TQS Myths (4) “Build a good TQS portfolio and you’re home and dry.”

I met someone in a provider organisation last week who was wheeling a supermarket trolley filled with lever arch files around.

As I stepped out of the way to let the trolley pass, my contact pointed to the documents in the trolley and whispered to me:

“That’s our TQS portfolio.”

As my visit progressed I learned that this organisation was putting most of its TQS efforts into building the portfolio so that when the assessors arrived they would have everything that wanted.

“Build a good TQS portfolio and you’re home and dry. That’s what the assessors really want,” was what a manager in the organisation said to me.

My question was: “How do you know the assessors will ever arrive?”

I went on to explain that whilst it’s great to have supporting evidence available, and set out in a way that makes it accessible, evidence gathering is not the only activity that is needed.

Something comes before building the portfolio.

It’s making sure the application is sound.

Without a sound application the certification body might decide not to proceed to the on-site verification visit.

I checked with that same organisation how much time people are spending on the portfolio and how much time people are spending on writing the TQS application. They seemed to think they were spending about five times as much time on gathering evidence as they were on writing the application.

Whilst I wouldn’t necessarily recommend reversing the ratios, there is probably a need to spend more time on the application.

So, as managers in provider organisations start to think about a well-earned rest, take a rest from the shopping trolley approach to the TQS, too.

Clear your minds and come back from the Easter break ready to write a succinct, relevant and informative TQS application as your first priority, and think about building your organisation’s “portfolio” second.

TQS Myths (3) – You can forget about the TQS for a while, once you have conditional certification.

Well, you can, but you wouldn’t be advised to let the TQS slip out of sight.

If you’ve struggled with A5 or B3, there’s a good chance it’s because you haven’t got a history of measuring the things the TQS wants to see you measuring. That means you need to start thinking about the systems and processes you intend to use to do that measurement as soon as the assessors leave.

You might be able to demonstrate all sorts of interesting trends when it comes to how you support your learners, but with employers it’s a different matter.

Remember that:

• the longer you delay, the more difficult the task.
• the longer you delay, the more difficult the next assessment visit.

It’s worth remembering that any activity that relies on input from people outside your organisation will take time to organise, so the message must be: start working with employers as soon after the assessment as its practicable, and find ways of demonstrating how you add value to them.

As the weeks and the months go by make sure you think about:

1. how you track the impact of your work with employers
2. how you ensure that you know if employers value what you do with them and for them
3. how you ensure you know if you are helping your employers to be more successful (however they, and you, choose to define this).

As some providers are finding, time really does fly.
As some providers are finding, it is almost time to start panicking.

The assessors are looking to come back to check up on progress . . . and not a lot has happened.

TQS Myths (2) Don't spend much time on A0.

Ignoring or minimising the value of A0 is something that still happens quite a lot in provider organisations.

In some cases the reasoning is: there are no points for A0 so it can't be very important.

However, most people who have worked with the TQS for even a little while know that if you don't write the various parts of A0 effectively, you will have trouble writing A5.

Of course, if you don't have a strategy for working with employers then you will also have trouble stating the approaches you use to help you fulfil your strategy. This means you will struggle with A2, A3 and A4, too.

Anyone who is serious about gaining TQS certification needs to be clear that A0 is the bedrock of the application. Without sound information in A0 you will struggle with the rest of the application.

Yet, misunderstandings concerning the importance of A0 are not the only reasons why A0 is often neglected.

There is another reason why people choose not to spend much time on A0.

This is that they don't know what to write.

On several occasions when I have been working with providers on their applications they have said that they have left A0 because it is too difficult. They have explained that they didn't know what to write so they decided to leave A0 until the end.

This demonstrates a problem with understanding of the whole standard.

In fact, A0 - and B0 for that matter - are crucial to the application and to success in the assessment. These are the areas to spend time getting right.

So, the best advice is to address A0 fully and make sure you have both understood and addressed the requirements before you move on to the rest of the standard.

Ignoring A0 could make your whole application weaker.

Don't make this mistake.

TQS Myths (1) – Never mind about the application . . .

No prizes for working out when I took this picture.

The weather at the beginning of February was pretty bad.

If you look at the picture, you can see some spring flowers are coming through.

If you’re an expert in horticulture you might be able to work out what some of the flowers are by looking at their leaves, but it would be relatively hard work.

Even if you’re an experienced gardener, you won’t be able to work out what’s under the snow. You don’t have enough information.

The TQS application has a lot in common with this photograph.

If you write about things the certification body’s requirements do not ask for, for example, writing about your strategy, as opposed to your strategy for working with employers, you could be covering up your successes.

If you leave your good practice hidden in the snow, and don’t write about it at all, no one will see it. You know it’s there, but the assessors won’t, because they can’t move the snow and you can’t ask them to wait for the thaw.

The TQS application is a snapshot. It’s your snapshot of your organisation, and if you take your picture in the wrong way, or in the wrong circumstances, you won’t be able to make the points you wanted to make to the lead assessor.

The application matters; the snapshot matters. You won’t get a chance to take the picture again, so make sure you take the right picture now.

It could be years before I have another chance to take a picture of that flower tub at that time of the year, surrounded by that amount of snow. I took my chance, and I have the picture. Make sure you take your opportunity when it comes to writing your TQS application.