How to Stay on Top of Standards and Legislation
Have you ever wondered why it is crucial to get your business’s certification? It is to help you communicate your commitment to quality and safety to clients, employees, and others. However, this once-in-a-lifetime process requires you to stay on top of new standards and legislation in your industry, or risk losing your certification status. Know best with SAI Global, any aspects of the industry they have it all for you to stay on top when it comes to standards and legislation. These tips on how to stay on top of standards and legislation will help keep you informed of changes and give you the confidence that you can respond to any changes that come up quickly.
Search for What You Need
If you’re looking for information about standards, global marketing or personal branding, your first step should be Google. Search for standards sai global and sift through your results; you may find what you need by reading others’ blogs or perusing an industry website. Alternatively, try searching with more specific terms, such as “saisai” personal branding or “saiseo” standards global. There are also search engines designed specifically for professionals who work with international markets; consider using those as well. If all else fails, ask your peers: A good place to start is within your professional association or at industry-related conferences.
Make Use of Newsletters
Whether you’re writing your own or managing someone else’s, newsletters are a great way to stay informed. Start by subscribing to publications like SAI Global’s newsletter, Global Impact, which provides updates on social impact initiatives. If you want your own personal branding campaign, be sure to write it as if it were a newsletter: start by sharing how things are going at work and then move into what you learned recently about global impact issues, for example. Personal Branding is all about self-promotion through content so making use of email newsletters is just one more tool in your box!
Read Publications
Today’s business landscape is constantly changing, both internally and externally. We can’t do our best work if we aren’t aware of what’s happening around us. Subscribe to publications that are related to your line of work or related fields that you want to explore further. For example, if you own a fashion retail store, subscribe to magazines like GQ or Vogue. If you want more industry-specific information, check out websites like Compliance Week for government regulations, The Fashion Law for legal issues affecting designers, or Fashionista for insights from top executives and professionals working in fashion.
Know Your Audience
It’s important to have a clear understanding of your audience when developing standards. For example, if you work for an organization that uses American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards, but your audience is located in Europe, it’s important to know what ANSI standards mean for them. And if you write about UN requirements for importing goods, be sure you understand their implications for exporting as well. To stay on top of these types of changes and requirements, it helps to be actively involved with industry groups such as ANSI or ISO. There’s nothing like face-to-face contact when it comes time to come up with solutions that cover everyone’s needs.
Understand the Standards and Legislations That Impact You
We live in an ever-changing world, with new laws being passed constantly. To stay abreast of these changes, it’s important to do your homework. The first step is educating yourself on important international standards like International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards, or European Committee for Standardization (CEN) standards. Other legislation you should be aware of includes corporate governance codes, government accounting standards and environmental regulations.
By understanding how different pieces of legislation interact with one another, you can better understand what factors impact your business plan and how best to proceed moving forward. It will also help keep you up-to-date with changing legislation that could affect your investment decisions as well as communicate ways that clients could better adhere to industry standards or meet governmental regulations.
Join Special Interest Groups
Special interest groups are great resources for staying up-to-date on legislation that could impact your business. Join groups related to your business field, or if you want help staying informed about trends across many industries, join industry-specific groups such as The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI). That way, you’ll be able to network with other professionals—and maybe even forge new business relationships.
It’s also helpful to attend conferences and meetups related to your industry. These kinds of events are a great way to get connected with like-minded professionals while at the same time learning more about what’s going on in the field—and making valuable connections!
Find Others Who Have Already Done It
A great place to start with any new law or regulation is by talking with others who are familiar with them. Maybe you can’t get right down to research right away, but if you start making friends who have already done it, they might be able to share their knowledge and experience.
An expert group like ASAP (Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing & Converting Technologies) may be able to point you in an efficient direction, but it’s also easy to get help from government agencies themselves. If your work is regulated by FDA or OSHA regulations, for example, there’s no better way than contacting them directly for advice about how best to comply.
Conclusion
The world changes rapidly, so being able to adapt is vital. Make sure you’re staying on top of industry trends by monitoring standards and legislation. Many industries have organizations dedicated to setting benchmarks for qualifications, so make sure you stay up-to-date with them. It’s also worth regularly searching job boards for vacancies that match your skillset—you may have the ability in demand or learn about an upcoming project that could benefit from your skills. You never know when you might be able to turn your knowledge into work opportunities, so keep reading!
