certification, an individual must have at least three years of management and/or auditing experience.

Organizations can earn certifications for conformance with ISO human capital practices or as solution providers that help organizations develop ISO conforming processes.

How to Become an ISO Certified Practitioner

To obtain a professional ISO certification, an individual must have at least three years of management experience and/or auditing experience, as well as:

  1. Submit three references supporting one’s professional experience.
  2. Attend one of the monthly live introduction classes for the standard.
  3. Purchase the standard from ISO and read it thoroughly.
  4. Listen to three additional recorded webinars for each standard.
  5. Score 80% or better on a multiple choice test covering the content of the standard and the recorded webinars.
  6. Provide a case study demonstrating one’s knowledge of the standard that includes a statement of work outlining the process; a report outlining the application of the standard to the circumstances of the organization in the exercise; and a 60- to 90-minute recorded video meeting with an examiner.
  7. Successful completion of the above process earns a provisional professional certification.
  8. Full certification comes with completion of an actual audit or development of an ISO conforming process.

For those lacking in the management experience, the Certified Practitioner designation is available until one has achieved the necessary management or auditing experience prerequisites.

Professional Certification Cost: $250 for individuals and $695 for corporate members in order to access and training as well as to use the logo if certified. In addition, there is a $2,500 examination fee for developing nation applicants and $1,250 for developing nations (or approved scholarships) every five years. ICEE membership is required to use the ISO certification logo.

How Organizations Obtain ISO Certifications

Organizations can employ an ISO certified practitioner to conduct an audit of their ISO conforming processes both for the purpose of objectively benchmarking their process and for the purpose of earning a certification for marketing purposes.

The Process: In an on-site visit by ICEE evaluators, the organization must demonstrate that it has a CEO-led strategic and systematic approach to the application of the standard that addresses the needs of all stakeholders. The process begins well before an onsite audit with a pre-audit checklist to ensure that the organization has everything in place necessary for success or otherwise postpones the audit until it does. At least a month before the audit, the company receives a checklist of documentation that it must submit to demonstrate its conformance with the letter and spirit of the standard. The onsite process generally requires one day of senior consultant time at the headquarters to meet with the CEO, senior management, and representative employees to ascertain the organization’s general understanding of and engagement with the standard’s principles. For large organizations, half-day visits are required of a representative sample of the organization.

Deliverables: The organization receives a scorecard based on the standard, with recommendations for improvement if applicable. If the organization scores at least 80% on the criteria of the standard, it receives a letter indicating that its practices conform with the standard that can be used for the purposes of safe harbor. The costs below are estimates and do not include travel or a $2,500 per half-day visit to additional locations.

Number of Employees Fee
>1,000 $15,500
501 – 1,000 13,000
101– 500 11,000
25 – 100 10,000
<25 7.500

ISO 10018 certification logo license. Companies that meet certification standards may opt to purchase a license to display the certification logo in their marketing, recruitment, investment and other materials for a period of three years. Cost: $3,500 to $7,500 per year based on company revenue.

ISO Solution Provider Certifications. ISO

Enterprise Engagement Portal Technology ISO 10018 Certification

Engagement portal technology can provide a significant benefit to organizations seeking to apply a formal approach to engagement that integrates the various branding/vision, leadership coaching, assessment, communications, innovation, learning, community, rewards and recognition, and analytics tools involved with fostering the proactive involvement of people to achieve clear results.

An engagement portal differs from specific technology used for communication, rewards and recognition, incentives, social recognition, assessment, etc. by integrating these various features on a single platform. An engagement portal can consist of a single integrated technology, or a combination of technologies that address the various audiences and levers of engagement in an integrated fashion with a seamless participant experience.

To help encourage a marketplace for technologies that support an enterprise approach to engagement, an ISO 10018 certification is available for those technologies that:

  1. Support common values, branding, mission and goals to all critical communities on a single platform.
  2. Support separate communications channels with each constituency that speaks to their special needs while supporting the overall common brand and vision of the organization.
  3. Enable an assessment process to gauge levels of engagement at the organizational and local level, as well as coaching for management.
  4. Support learning through dissemination of useful information and use of tests, quizzes, or games.
  5. Foster community through a social media or information-sharing platform.
  6. Manage rewards, recognition, or incentive programs that focus attention on success and best practices.
  7. Support efforts to foster loyalty and referrals of customers or talent.
  8. Provide a method of measuring key indices, such as retention, engagement, loyalty, achievement of key goals, the value of those goals to the organization, etc.

The process involves a thorough review of every aspect of the technology by an independent analyst who audits the technology for its ability to provide the above services on an integrated platform. If a technology is found to be compliant, the company receives the ISO 10018 designation for three years and can display the ISO 10018 logo for an additional fee.

The process includes an on-site or web meeting with the company in a demonstration, and then access to the backend of the technology to verify features. Technologies are not rated other than to either receive or not receive certification for ISO 10018 standards compliance.

Phase I Assessment Costs: $5,000 every three years

Phase 2 ISO 10018 Certification logo license: Companies that meet certification standards may opt to purchase a license to display the certification logo in their marketing, recruitment, investment and other materials for a period of three years. Cost: $10,000 for three years (or $3,500 per year.)

ISO Solution Provider Certifications. Solution providers can achieve certification for their ability to develop or audit ISO standard conforming practices. To qualify, they must employ or be affiliated with an ISO certified practitioner and submit at least one case study of a customer with an ISO complying process for examination. Cost: $5,000 for examination every five years. Optional use of the ISO logo starts at $3,500 per year based on company size.