Best practice amongst Viewing Facilities

How easy is it to ensure that your viewing facilities experience is of the highest possible quality?  Easier than you think, according to the viewing facilities association

Words: Liz Sykes

Ensuring a successful experience with a viewing facility shouldn't be a matter of luck and guesswork.  There exists an organisation designed to ensure that its members adhere to the most rigorous standards.  It offers that vital benchmark of quality that all clients seek.

The VFA is the only trade association that exists to promote best practice among viewing facilities.  It is a relatively new association, founded in 1995 by a group of viewing facility owners who were concerned about the lack of uniformity across facilities and the lack of research knowledge among some of the owners.

The association's popularity illustrates the commitment of the facilities community to providing a service-orientated, professional and reputable service.

It has 45 members with a further three currently going through the joining procedure.  Twenty seven more facilities have requested information and we hope to welcome them soon.

The VFA logo is the standards kitemark for the viewing facilities business.  It signals that companies are bound by the industry's code of conduct and shows that the companies employ at least one member of the MRS guaranteeing and understanding of research practice.

A code of practice

The VFA has a comprehensive code of practice which was recently updated with the assistance of Deborah Harding, deputy director general of the MRS.  It has now been brought in line with the major revisions that have taken place to the MRS code of conduct.  Choosing a VFA facility will offer you a service that adheres to quality, confidentiality and safety for your research. 

If you need to use a viewing facility that isn't a member, you may want to ask them why they aren't.  It may be they have never heard of the association of their facility is primarily used for in-house research.  Otherwise it may be worth checking that they have public liability insurance and that they understand their responsibilities towards respondents and clients for data protection and the code of conduct.

Moderators and clients often feel stressed due to the importance of a research project and respondents may feel nervous or apprehensive, particularly if they are new to research or the topic they are going to be discussing is a sensitive one.  It is imperative that the viewing facilities staff have excellent people skills and a calm, unflappable approach to the project.  VFA members offer staff trained in these skills.

Confidentiality clause

VFA members are bound to protect the confidentiality of its clients and the respondents who take part in the research.

Recruiters and fieldwork recruitment agencies can also feel reassured that a VFA company will not poach their respondents and add them on to a database of their own.  There are stories of this happening through the industry.  Another area affected by the data protection act is the filing and viewing of respondents.  VFA members will be focused on ensuring that only authorised eyes are able to see the research.  VFA members are also charged with keeping the general public safe.  It is mandatory for all members to have public liability insurance, as well as a fire risk assessment. 

Another key requirement for members is to have training in food handling, if food is prepared ont he premises.  No one wants to go and take part in, run, or watch qualitative research and end up with food poisoning.

Becoming a member

The process of becoming a VFA member is quite involved.  The company applying has to produce copies of all the necessary safety certificates before they can request assessment forms.  The awarding of membership is quite unique in that it depends on the rating  of the facility by its own clients and users of its services.  Ten assessment forms must be received by the VFA from ten different clients rating them in the following categories: staff, equipment, premises and catering.  They must achieve an average score of 3.5 our of 10 in each category.  Plus there is a section for the client's comments, be they good or bad.  To keep all the members current they have to provide at least three new assessment forms each year. This is really  important as facilities are continually updating and modifying premises - so like hotels, restaurants and other business in the hospitality field, constant re-evaluation is required.  Technology is continually changing and facilities have to keep up with the times.  So do trends and fashions in qualitative research, so facilities have to keep  abreast of them.  The more recent forms enable facilities to work on improving their sores if there are areas that they were weak on, and this ensures that clients are seeing the freshest information.  Facilities can't rest on their laurels or hide behind scores that were good ten years ago.  Plus clients are able to see the comments made by other customers which allows each facility to demonstrate its own personality.  

VFA on the web

The VFA website www.viewing.org.uk is where all research buyers should head.  It is a useful tool for bookers of facilities as it provides details of our code of conduct, many useful facts and contacts.  It has recently been redesigned and is more than a glorified online brochure.  It has many hundreds of hits each month.  It includes a glossary of viewing facilities terms for complete novices.  The geographical search feature is very useful as it shows where facilities are located by town/city and the nearest airport.  The website is constantly evolving as it is regularly updated.  Our intention is to provide the highest standards and to take the strain out of booking a research viewing facility.  Why look anywhere else?

Liz Sykes is managing director of Field Initiatives, chairperson of the VFA and a committee member of the AQR.

Research, March 2008, In Focus