The Results Are In!
Findings From The 2002 ICAVL Customer Survey

by Joanne Drago, LPN, RVT
Chair, ICAVL Customer Service Task Force

from the Special Edition December 2002 issue

In order to ensure and continually improve our customer service and satisfaction with the accreditation process, it is important to identify the needs, wants and ideas of our customers.

To collect and evaluate input from laboratories applying for accreditation, the Board of Directors created a Customer Service Task Force. To ensure a broad base for their research, members of the task force were chosen from a wide variety of practice backgrounds, laboratory sizes, and geographical locations.

The Customer Service Task Force then developed the ICAVL 2002 Customer Survey. By offering insight into ICAVL customer service, the survey was designed to allow the ICAVL to assess and improve its relationship with applicant laboratories.

In March of this year, the 2002 Customer Survey was mailed to all laboratories that had ever sought accreditation through the ICAVL. Included were newly accredited laboratories, those that have been delayed accreditation, and laboratories applying for reaccreditation.

The 2002 Customer Survey, which consisted of 15 questions and a narrative feedback form, could be completed and returned by mail, fax, or online. Of the survey questions, specific attention was given to the application process itself. Time spent, method used (electronic or manual), and level of complexity were several of the key areas studied among our user group.

Results Of Our Survey

The survey had a 27% response rate (413 completed surveys were returned) which is excellent for mailed surveys of this type.

While the survey respondents seemed generally satisfied with our customer service practices, we received constructive feedback that will prove useful in our quest for improvement. Forty percent of the respondents felt that the entire accreditation was too complex and 45% felt that the amount of time spent completing the application was far too excessive. In his President's Letter, Dr. Gocke discusses the Board's plans for modifying the overall complexity of the application process.

Our participants were evenly distributed as groups coming from laboratories that had been accredited once, twice, or three times. When applying for accreditation, two-thirds used the standard method of application, while the rest opted to use the Electronic Application on CD-ROM. Of those applying electronically, most found the instructions for our CD-ROM application to be relatively easy to work with; only 10% felt the instructions were difficult to understand. However, most of you also enlisted the help of someone at ICAVL during the completion of the application. Those who contacted ICAVL staff members generally found them to be very helpful and courteous during this process.

In evaluating the overall value that accreditation brings to the laboratory, 49% of the respondents found that achieving accreditation has been extremely valuable, with 39% finding it valuable and 12% reporting to have found little value in achieving accreditation. The cost of accreditation was also assessed, and 68% of the respondents reported finding the cost/value ratio for achieving accreditation acceptable, as opposed to the 27% who found the process far too costly and the 5% who said the process was inexpensive. Fifty-one percent of the laboratories commented that their most recent application completely described the details and daily operations of their laboratory, while 46% saw room for improvement in the application. A minimal three percent commented that the application did not reflect the daily operation of their laboratory at all.

The ICAVL is constantly striving to improve the accreditation process, from providing revisions to the Essentials and Standards, to giving our customers the most current information via the ICAVL website. According to the survey results, we found that while most of you use our website to some degree, 25% have never used it at all. Our goal is to increase customer awareness of the ICAVL website as an invaluable informational tool and an important source of reference to all, whether seeking accreditation for the first time or the fourth time. Also related to operational issues, 39% of the respondents stated that there are services provided by the ICAVL (i.e., notification letters, critique letters, the ICAVL Newsletter, etc.) that can be improved. The article on page 2 by ICAVL's Director of Accreditation, Cindy Weiland, RRT, RVT, provides a comprehensive look at how the ICAVL staff has already responded or is planning to respond in these areas.

Th excellent survey response rate demonstrates your overwhelming willingness to provide the ICAVL with the necessary feedback to improve. We thank you for your participation and look forward to moving into the next phase of the ICAVL's evolution with an improved and streamlined accreditation process.

To view the complete results of the survey, click here.

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