Choosing AFAQ ISO 9001 for more efficient tourism – Testimonial from the town of Saint-Quentin
Cécile Millet, director of the Saint-Quentin tourist office, and Morgane Gallet, its quality manager, explain how AFAQ ISO 9001 certification (quality management) enables us to build up our strength in the same way as a company, with the aim of providing more efficient services.
Why choose AFAQ ISO 9001 for your tourist office?
Morgane Gallet: “We also had the option of NF Service certification, but the choice of ISO 9001 fits in perfectly with the corporate dynamic we want to develop for our structure.”
Cécile Millet: “It was also the best way of communicating to all our partners, from tourists to political representatives, the true dimension of a tourist office. The submerged part of our activity brings together many professions: sales, public relations, events, promotion and institutional communication. AFAQ ISO 9001 has enabled us to demonstrate the quality of all our expertise.
Do you see certification as a cost or an investment?
CM: “It’s an investment. We’re a small organization, and it’s true that at first, our approach may have been misunderstood. Some people thought that certification would judge them in the same way as a teacher grades a student. For example, drawing up a table of deviations, whether positive or negative, was perceived as a punishment. We had to be very pedagogical and demonstrate, firstly, that management was also analyzed using the same table. And secondly, we had to share our conviction that we were capable of producing continuous improvement in favor of service quality.
What do you expect from this certification?
MG: “Above all, it’s a way of professionalizing the tourist office. In this way, we have all recognized that we share the values of efficiency, responsiveness and quality as integral parts and driving forces of our structure. What’s more, the fact of being assessed has enabled us to turn our public service entity into a company serving the public.”
Beyond the organizational dimension, what are the other benefits of certification?
CM: “In the eyes of elected representatives, we are demonstrating the effectiveness of the budget they invest in the tourist office. Subsidized at 80% by the Saint-Quentin agglomeration, we can confirm and demonstrate, thanks to certification, that the money is well directed, that it contributes to the achievement of a good group turnover. Certification also enabled us to defend the hiring of a new employee. Finally, in terms of image, the fact that we are the only ISO 9001-certified tourist office in the whole of Picardy is a source of pride for our staff and all our stakeholders. In which I also include the local population.
Do you have an example that would symbolize the benefits of this certification?
CM: “Tourist offices are classified by the French Directorate General for Competitiveness, Industry and Services (DGCIS). The fact that we are ISO 9001 compliant means that we can apply to be classified in category 1, the best category.”
