TQS Validation: What will you tell your employers?

Update on June 10th
We posted this article on June 8th and new information about validation was released on June 9th. You can read about it here.

Two changes to TQS assessment rules

Be that as it may, how are you preparing your staff and your employers for the fact that you're seeking TQS certification?

Original article

Quite a few of our clients are in the final stages of countdown to submitting their TQS application.

They are looking to have the option of achieving conditional certification and so they are finalising applications now.

Most of our clients are also starting to think about verification and validation. They are wondering how best to prepare their employers for the possibility of the validation telephone call. They want guidance on how to handle this activity well.

So, how should providers deal with the validation issue?

Here’s my advice.

Talk to your own staff first

Make sure every one in your own organisation understands what TQS validation is all about. You don’t want any incorrect messages out there, so make sure every one is clear what happens.

A useful starting point would be to make sure every one understands the concept of net promotion.

I’ve written about the concept of net promotion. Click on the term net promotion to view the post.

Decide what to communicate to employers

This needs to be an organisation-wide decision. It also needs to be implemented in exactly the same way in all parts of the organisation. It’s amazing how messages can get confused. There is scope for ambiguity and misunderstanding in all major communications activities, so make sure you minimise that scope by briefing your own staff on validation issues.

Give your own staff a document which summaries your approach to communicating the information about validation to employers.

Next think about your communications process.

• Are you going to send every employer a letter?
• Are you going to visit every employer?
• Are you going to speak to every employer on the telephone?
• Are you going to do a mix of the above?
• How often are you going to communicate your intentions?

What’s right is what works for you.

You can find the validation notification template letter on the TQS website. Click validation notification template letter to visit the relevant page.

What are providers doing about the validation issue?

We’re working with three organisations which are on the brink of submitting their applications at the moment. Each one has adopted a slightly different approach to preparing for validation.

• A small training company we are working with is visiting all of its employers to explain the validation process. The account managers are showing employers the validation letter on line and explaining the validation process.

• A large college we are working with has a timetable for telephoning all its employers about the TQS once the application has been submitted. In the ‘phone call managers will be alerting employers to the fact that they will be receiving a letter about the TQS in the post and reminding them to look out for it. In the case of this college the senior team has decided that, immediately after the verification visit, the top fifty employers will be telephoned again to remind them of the validation activity.

• Another provider we are working with is handing out a postcard about TQS assessment, verification and validation to its employers during a visit. On one side of the postcard is the TQS information. On the other side is a calendar of forthcoming networking events for employers.

What should you do about validation?

The short answer is that it’s up to you to decide what fits your own client base and your own methods of communicating with your employers best.

It does seem, however, that most providers are doing something, so perhaps you should, too.