Completion of an application for membership

Having looked at QHS and decided you want to get involved you need to think about your business and the benefits you can accrue, details of this are contained on this web site in the "Benefits" area within the "Certification" section.

Application forms for membership can be found on the downloads section of the website but if you have any queries about this contact QHS who can talk you through the pros and cons for your circumstances.

Membership

As a member you participate in the constitution and development of QHS and get a number of its services included in your annual membership subscription. These services include a number of Mystery shops , Telephone surveys and accessibility checks along with the feedback and reporting that goes along with these you will be included in the benchmarking group. You also get the opportunity when you choose to put yourself forward to become a certificated member.

The cost of membership is dependant on the size of an organisation. QHS would be happy to talk you through the implications for your own organisation.

Application for Certification

This can be made at any time by an organisation provided it has been a full member for sufficient time for it to have obtained the data and records to support the application (all offices on the certificate schedule must have been audited at least once and the data records been actively monitored by QHS for at least 6 months). The certification requirement and process is clearly detailed in QHS procedures which are available for all members.

Audits

Once certification is applied for the cycle of audits is entered into. Certification is renewed annually and a continuous program of surveillance audits maintained from the time of application whether the organisation passes or not, until an organisation actively withdraws from the program. Members at this status are referred to as candidate members and they maintain this status until they become certificated members.

The number and length of audits is based on the size and office structure of an organisation and is carried out on a pre-booked basis by specialist auditors employed by and trained by QHS. Further details of this can be obtained from the download section of this website on "The Conformity Assessment" document.

The Certification Decision

Once the date and information has been gathered a decision is made whether to award a certificate or not. This is done by comparing the performance of the organisation with scores set by an independent accreditation council which meets quarterly to discuss and agree which organisation performance levels are acceptable to carry the certificated status.

Membership Upgraded to Certificated Member

The certificated member is allowed to use and promote the mark and their achievement on marketing materials and at their offices. This promotion is governed by the use of mark rules.

Certificate Awarded

Once certification has been awarded you will have joined a very elite group of housing associations, You will be able to display the certificate at your offices and add the certification logo to your literature and marketing materials, But the process doesn't end there, at QHS the members are dedicated to driving continuous improvement and the criteria and performance bench marks will continue to be modified year on year.

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