Putting Quality at the Heart of What We Do

“We’ve always cared enormously about the quality of the websites we create and the service we give our schools. ISO 9001 gave us the opportunity to look at the whole business and ask: are we doing this as well as we possibly can and how can we make it even better?”
Rob Adams, Director, iTCHYROBOT Schools

Why ISO 9001?

ISO 9001 is an internationally recognised standard for quality management.

But what attracted us to it wasn’t simply the recognition.

It was the principle behind it.

Listen. Measure. Review. Improve. Repeat.

As a business, we don’t want to stand still.

Technology changes. Schools change. Expectations change. And the needs of the people using and managing school websites continue to evolve.

We believe our business needs to evolve with them.

Working towards ISO 9001 meant examining the processes behind what we do – from the way we develop our products and manage projects to how we support customers, respond to feedback and make decisions about future improvements.

Putting our schools at the centre

One of the principles that really resonated with us throughout the ISO 9001 process was customer focus.

Our schools have always played an important part in the development of iTCHYROBOT.

Many of the features within our platform exist because somebody in a school said:

“Wouldn’t it be useful if…?”

We listen to those conversations.

We look at the support questions we’re receiving. We review feedback. We consider what is changing within education. And we use all of that information to help us decide what we should improve or develop next.

ISO 9001 has helped us formalise that approach so that listening, reviewing and improving isn’t something that happens occasionally.

It’s part of how we run the business.

“Some of our best ideas have come directly from conversations with our schools. We never want to become a company that decides what customers need without actually asking them. Continual improvement starts with listening.”
Scott Thornburn, Technical Manager, iTCHYROBOT Schools

Growing without losing what makes us different

As iTCHYROBOT continues to grow, this was particularly important to us.

Growth is exciting. More schools, more Trusts and more opportunities mean we can continue investing in our platform and our team.

But growth also brings responsibility.

We don’t want getting bigger to mean becoming less personal, less responsive or less consistent.

The relationships we have with our schools matter to us.

So part of our motivation for pursuing ISO 9001 was making sure we have strong, documented and measurable processes in place that allow us to grow without compromising the quality of service our customers expect from us.

Continual improvement – not just certification

Perhaps the most important thing about achieving ISO 9001 is that it isn’t the end of the process.

In many ways, it’s the beginning.

ISO 9001 requires organisations to continually evaluate their performance, listen to customers, identify opportunities for improvement and review whether changes are actually working.

And that’s exactly the kind of business we want iTCHYROBOT to be.

We want to keep asking questions.

Can we make this easier for schools?

Can we improve this process?

Can we save someone more time?

Can we make our platform better?

Can we improve the experience our customers receive?

And if the answer is yes, we want to do something about it.

“The certificate is something we’re incredibly proud of, but the real value is what sits behind it. ISO 9001 gives us a framework for continually challenging ourselves to improve – and that’s something we want to carry forward every day.”
Becky Lambton, Director, iTCHYROBOT Schools

What does ISO 9001 mean for our schools?

For our existing schools and Trusts, hopefully it reinforces something they already know about us.

We care about doing things properly.

It means our approach to quality isn’t simply something we say, it’s supported by a recognised quality management system and a commitment to continually reviewing and improving the way we work.

And for schools and Trusts considering working with iTCHYROBOT, it provides additional reassurance that they’re choosing a supplier committed to quality, consistency and customer satisfaction.

What’s next?

We celebrate this one first! But then we keep going.

We’ll continue listening to our schools, developing our platform, improving our processes and looking for ways to provide an even better service.

Look out for our announcement on our next quality accreditation