A day in the life of a VAQS assessor
We spoke to Hazel Hook to find out what goes on behind the scenes in the life of a Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme (VAQS)* inspector.
Hazel has been a VAQS assessor for 12 years, including four years as the Lead Assessor. She took on the job – and analysed the quality assurance scheme – while studying for an MA in Museum & Heritage Management, after taking early retirement from her role as a Visitor Services Manager with The National Trust. Before the pandemic, Hazel assessed 40 to 50 sites per year, including Castle Howard, Blenheim Palace, National Space Centre, Chatsworth and very small city centre museums and art galleries that may only have an hour dwell time.
What Hazel doesn’t know about VisitEngland’s quality assessment scheme for VAs isn’t worth knowing!
Here Hazel gives us the insider view of the assessment process, highlights the parts of an inspection you didn’t know were important, and shares her thoughts on the future of the VAQS scheme.
“I tend not to use the words ‘inspection’ or ‘inspector’ but rather ‘assessment’ and ‘assessor’. They’re more accurate as we’re helpful, offering business support and sharing our knowledge and best practice. Like all assessors, I’m very adaptable and don’t operate a ‘one size fits all’ approach.”
Pre-arrival checks
“The assessing process begins well before the visit. We start by looking at the Pre-Arrival. This involves checking the attraction’s website, social media platforms and online reviews. We check whether all the information needed to decide to visit is available online. You would be surprised at some of the basic omissions and errors we see: out-of-date events, incorrect exhibition dates, lack of contact details and so on.
We always check that an attraction’s booking system works and is easy to use. We check online reviews to see if there is a common thread to posts; it’s a good indication that one area of the attraction is letting the site down. We read management responses to see if the tone is defensive or if they appreciate feedback. If there are no management replies then we’d raise it at the debrief. Sometimes it’s the policy of the organisation not to respond to online reviews but ideally, we’d steer the business to respond, at least to negative reviews and a percentage of positive reviews. We also compare the ratio of very good and excellent reviews with those achieved the previous year to see if standards are improving or failing.
The site manager is made aware we are coming before we visit but it’s not in their interest to inform their staff – and it’s very obvious if they have done so! This way the attraction gets a true picture of how the visitor perceives their experience. It also means we’re able to guarantee that we speak to the manager on the day (although the assessor’s job would probably be easier if we went unannounced as we could check the weather and go on a good day to an outdoor-only site.”
On the day of the visit
“On arrival, we follow the visitor journey starting with first impressions, visitor information, welcome, car park etc. Possibly the most important thing an attraction can do is provide a first-class welcome. It sets the scene for the rest of the day.
We then look at the attraction as a whole, including the layout and visitor flow, interpretation, presentation of the displays, maintenance, range of content and so on.
Storytelling skills
Storytelling can be such a strength of the visitor experience and unfortunately one that’s not always seen. Sometimes an attraction offers too much information causing the visitor to switch off – a guide book on the wall approach instead of an interpretation panel. Attractions need to remember that the visitor is on a day out, the ideal approach being to offer interpretation in layers for those wanting to learn more – what the National Trust used to call ‘toe-dippers, swimmers and divers’. One of the accolades VAQS introduced was ‘Best Told Story’ for those attractions, or tours, that tell their story effectively. This could be by technical innovation or through well-trained staff or volunteers (people stay engaged when listening to stories about people delivered by people). The attractions that have received this accolade ensure that all their visitors leave their attraction having had an informative and entertaining experience. The narrative leaves no loose ends and the experience is accessible to all. Tours historically score well in this aspect because the tour guides are usually people people who have been trained in delivering facts in an engaging and entertaining way.
Other areas we look at are retail, cafe, toilets and, of course, cleanliness and staff throughout the site – basically, all areas of the attraction that impact on the visitor’s experience. It’s really important that staff display pride in their workplace, and that there are high standards of cleanliness seen throughout.
Assessing staff
We score staff working in each department at the attraction. The staff we have interacted with in each department are scored for their customer care skills, knowledge and efficiency.
Having the right type of staff in the right role is crucial. A warm welcome on arrival and a thank you when exiting can go a long way in making up for any disappointing aspects during the day. We advise attractions to recruit on attitude for front-of-house roles as you can train staff but it’s difficult to change a poor attitude – it’s one of the red flags, along with poor cleanliness and maintenance standards and bad customer service.
I think the pre-opening checks by front of house are so important and are often overlooked. Staff need to look with a visitor’s eye when walking the attraction and not assume that what they think is there is actually there. For example, we often see an abundance of empty clip frames around the attraction. These are a missed opportunity to promote, say, a forthcoming event, or a sale in the shop or even today’s special in the café. Other common issues are cobwebs around the entrance building, cigarette butts in the car parks, full waste bins at the start of the day. These are all noticed by the visitor and can set the scene for the visit ahead.”
A full debrief
“The debrief at the end of the visit is extremely useful. It gives us the chance to understand how the business is doing, what their challenges are and how we can help them. It also enables the attraction to instigate any quick changes that have been highlighted.
During the debrief, the assessor explains about the various accolades and ascertains which accolade, if any, the attraction wants to work towards. We then tailor the advice offered accordingly.
Part of my role involves offering constructive suggestions and promoting the support available on VisitEngland/VisitBritain’s Business Advice Hub, which contains a wealth of experience and guidance on everything from customer service training to visitor flow and working with volunteers.
The comprehensive report that follows the assessment has some less obvious advantages for the attraction, too. It can be used to influence others, such as a Board of Trustees or external funders, for example, or to motivate staff and support KPIs for any franchised catering or retail operations.”
Dynamic VAQS
“The scheme has changed a lot since I started as an assessor in 2009. Back then, although we scored assessments we did not share the scores with the attractions. Now the scheme is much more transparent with all scores justified and attractions aware of how higher scores can be achieved. Attractions aren’t penalised for not having a particular facility, such as a cafe or a shop; these scoring areas are simply removed from the assessment process with no detrimental effect on the overall outcome.
The 21st-century visitor is much more discerning and expects higher standards so a cleanliness section was added to the process and more weighting given to customer service standards and the appearance of staff. Visitors generally remember how their feedback or complaint was handled rather than the actual complaint – we assess customer care, efficiency and knowledge of staff working in each department and award an overall score for staff appearance. As I’m sure you are aware, you can be extremely friendly, know very little about the attraction outside your domain and be totally inefficient – so awarding only one score would not reflect the actual interaction with that department’s member of staff.
How attractions assessments might change in the coming months and years is an interesting area and one I’m sure will be on the agenda when we have our next annual assessor conference (it was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic). We have never included checks on statutory health and safety aspects but with the current situation, where it impacts heavily on the visitor experience, this may warrant an inclusion. That said, currently there is the ‘We’re Good to Go’ mark which offers visitor assurance, but it’s definitely food for thought as we take the scheme forward. One of the positive aspects of the scheme is that it is constantly developing, helping it to stay fresh and relevant to both visitors and businesses alike.
I absolutely love every aspect of assessing visitor attractions, from the anticipation of the visit through to the debrief at the end although, unsurprisingly, writing the report is my least favourite part of the process! I even find it hard to switch off when I visit for pleasure! My family are always reminding me, ‘You’re not working now Mum!’”
*Previously Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme (VAQAS)
