matrix Logo

Support for Accredited Organisations

Assessment and Accreditation Review FAQs

This page contains frequently asked questions on Assessment to the matrix Standard - and what happens when its time for your Accreditation Review. The questions and answers are split into these two sections for convenience.

FAQs on Assessment
FAQs on Accreditation Review

 

matrix Assessments – Frequently Asked Questions

How long does our matrix Standard Accreditation last?

Your matrix Standard Accreditation lasts for up to 36 months, however some organisations do choose to undergo their Accreditation Reviews earlier than this, particularly if there have been significant changes within the organisation.

What sort of evidence might the Assessor look for to satisfy 5d?

This is not about asking to look at accounts and budgets but looking for examples of how you make decisions about the use of resources – people, money, equipment and premises. The Assessor will be looking at who makes decisions about the use of resources, how these individuals or groups prioritise the allocation of resources and how the use of resources reflect the work towards achieving the purpose, aims and objectives of your organisation.

Practical examples could be where a charitable organisation manages the cost of literature by ensuring that supplies are used before ordering a new print-run; an organisation promotes its service through networking activities as they are more cost-effective that using media advertisements or printed materials; an organisation monitors the effectiveness of its various promotional activities in order to use resources in the best way.

We are Accredited already and are about to merge/acquire another organisation which isn’t – what should we do?

You will need to speak to the Accreditation body, EMQC Ltd, to discuss the way forward. In the meantime, you must ensure that you do not use the matrix Standard logo in such a way that might suggest that Accreditation applies to the newly acquired or newly merged organisation. EMQC Ltd will talk to you about the options for extending your Accreditation to the whole organisation – you can contact them via the links page of this website.

Element 5 requires the service to have established appropriate partnerships and networks. Does this mean we have to have SLAs (service level agreements) with them before we can become Accredited?

This is another example of the myths surrounding the Standard and the simple answer to your question is no.

The first point to make is that the matrix Standard is not prescriptive so it does not define the appropriate partnerships or networks. In some organisations there may be existing SLAs as part of a contractual arrangement – what is always important is to ensure that these are more than just documents and that there are arrangements to make sure that they are working effectively.

Others may have more informal arrangements that nonetheless are equally effective and aimed at enhancing the information, advice and guidance services surrounding learning and work, for example libraries assisting the provision of books for people in prisons or working in conjunction with an advice bureau to help clients to understand their rights and entitlements. Additionally, the partnership may constitute links with another agency that can assist people with disability or sensory impairment.

Networking is what most of us do every day and can range from being part of a professional organisation and attending seminars/conferences, etc or attending meetings with peers to exchange or share examples of good practice.

We keep sending out surveys to our clients but they don’t seem to want to return our questionnaires. Any thoughts on what we could do?

Go back to basics and ask, ‘why do we need the views of stakeholders’? Hopefully your answer will not be ‘because we’ve got to satisfy elements 7 and 8 of the Standard’

Feedback is essential in the process of continuous improvement and some useful tips are (a) find out how people best like to make their views known, (b) determine how often you need their views, (c) decide what you are going to do with the feedback.

A lot of us suffer from questionnaire fatigue and therefore to send out lengthy surveys may be a turn-off. Some people also resent receiving a form that requires them to provide the envelope and stamp to post it back! Some, through difficulties with language or literacy may not understand what is being asked. So, take time to find out from them their preferred method – it could be that they would like a comments book, suggestion box (to preserve their anonymity), focus groups, white board, post-its, financial incentives to respond, telephone interview or face-to-face oral feedback.

Don’t try to get answers to everything at once. The Standard requires you to be proactive but you might in the first part of the year find out people’s views on the promotional material or you may want to seek the views of a particular group, for example disabled or impaired users without needing to contact every user.

And finally, make sure you use the feedback to good effect. Listen, act and tell people the outcome. It’s quite dispiriting to give feedback and think it has disappeared into a dark hole.

How is client feedback gathered from a confidential counselling service?

The Assessor would guarantee anonymity and confidentiality of all interviews, feedback delivered to the organisation and any details contained in the report. The Assessor would work with the organisation when planning the Assessment. Interviews could be conducted over the phone and if there was sensitivity regarding the individuals being named the Assessor might suggest that the initial call is made by the organisation and then transferred to the Assessor.

 

matrix Accreditation Review – Frequently Asked Questions

As Continuous Quality Improvement is at the very heart of the matrix Standard, an Accreditation Review enables organisations to demonstrate, on an on-going basis, how the elements of the Standard are contributing to improvements and helping ensure continued success.

Hopefully, the following frequently asked questions will help to clarify what is involved in the Review process, and help dispel some of the myths around it.

Can I be Reviewed before 3 years?

Yes, it is entirely up to you when you would like to have your Accreditation Review, as it may be that your organisation is used to more regular reviews of its systems and processes, also, a shorter interval can help keep the momentum of Continuous Improvement, however, the maximum period is 36 months.

Do I have to meet all of the elements of the Standard at the Review?

Yes, your Assessor will have to be satisfied that you continue to meet all of the elements, before confirming your continued Accreditation. It is essential that the Review process is rigorous, though not onerous, to ensure that your organisation is continuing to uphold the credibility and integrity of the Standard.

Will it be the same Assessor?

The Assessor that undertook your Initial Assessment will be allocated the Accreditation Review. However the Review may be allocated to another Assessor if the previous Assessor is not available; as a result of a specific request from the organisation; or if the Assessor is no longer on the matrix Practitioner Register.

Do we have to be better than we were at the first Assessment?

No, as above, you must meet all of the elements of the Standard, however, not at a higher level. The Assessor will ensure you receive further feedback to help you continue to improve. However, part of the criteria of the Standard is Continuous Quality Improvement and you will need to demonstrate how you have continued to improve since your last Assessment.

What if I haven’t addressed all the Areas for Development that was suggested at the first Assessment?

The Assessor will obviously focus on the areas suggested in your report, however, he/she will only be checking that you have considered these suggestions and where appropriate implemented them. The Assessor will also be looking to see that you have built on any strength identified at the first Assessment.

Will the Review be the same as the first Assessment?

The process is much the same; EMQC Ltd will contact you 6 months and 3 months before your Accreditation Review date, and ask you to complete a Request for Assessment, as your organisation may have changed slightly since the first Assessment.

The Assessor will still want to visit your organisation and talk to a sample of your people/clients etc to gain the evidence to confirm you continue to meet the Standard and will want to establish your objectives for the Review, to ensure you get maximum value from it for example you might have implemented a new system or process and would like some specific feedback on how that’s working? Your Assessor will be more than happy to give this kind of feedback.

At the end of the visit, your Assessor will tell you whether or not you still meet the Standard and some initial feedback, followed by a report that should contain clear suggestions on how to further develop and improve any procedures, policies and practices.

What if I don't meet the Standard at Accreditation Review?

Don’t worry. You will be given the opportunity to return to the Standard through the Retaining Accreditation process.

The Assessor will give you clear feedback on the areas where he/she feels you are not continuing to meet the Standard, both verbally and in a report. You will then have 6 weeks to produce an action plan, showing how you will address the areas and return to the Standard. 

Will the Assessor ask about the development suggestions from our first Assessment when we have our Accreditation Review?

Yes, your Assessor will want to discuss how you have approached the development suggestions from the initial Assessment. This is because the matrix Standard has a requirement in Element 8 to demonstrate that feedback is used to improve the service and so the Assessor will ask how you have used the suggestions given as part of the Assessment feedback. This does not mean that you must have acted on the suggestions but that you are able to show how feedback has been considered, the actions taken where feedback has been implemented and the rationale for not acting on feedback.

How will the revised Standard affect our Accreditation Review?

Your Accreditation review will be against the Revised Standard which replaced the original version in November 2005. The Revised Standard can be found on this website at www.matrixStandard.com/about/. The Standard does look a little different with 8 Elements replacing the original 10. Many of the changes reflect the removal of duplication that appeared previously and so have served to tidy up the Standard and make it even more user-friendly. Apart from this the key changes to be aware of are:

  • The explicit requirement of the need to have measurable aims and objectives for the service (5a)
  • The inclusion of the old element 7 in the new 5d which requires organisations to demonstrate effective use of resources which includes people, equipment, money and premises.
  • The removal of the old 2c.
  • Explicit requirement in element 7 to gain feedback from users of the service, deliverers and other agencies.

We are Accredited for our external service and are due for our review in 12 months. What are the implications if we want to extend our Accreditation to our internal service?

Using the matrix Standard for your internal service means that you will need to consider how you provide information, advice and guidance to your staff and whether this is in line with the elements and criteria of the Standard. The Standard will apply to your employees and anyone else who contributes to the achievement of your aims and objectives, for example, agency workers, fixed contract staff or volunteers.

Information, advice and guidance could be about learning and development opportunities in the workplace, succession and career planning, work-related topics such as terms and conditions of employment, pensions, benefits and entitlements, information provided to potential employees during recruitment and selection and support provided to employees leaving the organisation as a result of retirement, redundancy or other reasons.

The people delivering information, advice and guidance may be specialist staff such as those in personnel, HR or training departments or may be line-managers who provide support through processes such as induction, appraisal or performance management discussions, team meetings or informally on a daily basis. When you make your request for Accreditation review, you will need to indicate that you wish to be reviewed against internal and external services. The Assessor will need to interview staff that provide information, advice and guidance to your external clients and those that provide your internal service to staff. The Assessor will also need to speak to staff who receive information, advice and guidance as part of your internal service as well as speaking to a selection of your external clients. In some cases staff may fall into more than one category and the Assessor will bear this in mind when selecting the most cost effective interview sample.

If you think it would be useful to have more advice about using the Standard for your internal service, you might wish to use a Registered matrix Adviser. You can find an Adviser in your area by looking at the Adviser Register on this website.