REFERENCES / TESTIMONIALS
"Karen undertook the ISO 9001:2015 Awareness training course I attended at the beginning of 2019 in Dunfermline. I had newly started working with my company who wanted me to add value by gaining an internal auditor skill set to be able to audit all internal processes. The skills I gained from this training session have proved immediately valuable but it’s clear their benefits will continue to reap rewards throughout my career. The most valuable aspect of this training, and my continued guidance (Karen acts as a consultant for my company), from Karen in my opinion is the critical lens I have gained for scrutinising processes and hence being able to improve them. I do this hugely through: internal audits, PDCA (plan do check act cycle), nonconforming outputs systems, having a knowledge of the ISO 9001:2015 quality manual, process maps and much more. I not only appreciate Karen as an ISO tutor but as a kind, formidable and highly intelligent mentor who has most likely forgotten more in the past week than my accumulated knowledge at this early stage in my career."
Jamie Slattery
Laser Operations Engineer. Optoscribe Ltd
Calnex Solutions Ltd embarked on a project to create a Quality Management System that would achieve certification to ISO9001:2015.
Many of the Senior Management, myself included, had prior experience of ISO9001 from many years ago, and our collective experience was not altogether positive. However, we believed we had an excellent business with good management practices that have delivered many £millions of repeat sales to a large number of multi-national companies so we had to be doing something right.
We lacked knowledge of ISO9001:2015 so we brought in a consultant to advise and help us. This was a frustrating experience as we felt we were constantly questioning the need to be adding something we hadn’t ever been doing. Via another local technology company we received a recommendation to use Karen as our adviser so we switched.
One of Karen’s many strengths is her ability to explain the thinking and intent behind clauses in the ISO standard which makes it easier for us to modify a working practice to be more consistent with the requirements of the Standard. Another key strength, is to consider things from our point of view and to explain when an existing working practice does fully meet the Standard when we fail to see the match.
Karen has supported and trained both the project team responsible for establishing our QMS and our internal auditors who are ensuring the QMS meets the requirements of the Standard. In the early days, there was often conflict between these two groups who had different interpretations of our application of the requirements of the Standard. Karen utilised her experience and excellent counselling skills to arbitrate between the two groups and help them both understand and accept requirements of the Standard for our particular application.
Several months on, we’re approaching our first external assessment for certification and, with Karen’s coaching and support, I’m confident we’ll be successful.
Ger Kirk
VP Operations
Hi Karen, I hope this email finds you keeping well and looking forward to the festive season fast approaching. I am writing up my 23 audit report since we last crossed swords, as they say and just paused for a second and thought of you. I would like to say a big thanks to you, your ability to mentor, patience you show and how, with your teachings have managed to fine tune auditing skills, well me personally. I know I rolled up a rough diamond and left with a few facets polished and dressed but it’s when you are out in the field that’s when you learn, a lot. I have just reviewed my first field report and the one just about finished, no difference ……….. not. Wording, approach, questions asked, how asked, methodology behind route and so on. As said first few clunky but I think everyone finds their own groove. Remembering the scenario you conveyed to us; ‘Headlights or Tail lights’ well dependant on the first 5 minutes I sometimes use this. After that it usually relaxes them and makes it a pleasant day, rather a light hearted word here and there and before you know it out falls evidence un be known to them and taken in the spirit it was exposed. Any way I could waffle on for hours as I really enjoy what I do as well as the technical mentoring side of the position as well. Down side shy of 30k in my car up and down the length and breadth of our beautiful country. Can I wish you and yours a nice festive holiday and prosperous new year and again a big thank you.
Andrew Walker
Supplier Quality Professional
Congratulations for you all!! for me and the team it was an incredible learning experience, we all gave 100% of us. The level and methodology implemented was outstanding, and Karen was EXTREMELY good at teaching us.
So happy and proud to be part of the group!
Thank you very much,
Mariel Lopez
Diageo
I have known and worked with Karen for over 10 years and hold her in the highest regard personally and professionally. Karen possesses a rare ability to take complex standards and concepts and break them down into contextualised examples which inherently make sense. Far too many consultants trade on ‘knowledge is power’ – Karen’s ability to share her knowledge, openly and willingly, stands her apart from others. I have watched Karen work with a group of delegates and seen them grow in understanding, competence and confidence – taking knowledge and learning away with the ability to put it into practice effectively and efficiently. That’s not just about the delivery of training, it’s the design but also the presentation and contextualisation to make it ‘real’.
Jennie Clark
www.elliem.co.uk
Karen MacKenzie has worked for our inbound tourism company, Fungarian, as a consultant for more than five years. She arrived in Budapest as a tourist and left as an admirer of Hungarian culture and especially, a lover of the city. She was our most demanding and critical customer, as a consequence, we hired her to advise us how to do our job better since we lacked the professional experience of Western European countries - for obvious historical reasons.
We can’t be thankful enough to Karen help formulate our marketing strategy, using the proper English phrases to reach our audience and encouraging us to create new products and services that would be marketable for our British guests.
Such recommendations as this are aimed at getting new customers for Karen. My advice is: if your business is important for you, forget about niceties and polite talk and listen to Karen. She is most professional in providing a comprehensive analysis and advising the track one should follow. And she does it with a Scottish precision and enormous empathy, just like Adam Clark, a Scottish engineer who built the iconic Chain Bridge of Budapest in 1849. Like Karen, he fell in love of the city and stayed forever after marrying a Hungarian woman and he is celebrated as a national hero, so much so that even his name is Hungarianised to Clark Ádám, in that order.
Miklos Molnar
Managing Director of Hungarolingua Bt
Owner and founder of Fungarian brand
