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Three Ways Smithers Makes Assessments Run Smoothly
Smithers believes in an ethical, client-focused culture to build trusting relationships. This is the basis for Accurate Data, On Time, With High Touch. Smithers stays true to these words whether it’s in our Materials Science and Engineering division, our Life Sciences divisions, or in our Inspection and Certification divisions. When Smithers performs tests, inspections or a nassessment, the goal is to make the process as efficient and as effective as possible. How does the Smithers approach make an assessment run smoothly for your organization? Here are three ways.
Pre-Assessment Meetings
Smithers uses pre-assessment meetings to learn as much as possible about your organization. Especially regarding NIST SP 800-171 assessments, it is an opportunity to discuss the scope of your assessment, the size of your site, headcount, the type of CUI you receive, process, or store, and more. Covering information in a pre-assessment meeting helps organizations ensure they are truly prepared for an assessment, and it also offers all parties a chance to familiarize themselves with each other before the work begins.
Relationship-Focused
Assessments can be intimidating, especially if your organization has never been through one before. This sense of intimidation can increase if every time a recertification deadline approaches you have to start over again with a new assessor and assessment team.
Smithers does not believe assessments should rest on purely transactional relationships. When your organization is assessed by a Smithers team member, you will have a single contact, the same auditor, and Smithers will be in touch even in years when just a surveillance assessment is required. In fact, Smithers offers surveillance assessments for companies complying with NIST SP 800-171 during the two years when independent self-attestations of conformance suffice. This service allows companies to have more support and confidence when submitting that self-assessment score.
Budget Stability and Transparency
Especially if your organization needs CMMC certification, you are likely to find a wide range of pricing for an assessment. There is no “normal” pricing for third-party assessments because of the numerous variables that must be considered to develop an assessment that is appropriate for your organization. Smithers smooths out the quotationprocess in a few ways:
- Transparency about how the quote is configured (including scope size, company headcount, and time required)
- Maintaining the pricing over a three-year certification/recertification cycle
- Incorporating other standards into the NIST assessment process to further expedite both assessment processes and save your company money overall
Organizational leaders have a lot on their minds when preparing for and going through an assessment. Smithers provides experienced assessors who will help guide your company through the assessment process as efficiently as possible.
If you want to learn more about how Smithers differs from other C3PAO companies, contact us today.