Testimonials

CSWP Ltd’s assessment against the revised matrix Standard was conducted during a period of unprecedented national economic and structural change and uncertainty in the guidance sector. Debra Gill the Business Improvement Manager for CSWP takes up the story…

“As an organisation we have been subjected to significant cuts in funding for young people’s IAG services, staff redundancies, changing roles and service parameters and modes of delivery. Against this backdrop the opportunity for an external matrix assessment for our services to young people and the adult Next Step contract, whilst challenging, provided us with a real opportunity to obtain an external measure of staff and client perceptions on the quality of our IAG Service”

“On first reading the revised Standard I was particularly struck with the linkages and synergy with other national quality marks, in particular Investors in People and the Common Inspection Framework. This alignment is welcomed and helps an organisation in the planning and roll out of business improvement practices and approaches”

Reflecting upon the CSWP revised matrix Standard experience Debra explained:

“The whole journey from using the self assessment tool, to accessing steer and support from a Registered matrix Adviser, through to the assessment was so helpful. The journey helped us reflect upon our current business challenges and focus upon a way forward”

When thinking about the difference between this revised version of the Standard and the previous version Debra provides some useful pointers for other organisations seeking Accreditation:

“The fact that client outcomes are at the very heart of the revised Standard is so pleasing to see and is a real improvement on the earlier version of the Standard. Additionally the increased emphasis upon staff competencies and technological advances is welcomed. We were able to show how our service now uses mobile phone technologies and social networking to promote and deliver certain aspects of our service”

Inevitably the cost benefits of assessment are fundamental considerations during the current economic climate. Debra explained her approach to this key factor:

“To ensure maximum value for money I would encourage organisations to think carefully about what additional objectives they seek to gain from their matrix Assessment. Of course achieving the quality Standard is a key driver but the opportunity to have a Registered matrix Assessor provide bespoke feedback on an aspect of service such as leadership, resources, service delivery or improvement areas may only occur every three years.”

“From the onset we were empowered by our Assessor to highlight any additional specific objectives that we wanted from the assessment. We seized this opportunity to capture objective feedback on our recently conducted skills audit process”

At the end of the assessment CSWP was told that they have met the requirements of the revised version of the Standard. The Business Improvement Manager and senior management team as a whole were delighted with the final outcome:

“Our two assessors ensured a robust approach and the final decision and feedback were delivered professionally. The experience was motivational and supportive in highlighting strengths and suggested areas for continuous improvement. The detailed report has been helpful and is written in outcome based text to reflect the Standard and its approach.”

Finally, when asked to reflect upon advice for those seeking matrix Accreditation against the revised Standard, Debra highlighted two key recommendations:

“Firstly, I would encourage all providers within our sector to start looking at the Standard sooner rather than later. The subtle but very important changes and emphasis on outcome based practices will require evidence so start gathering the evidence now!”

“Be clear on what your organisation wants from the assessment. The skilled assessors are focused upon catching your organisation in and want to add value and ensure value for money.”

Nisai Virtual Academy (NVA) provides ICT based learning solutions to young people and adults who are  unable to engage in mainstream education for a range of reasons including medical exclusion and behavioural issues, geographically isolated or living overseas – indeed any learner who would benefit from a customised learning programme.

Its mission is ‘To provide a high quality service to displaced learners enabling greater access to the best possible educational and social opportunities through the creation of on-line learning communities’. NVA has about 500 students per year. The Academy was the first on-line organisation to meet the revised matrix Standard in September 2011. Nick Robin (Programme Delivery Director) explains more about their service and the motivation in seeking accreditation against the matrix Standard…

“Of the 30 staff working within the Academy there are four staff whose roles include information, advice and guidance (IAG) delivery at key points within the NSA learner journey. IAG is delivered on our learning platform using a range of technologies including: virtual classrooms, telephone, video conference, as well as some face to face.

“We had been seeking matrix Standard accreditation for some time and wanted to show to funders, partners and of course service users that our services met the badge for the highest quality in providing careers advice.”

“Upon hearing of the outcome based approach of the revised matrix Standard we were keen to work towards this version. As an organisation we work in an outcome based environment where making a difference and impact is crucial. The revised version of the Standard seems more in keeping with our results orientated approach.” 

“With support from a Registered matrix Adviser we reviewed the student journey and explored what difference IAG was making at each stage of interaction with the student. Of course we have the additional challenge of providing IAG remotely and therefore at times capturing outcomes remotely.”

When considering what advice to give organisations delivering IAG via technologies and seeking matrix Standard Accreditation Nick had one headline message:

“Our advice would be to have evidence to show the Assessor of how you review the impact of your technology approaches. For example if you are using Skype for IAG interviews can you show a learner and adviser perspective on the effectiveness of this approach? What impact has the technology had in motivating and empowering the individual to progress and achieve their goals?”

Nick had another key message:

“The Assessment was a rigorous process – not having gone through the matrix Accreditation Process before, Nisai was expecting a tough assessment, and it was tough, but very supportive."

 
“The Assessor was highly skilled and gave new insights into the various aspects of our service that needed improving. The feedback and supportive critical analysis crystallised certain areas that were in need of fine tuning and development. In particular we needed to revisit our approach to client outcomes and firmly embedding outcomes across our learner support service. Of course this also meant strengthening the review cycle so we could show how learner outcomes are planned, realised and monitored effectively.”

A three month timescale was all it took to enhance these areas and a second stage assessment was planned for September.

“By September our improvements were already transparent and at the second visit we showed and explained to the Assessor how we had acted upon the areas requiring development.”

“We were thrilled to be told that we now met the matrix Standard. All in all it has been an awesome journey in refining and improving IAG delivery to our hard-to-reach students on-line.”

The Verne prison, with approximately 600 prisoners, is situated on the South Dorset coast on the Portland peninsular. Support for offenders in relation to Careers Information and Advice is provided by Tribal. 

Tribal Careers Advisers provide one to one support to determine prisoners’ Education Training and Employment ‘goals’.  It is the achievement of these outcomes which provide evidence of progression while at The Verne and potential job opportunities and a reduction in re-offending rates on release.

As one of the first organisations to achieve the revised matrix Standard, Tribal is very positive about the benefits of using the revised version of the Standard to improve Tribal Careers Information and Advice services.  

Katrina Dymond, OLASS South West Regional Manager, looks back on their revised Standard assessment…

“As a service we have had substantial measurable benefits from our preparation and actual assessment against the Standard. The criteria within the new standard encouraged us to look afresh at what we provide to our clients and adopt a how and why approach” 

“Being assessed against an outcome based framework has made us rethink how we capture and measure achievements and the impact of our service” 
 
“From using the self assessment tool onwards, the revised matrix Standard helped us to identify where we needed to improve our delivery and the processes in place to monitor impact and where we were already being successful.”  

“Not to be boxed away”

“We are keen that this matrix Standard assessment is not an activity that we box away and revisit every three years. Instead we have sought to fully embed the outcome based framework into our Delivery and Quality Improvement Plan to shape our Careers Information and Advice Service activities on an ongoing basis”

“The assessor’s verbal and written feedback has already been acted upon! For example a suggested improvement area to strengthen our marketing has led to a rebranding of the Tribal CIA service and targeted promotion; as a result we have already recorded an increase in demand.”

The Assessment Process 
 
“As an organisation that has delivered a Careers Service in custody for the past 6 years we are used to inspection and external audits so the assessment visit did not present the team with any great anxiety. This was re-enforced by the Assessor who was professional, friendly and approachable in the way she communicated with staff and prisoners and reviewed the service.
The process concluded with feedback and an outcome based report, ensuring we have a steer to make ongoing improvements”

What messages would you give to other organisations about the Revised matrix Standard?

“Don’t assume that the revised version of the Standard is simply more of the same. It is a significantly enhanced framework that is outcome focused. With an increased emphasis on outcome funding the revised matrix Standard makes excellent business sense”

“In the current climate there is need to ensure all expenditure is effectively utilised. On reflection the assessment cost for an organisation of our size and scope provides excellent value for money”.

Brighter Sound is a not for profit organisation based in Manchester. The organisation supports personal, creative, entrepreneurial and professional development through music.  A golden thread running through Brighter Sound programmes is the need for quality IAG to help young people and adults in the music industry make realistic and relevant learning and work decisions. Managing a portfolio career is increasingly the norm for most people wanting a career in the music industry. The challenge is to help present a diverse network of pathways and learning opportunities to musicians, artists, young people and organisations across the cultural and education sectors.

As an organisation committed to continuous improvement and providing the highest quality services, Brighter Sound were keen to break new ground and use the Revised matrix Standard to help manage change. Tina Redford Head of Music Leader North West reflects back on her matrix Standard journey:

“The launch of a Revised version of the matrix Standard came at just the right time for our organisation. We had recently moved to a wider umbrella brand with a broadened vision and greater integration of our services. We knew that our IAG delivery is of a high quality and wanted the national quality mark to endorse this, but at the same time we wanted external support to help us plan for growth and to challenge us. It was at this point in our matrix journey that we sought the help of a matrix advisor.”

 
“An external pair of eyes helped us as we implemented our plan, do and review approach to growth and business improvement.”

“In our experience, the advisor time was invaluable – it gave the process of achieving the accreditation focus and momentum. The advisor helped demystify the assessment process and raised company confidence and belief when it was needed. An excellent example of a ‘critical friend’.”

The matrix journey continued through to a successful assessment in September 2011. Tina continued:

“The whole process was rigorous – both the advisor and the assessor asked challenging and probing questions. The questions genuinely and correctly identified our areas for improvement, which suggest the approach works.”

“Before assessment, we knew what we did and that we achieved quality results. We were able to evidence our successes. However, we needed to better articulate how our company approach, practice and processes contributed to those successes.”

“By doing this, we have illustrated how our vision/values/objectives inform everything we do…from the people we employ, to the questions that we ask, the outputs that we deliver and the outcomes we achieve etc.”

“The impact of this is that at Brighter Sound we have improved our ability to message to users, partners and each other …who we are, what we do and the difference that we make.”

“We hope to see return on investment in both non-metric and metric measures. The non-metric returns are the improvements we are continually making to company practices including the capturing the impact of our appraisal system and ensuring that monitoring and evaluation of our IAG services to young people and adults inform the Brighter Sound future. We hope the metric returns will be leverage of future funding.”

Tina compared the whole matrix Standard experience to a rigorous company MOT:

“Our matrix journey made us take the time out to pull into the garage, kick all the tyres and ensure everything was working to enable us to move forward!”

“We purposefully chose the Revised 2011 version of the matrix Standard as we needed a future-looking experience for us. Usually rewards and awards are given for past endeavours but it feels like we have been accredited for having a service designed for the road ahead.”