What is ISO 20700?
In June 2017, the international standard ISO 20700:2017 “Guidelines for management consultancy services“ was published.
ISO 20700 provides guidelines for the effective delivery of management consultancy services, drawing on knowledge and best practice from leading experts in the management consulting industry. Its aim is to improve transparency and understanding between clients and management consultancy service providers in order to achieve better results and reduce risk in consultancy projects.
Implementing ISO 20700 will contribute to the competitiveness and business performance of both management consultancies and their clients, based on transparency of the service offering, with clearly stated quality criteria, responsibilities and expected results.
It is applicable to all management consultancies and ensures to protect innovation and differentiation, while emphasizing the importance of understanding clients’ needs.
What benefits will it bring to my organization?
This standard is aimed at improving the quality, professionalism, ethical behaviour and interoperability of management consultancies, thus enhancing their effectiveness and instilling greater trust from the client.
For management consultancies, use of the standard will improve client understanding and visibility of the benefits they can experience through the use of their services.
For clients of management consultancies using the standard, it will increase the value added and reduce the risk of misunderstanding or error when using management consultancy services, by helping them to better understand what they can expect from a management consultant in a consultancy project and thus ensure more predictable outcomes.
Who is ISO 20700 for?
ISO 20700 is written from the perspective of management consultancy and is aimed at management consultancy service providers, but clients and other stakeholders of the management consulting industry can benefit from using the standard by getting a clearer view of what their services involve and expected outcomes.
What about certification?
ISO 20700 includes recommendations to improve the specification, execution, acceptance of the outcome and closure of management consultancy services, based on research and the experience of a wide range of consultancies and their clients.
This standard provides guidelines but not requirements, therefore it is not intended for certification purposes.
About ISO
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is an independent, non-governmental organization with a membership of 163* national standards bodies.
Through its members, ISO brings together experts to share knowledge and develop voluntary, consensus-based, market-relevant International Standards that support innovation and provide solutions to global challenges.
ISO has published more than 21 700* International Standards and related documents, covering almost every industry, from technology to food safety, to agriculture and healthcare.
*June 2017
For more information please visit www.iso.org
© Ilse Ennsfellner
ISO 20700 