How Accreditation Increases Employee Performance and Business Resilience

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Whether organisations are independent or public, they can complete accreditation courses to show their commitment and support of industry-wide standards. It gives a clear idea of the bigger picture: What your organisation is currently capable of, where it has areas of improvement, and how it fits with the current environment. In short, accreditation will guide your business towards its strategic objectives.

But what exactly is accreditation, and how do organisations find legitimate accreditation programs to certify their practices? We’ll get into the benefits of being accredited and how you can find the right accreditation programs for your business below.

What is accreditation?

Accreditation is external third-party recognition of an organisation’s adherence to set industry standards, acknowledging an organisation’s observance of best practice quality standards, regulations, practices, processes and systems. 

Do you need to offer accredited courses to employees?

Gaining accreditation isn’t always necessary. For employees and businesses alike, accreditation only becomes necessary if it’s a required qualification for their career or work environment and practices.

When accreditation is needed, it’s not a one-time thing, either. Continuous learning is an important step towards ensuring you maintain your qualifications to keep working or operating in the face of industry change.

The benefits of offering accreditation courses to your workforce

Accreditation is important for organisations to hold as it shows that a company values upholding its responsibilities and follows recognised procedures. But your organisation being accredited has other benefits, not just to your workforce, but to your customers as well.

Some benefits your employees and organisation can look forward to:

• Reduced risk
• Better safety
• Increased confidence and credibility
• Improved image
• Better quality
• Improved performance
• Identified areas for change.

Reduces risk and increases safety

If your organisation is accredited, you’re already reducing risk and increasing safety within your workplace. Getting health and safety accreditation means you’ve met industry standards in health, safety, or other processes. Without it, the risks to your staff and clients could be anything from legal issues to injuries.

For example, in Australia, all teaching staff in New South Wales are required to hold a NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) accreditation. It ensures that teachers meet the proficiency standards of knowledge, practice and professionalism required to provide safe and effective teaching and engagement. Teachers need to maintain their certification to have permission to be employed in any NSW school. Ergo, not having NESA accreditation could put students and their education at risk, as well as other staff members.

More broadly, if your company provides healthcare services, receiving accreditation means you’ve created a safe environment for patients and staff, supported by standard processes and programs designed to deliver better outcomes. If your company deals with heavy machinery, accreditation means you have the correct safety procedures needed to operate that machinery. If you deal with personal information or the government sector, you need accreditation to show that you are authorised and secure in order to handle that information and data. (You get the picture.)

Increases confidence, image, and credibility

Accreditation certification is undeniable proof that your organisation is capable of doing what it claims to do. Many companies will make the same claims, but it’s the accreditation that does the talking. Customers, clients and consumers will see your organisation and brand image as credible and will be more likely to trust you when they engage your services.

Up to date accreditation also instils confidence in current and potential employees. These days, employees are pickier about the job roles and workplaces they’re willing to enter into, and have redefined what’s important to them. They’re looking for good working conditions and employers who have a strong ethical code. Accredited companies present an image of credibility, as it shows a commitment to upholding values and your company mission.

Improves performance

As accreditation is designed to ensure organisations adhere to local and international standards for their industry, it can help improve the performance of your employees. 

If your organisation is accredited, that means it’s keeping abreast of the latest processes, methods and systems required to complete tasks, as are your employees. And with your employees committed to regularly updating their knowledge with certified training, they’ll be more confident in their ability to perform their job roles, thus increasing overall business performance and work quality as well as meeting business objectives.

This is where a performance learning management system (PLMS) can help you. Here at Acorn, we pioneered the first PLMS to collect tangible evidence of behaviour change, creating a comprehensive record of individual learning experiences mapped to their impact on performance.

Identifies areas for change

An important aspect of any business or workforce planning strategy is understanding your gaps in skills or capabilities as well as in processes or programs that need development. The gaps in your organisation’s processes are highlighted because accreditation decisions are made based on an assessment of your organisation, its resources, and its processes.

Professional development

Accreditation also helps in continuous professional development of your employees in your workplace. It ensures your employees are constantly encouraged to develop their skills and comply with the latest technologies and changes in the industry. Your employees will be constantly learning new skills and capabilities that aligns with your accredited procedures and business strategy, as well as skills and capabilities that will further their own individual careers.

The rapid changes in industry standards, technologies and knowledge are why continuing education is so important for employees’ professional development. For example, teachers and nurses need to keep up to date with their accreditation to advance in or even continue working in their field.

Finding the right accreditation programs for your business

If you want your organisation to be nationally (or internationally) recognised, you’ll want to acquire accreditation in accordance with the relevant standards. It’s just good business practice.

Finding a valid accreditation program

Government set standards for industries and their required accreditations and recognise independent third-party accreditation companies that can perform the assessment and reviewing process on organisations themselves. This is so they can ensure uniform quality across the board, instilling a greater sense of confidence from the broader community.

Depending on your workforce and business needs, there are various recognised accreditation companies specialising in different programs. Think teaching versus cyber security, or health regulation versus healthcare practice.

Choosing the right accreditation program

Before finding an accreditation body to conduct an assessment, you need to consider a few questions about how your choice will affect your organisation and the way you’ll develop an accreditation framework.

• Is this program the right one for my niche? Again, there are multiple accreditation companies, each specialising in different topics. It’s no use being a healthcare provider and getting accreditation only required for teachers looking to work in a NSW school.
• What are their processes? This is important to know simply because you need to know if their process will work for you and your organisation. How will they help and support you during the assessment process, if at all? Is there evidence of their knowledge on the subject?
• Are they certified to make accreditation decisions in your region? For example, the Australian community is going to trust an organisation that has been certified according to standards set in Australia. Depending on what your business provides, the standards expected of your industry may vary from country to country, or even region to region. 

Key takeaways

Accreditation benefits your employees and the overall trajectory of your business. Not only does it record the current state of your processes and performance (giving you an overview of your organisation as a whole while instilling confidence in employees and clients alike) but it also documents possible areas for improvement. This gives you a better look at the bigger picture, so you can develop learning and development for your employees around in order to meet business objectives.

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