And our survey says?
A satisfaction survey of all active IRCA registered auditors carried out in September 2006 has returned positive feedback across the board. Approximately 8,000 emails were sent globally with 1,369 auditors returning opinions on everything from IRCA’s service to what they found important. Robert Maddison takes a look at what lies beneath.
Statistical summary
Service over the last twelve months has improved significantly, particularly due to the recently introduced rolling renewals system, removing the problem of the January renewal bottleneck. Improvements to the IRCA website, such as the pay online facility and the auditor knowledge bank, have also made an important contribution. Focus on account management within the certification department has led to continual improvement in service levels. When questioned about their general experience with IRCA over the year 24 per cent of auditors were very satisfied, 50 per cent satisfied, and only 3 per cent very dissatisfied. This can be compared to IRCA’s average rating of 6.80 out of 10 in 2005.
The extent to which IRCA provides distinction in value and competence for certified auditors against non-IRCA certified auditors recorded another positive result. Fifty one per cent agree and 36 per cent agree strongly with only five per cent disagreeing and one per cent disagreeing strongly. A requirement for employers using IRCA certified auditors is again encouraging globally. Seventy five per cent require it always, sometimes or rarely with only 21 per cent never.
The good news is that 87 per cent of the respondents will be renewing their certification next year with only 3 per cent not renewing and 10 per cent unsure. This is an increase of 3 per cent on 2005.
Some other statistics where 10 is excellent and 1 is very poor:
- satisfaction of new applicants with the service: 7.79 out of 10 (7.21 in 2005)
- satisfaction of auditors who renewed their certifications with the service: 7.91 out of 10 (6.80 in 2005)
- satisfaction with general speed of response: 7.95 out of 10 (6.80 in 2005)
- satisfaction with general quality of response: 8.11 out of 10 (7.11 in 2005)
- satisfaction with problem resolution: 6.27 out of 10 (5.12 in 2005)
IRCA operations manager, John Beagan, stated that, ‘I am very pleased that the improvement projects that we have implemented in response to the 2005 survey have delivered increased satisfaction. The 2006 survey sets us some new challenges and we look forward to providing further improvements over the coming months.’
Regional variations
The new Italian and Spanish language websites were intended to boost service levels following requests for more country specific information tailored to the needs of these countries’ auditors. The feedback received from Italy was very encouraging. The recent Italian CPD event held in Rome and the employment of Italian speaking certification officers have led to positive feedback, although accreditation to ISO 17024 would further strengthen IRCA’s presence in Italy. The survey recorded similarly positive feedback from Spanish speaking auditors and with more time and exposure to these improvements, the service levels are expected to increase.
The brand image of IRCA certification continues to appear strong in India, and the value of IRCA certification was also high in Korea, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan proving that the IRCA brand is continuing to develop in areas with different market and regulatory conditions.
IRCA currently has 3,232 active UK auditors and they returned 22 per cent of the total responses. From a total of 15 problems or complaints made to IRCA the service rating was 6.2 out of 10 compared to 4.43 in 2005, and the general consensus was of prompt, efficient and very helpful service particularly when processing the triennial renewals. US respondents commented on the responsive and professional attitude of IRCA and their speedy communication although more advertising on the benefits in the US of employing an IRCA certified auditor would be appreciated.
INform
Feedback on IRCA INform was encouraging with 28 per cent of auditors responding that they read every issue - 41 per cent read it sometimes and 16per cent rarely - while in the UK as many as 84 per cent of the respondents read INform. Objective information on UKAS and quality issues were regarded as particularly important, although requests for articles on integrated management systems, good auditor practice and hints for newly qualified auditors reveal a need to focus more in these areas.
IRCA logos
Feedback regarding usage of the IRCA logo was less encouraging with only 19 per cent of respondents confirming that they use the IRCA logo, and only 11 per cent on business stationery. The IRCA logos are designed for auditors to download and use on business cards and stationery to promote their international recognition. The IRCA logos can be downloaded by registered auditors here:
Various respondents requested greater provision for distance learning and online information about jobs and careers. IRCA has already taken the initiative, pre-empting requests made in the survey, by launching an online auditor discussion forum which is free and open to anyone who wishes to participate. It is a platform for everyone involved in accredited certification to engage in debate, raise questions and share best practice. It is envisaged that topics such as the provision of career information can be discussed openly in the IRCA discussion forum.
Overall the survey indicates that satisfaction with our products and services has increased significantly. While service levels have clearly risen, there were many requests for further improvement, and IRCA is committed to delivering an improved level of service in all areas. IRCA will be looking into a range of new services and initiatives as a result of the feedback received and we will keep you posted.
John Beagan concluded that: ‘as systems professionals we all understand the need to base continual improvement on solid information and this survey is one of the key tools we use for driving improvement. I would like to thank all the auditors who participated in the survey and the IRCA staff who have worked so hard over the past 18 months to achieve the success underlined by the survey results.’
Have your say on the survey findings right now by contributing to the discussion on all IRCA-related issues in the IRCA discussion forum.
Robert Maddison is IRCA marketing and communications coordinator. If you have any queries regarding the IRCA survey please contact Robert on e: rmaddison@irca.org
