Overview of ISO 10018 Certifications

There are two types of ISO 10018 certifications, one for any organization seeking to apply best practices to organization-wide people management to gain a competitive edge, and the second for solution providers who can also gain certifications as auditors, certifiers and developers to develop new profit centers. There is also a related Enterprise Engagement Alliance certification program for individual professionals who perform these services for auditors, certifiers, or developers.

1. Organizational Certification

This certification is for organizations seeking to apply best practices on engagement in a sustainable way and to demonstrate their commitment to customers, employees, distribution partners, communities and investors through the display of the ISO 10018 certification in their materials for marketing, recruiting and investors.

2. Solution Provider Certification

Organizations seeking to profit from ISO 10018 best practices and certification will need the help of one or more solution providers, all of which require a corresponding ISO certification.

Auditors—these are professional organizations that have become certified in the process of conducting an audit on behalf of a solution provider for the purposes of establishing the level of compliance with ISO 10018 standards. (This currently corresponds to the Enterprise Engagement Alliance’s Advanced Engagement Practitioner designation for individuals.)

Certifiers—these are solution provider companies that have an ISO certification to certify theoorganization as compliant with ISO 10018 and thereby use the ISO 10018 logo in their materials for sales, marketing, recruiting and investors. These companies conduct the audit and certify compliance and cannot perform the role of developer (below) to avoid conflicts of interest.

Developers—these ISO solution provider companies have demonstrated that they can identify and apply the correct combination of prescriptive actions to enable an organization to comply with and earn the ISO 10018 certification for best practices in people management on a sustainable basis, with measurable results for the organization.

EEA Certifications – CEP and AEP

These are the Enterprise Engagement Alliance certifications for individual practitioners, either as a Certified Engagement Practitioner (which demonstrates basic knowledge of the field through an online test) or the Advanced Engagement Practitioner (i.e., someone who has demonstrated the skills to audit or develop engagement strategies).