BQF Member Survey Report

Contents

Section 1 Introduction

Section 2 Executive Summary

Section 3 Outcomes and Actions

Section 4 Looking Forward

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Contents

ABOUT BQF

BQF (The British Quality Foundation) is the premier membership organisation representing excellence and performance improvement in the UK.

We are independent and not-for-profit, and have an extensive track record of helping organisations learn from best practice, improve their performance and achieve sustainable excellence.

We specialise in the use of business improvement approaches and tools such as the EFQM Excellence Model and Lean Six Sigma. And as one of only two EFQM primary partners in the world, we are the official assessor training provider in England and Wales able to offer the full range of EFQM products and services.

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Introduction

RUSSELL LONGMUIR, CEO, BQF

Member views, ideas and opinions make a difference.

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I have met many of you personally and met hundreds more at many of our events. We are encouraged that you have been “delighted” by how we are responding to feedback. The message from you is loud and clear: you want BQF to lead, to be a voice in the market and to be relevant in the business world.

In response we have developed a vision to support you:

1. We will continue to have a closer relationship with you, our valued members, both inyour continuous improvement plans but also delivering more value to you.

2. We endeavour to continually improve and articulate the benefits of membership and thevalue that it brings to you and your organisations.

3. We will continue to grow our membership across all sectors and industries, and fororganisations of all sizes.

We’re working hard to realise this vision and we strive to continuously improve everything we do for our members. To drive this vision forward, we undertook this survey to find out what you think about BQF, our events, training, products and services. The findings and subsequent actions will help us to ensure you are receiving, and continue to receive, the full range of membership benefits you expect.

Thank you to everyone who completed the 2016 Membership survey. Your opinions matter and we hope you find this report of value and interest.

We look forward to seeing you in 2017.

Russell Longmuir

CEO, BQF

Executive Summary

2016 was an exciting and productive year for us as we embarked on our own continuous improvement journey. We began the year with a move to new premises, created a new corporate look, invested in a new website and developed a renewed vision to have closer and

A more valuable relationships with all members and stakeholders.

We grew our events programme by introducing outstanding key note speakers, developed collaborative industry networking opportunities and nurtured training partnerships with renowned experts including Matthew Syed. In November we were honoured and delighted to welcome our Patron, HRH The Princess Royal to open our new offices.

Typically run annually, we decided not to engage members with a survey in 2015. Instead we focused on implementing the changes and then providing the opportunity for members to tell us what they thought about them.

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2011 2012 2013 2014 2016

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This report provides an overview of the results, the thoughts, opinions and ideas around membership benefits, events, products and services. Overall, satisfaction with BQF Membership is Excellent or Very Good and 94% of respondents would recommend BQF Membership:

Overall Satisfaction with BQF Membership

Excellent/ Very Good

Satisfactory

Poor/ Very Poor

”

“ great organisation that continues to deliver real

value for members. The knowledge sharing among sectors is invaluable

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The subsequent feedback enables us to make improvements, stay relevant and provide continued value to our members.

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Executive Summary

Free workshops and events were the most popular reflecting the allocation of free places as standard across all membership packages. We are heartened to see that networking and sharing best practice were the two next most popular benefits.

We are creating a trusting community of organisations who are committed to continuous improvement. We will continue to provide opportunities to bring our members together in the coming year.

In 2016 our membership base grew steadily and now comprises 406 organisations from across a broad range of size and sectors.

Last year we restructured our Membership packages to Gold, Silver and Bronze. Each of these packages comes with its own set of benefits.

One of the new benefits is key Account Management for our Gold and Silver members. This gives members at this level personalised support continually throughout the year and through their excellence journey.

Membership

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Freeworkshops

Free events Networkingopportunities

Access to andsharing of best

practice

Member rateson productsand services

Use of BQFlogo

Meeting roomrates

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The value of membership benefits

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Our Account Managers visited 256 member organisations last year

Although it is important for us to know what benefits our members value, we also wanted to know why they might not be fully utilising all of them.

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Have utilised in thepast

Locationinaccessible(BQFoffices/London)

Not needed at thistime

Can access same orequivalent benefitfrom alternative

sources e.g in house orcompetitor

organisation

Not relevant toorganisation

Don't have theauthority to use

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What would prevent you from using your membership?

The primary reason that prevents members from using their benefits is that they have utilised the service in the past.

This appeared to be a reference to having already attended a particular workshop and so to alleviate this we constantly seek to develop our workshop programme with new themes and subjects every quarter.

I’m not sure that I am finding out as much as I could about BQF

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Executive Summary

57% of our members thought our membership fees represented good value and 36% were unsure.

In response, we will provide more clarity around the fees structure and breadth of benefits available and continue to develop our communications to make it easier for members to keep up to date with our latest products and services.

Our key Account Managers will also work with all members throughout the year to ensure they are maximising the opportunities that membership creates.

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A number of our members commented that we do not make our member benefits clear enough.

Membership

I think that the range of products and services the BQF offer is excellent. All the workshops I have attended have been really useful.

98% attendees saidevents met or

exceeded their expectations. We will continue to listen to members’ needs and work hard to maintain this excellent feedback. The standout event was ‘Matthew Syed Growth Mindset seminar’ with 85% of attendees suggesting it exceeded their expectations.

53% 45%

2%

BQF Events in 2016

ExceededExpectations

Met Expectations

Did not meetExpectations

“

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Executive Summary

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In 2016 we ran 39 events focused on performance improvement themes, attended by 908 delegates including 100 high level executives.

We have worked hard to introduce new and engaging content to match member needs. We now

offer a suite of training and executive education all delivered by expert consultants, leading commentators and senior business figures. Members also receive first or exclusive access to high-profile or leading management development speakers.

We host workshops and events on all aspects of continuous improvement and a variety of business topics.

In 2017 we have offered or are offering a number of new topics including: How to Negotiate and Influence Effectively, Performance Improvement through Shared Business Services and Mindfulness at Work.

Many members felt that too many of our events and workshops were held in London. For 2017 we have planned more networking workshops and keynote speaker events than ever before in regional locations including Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle and Leeds.

We are committed to providing 30% of our events and training outside of London in 2017 and this will increase further in 2018.

Events

The survey also asked members for feedback relating to key services available. All of our members receive discounted rates on our products and services including EFQM Assessor Training, using the Lean Six Sigma Academy or being assessed for one of EFQM’s Levels of Excellence.

When asked about the quality of these services we were delighted to see that almost all respondents rated the service satisfactory or higher.

We have been very satisfied with the Recognised 4 Excellence process,

communication with assessors and impact on our organisation.

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Consulting Levels of Excellence Awards Lean Six Sigma Academy

Have you used any of these services?

Executive Summary

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0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

ConsultancyServices

EFQMAssessorTraining

Lean SixSigma

Academy

UKExcellence

Awards

R4E or C2EAssessment

The quality of service received

Excellent

Very Good

Satisfactory

Poor

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Services N

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Networking and Sharing Best Practice - member to member knowledge and advice sharing facilitation

Special Interest Groups (SIG) provide opportunities to share learning and experience with others facing similar challenges.

Outcomes and Actions

94%

6%

Yes

No

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In 2016 our rooms were rented out for 102 days.

BQF Members are our Excellence advocates and include some of the largest companies in the UK who have embedded an excellence ethos across the whole organisation.

We are developing a more collaborative approach with members through:

I think our business has changed for the better as a result of BQF membership.

“ ”

Having access to a management framework (EFQM Excellence Model) and associated support and guidance, as well as assessment of organisational progress against that, further strengthened member opinion and validated the benefits of membership. In addition, members felt BQF colleagues were a “professional team with a focused approach” and this helps to increase motivation levels and drive continuous improvement.

94% of respondents said they would recommend BQF Membership stating it demonstrates commitment to quality and a cost effective option to networking, learning and development. Some members felt the principles of membership are good and they had access to a wealth of information and strong networks; a good sign of quality.

Use of BQF Logo across member marketing channels and promotional materials.

BQF meeting rooms and hot desking – available for hire at reduced rates. If you are planningan offsite meeting or away day get in touch to check availability.

o Developing new SIG’s which focus on the Construction industry and also Lean Six Sigma.

Would you recommend BQF Membership?

The feedback from the survey has been invaluable and has highlighted some areas across the business that we are focusing on in 2017/2018:

You said: We did (Or we’re working on it!):

General information

• More case studies

• Develop a digital knowledge base

• Provide greater access to relevantarticles and publications; post-eventcontent

• Provide a wider range of qualitybest practice materials and training.

• Keep improving our website.

• Develop a suite of new engaging andinteractive case studies

• Developing ‘bitesize’ content such as videos,infographics, news stories and more

• Publishing post-event content on ourwebsite.

Online content

• Member forum for discussions

• Online workshops and networkevents

• More relevant and up-to-dateonline member informationincluding research reports and casestudies.

We realise we still have some work to do to improve our online content.

• Review opportunities and options toimprove

• Provide regular updates of our progress.

• Emphasis and focus on digital content

Member collaboration

• Better link-up with industry bodiesthat are also looking at sectorimprovements

We are developing a more collaborative approach with members through:

• Good practice and knowledge sharingfacilitation

• Special Interest Groups (SIG) - sharelearning and experience with others facingsimilar challenges.

• Specialised Networking Events. You canfind information about all of our eventson our website

Events

• Detailed information about hotels,transport etc. for events requiringovernight stays

• CPD certification for attendingevents

• Review the events content on our websiteand update as appropriate.

• Investigate appropriateness of CPDcertification for our training

Looking Forward

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Our membership packages enable organisations to be part of a network of excellence and enjoy special rates on a wide range of performance improvement products and services.

Talk to us in more detail about your membership and benefits and find out how you can get better value from BQF.

Sign up for BQF Matters, our monthly e-newsletter: www.bqf.org.uk/bqf-matters

E mail@bqf.org.uk

T +44 (0)20 7654 5000

bqf.org.uk

@TheBQF

3rd Floor 53 New Broad Street London EC2M 1JJ United Kingdom