Efficiency, transparency, continuity, user satisfaction. These principles are behind the work processes of the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU), which aims to preserve and make accessible for research the archives of EU institutions and other depositors, as well as to stimulate interest in and knowledge about European integration.
Stakeholders and users can be even more confident that the management and staff of the Archives provide these quality services now and in the future. After an intense quality-control auditing process that ended in December 2021, HAEU has been certified as meeting the International Organization for Standardization ISO 9001 quality management standards. According to ISO, these standards demand a strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, the process approach to work and commitment to continual improvement in processes and services.
Archivist Samir Musa coordinated the two-year certification process for the HAEU, which was launched in 2019. The exercise focused both on mission-related processes, which pertain to the more strictly archival activities, and on administrative processes. The comprehensive auditing exercise entailed an auditing and analysis by external consultants of all work flows and documentation, staff interviews, the revision and monitoring of procedures for greater efficiency and transparency, staff training, the definition and measurement of key performance indicators (KPIs), and a final evaluation by an external certification authority.
For Samir, ‘it was interesting to apply management and quality assurance norms to a public, international organisation, where such a business mentality is often absent’. He found the experience to be an important challenge for an Archives, where one can easily understand the need for transparency and continuity in its work.
As Samir explains, the Archives were not obligated to pursue ISO 9001 certification, but did so ‘to become more transparent and efficient in our internal actions, and to offer a better service to our partners and stakeholders.’
To retain its ISO 9001 certification, the Archives must review and revise its work procedures where necessary on an annual basis, and submit to an external audit with an external certification authority.