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Accreditation: Time for change

8 September 2021

Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce (VACC) accreditation, at a divisional level and through A-Grade accreditation, appears it has been around for as long as VACC. But it hasn’t.

VACC A-Grade accreditation was born in 2013. It borrows its name from the original A-Grade Automotive Engineer Certificate that was awarded to members who passed the A-Grade examination, held at VACC from 1926 to 1998. While the original A-Grade engineers’ certificate focused on technical and academic capability, the modern version of A-Grade bolsters divisional accreditation. It has as much to do with the way a business presents and operates, as it does with tooling and technical capability. While pushing forward into a broader accreditation design, it has struggled to attract over 120 members at its height and membership currently stands at 55.

Divisional accreditation was born in 1991 as pressure built in the Victorian Government to have the local automotive industry regulated, following the many consumer issues government and regulators received. To combat having intervening government oversight in the industry, VACC built an accreditation system that focused on consumer protections, business registration, and a process whereby the association managed consumer complaints.

Today, the role of VACC’s consumer and business advisory service is a function of the original accreditation program. It would be true to say that in 1991, like many industries, automotive was in a transitional phase between relatively light-handed consumer protections and limited government regulation, to where we are today – an environment peppered with consumer protection laws and recourse mechanisms, and regulators at every corner. Things have certainly changed.

VACC has reviewed – or engaged specialists to review – accreditation programs over the years, with little change in the content or structure of the divisional accreditation programs. Change has been recommended, but it hasn’t happened. 

A review of accreditation in 2014, and two studies in 2019, all showed challenges for the current accreditation systems and recommended modernisation to make them more consumer-centric. While workshop tooling still heavily influences the systems design, the studies recommend a consistent program that is more about what consumers look for in an accreditation program. It also calls for more transparency so consumers can see what the accreditation is, and how VACC measures and audits it. This shouldn’t surprise us. These are basic consumer expectations.

A study of VACC accreditations undertaken by the University of Melbourne found consumers are unlikely to distinguish between accredited and non-accredited members. Consumers also raised brand confusion when looking across a VACC sign, a VACC accredited sign, and a VACC A-Grade sign. What does it all mean?

Another review undertaken by the research group, Lucidity raised questions about the value of divisional accreditation to members and the low level of take-up for the A-Grade program. This study also found that many members had trouble understanding what VACC accreditation was, and consequently valued it poorly.

At an organisational level, it’s easy to see why accreditation – divisional or A-Grade – has lost a bit of its mojo. Having 15 divisions with slightly different accreditation, plus A-Grade, is an administrative task that is time-consuming and heavily duplicated. Currently, it’s like 15 McDonald’s restaurants having the option of designing their own quality standards and hamburgers. 

The University of Melbourne study also highlighted cumbersome administrative processes for managing accreditation at VACC and suggested a range of ways modern electronic accreditation and audit processes could better handle this. Any study of the current programs is likely to highlight that accreditation programs are not consumer centered, have high levels of inconsistency, and have low value to the public and members. We can change this.

From a governance perspective, there is also work and change that needs to take place so the VACC Executive Board can get on with its job of providing high-level governance and protections to VACC and its members. The Board’s influence on divisional accreditation is limited, and that’s part of the challenge.   

Ultimately, it’s the VACC Executive Board that bears the responsibility of all governance in the association and that includes its branding and any promises it makes to the public about members and VACC products, including accreditation programs. After all, it’s a VACC brand if it has a VACC logo on it. The Constitution, created in 1918 and updated when needed, currently leaves responsibilities and obligations for divisions for their own accreditations. This is problematic, both for the Board and Division Executive Committees. The Constitution currently allows for divisions to build their own accreditation programs, effectively anything they like. But the Board has the overarching liabilities for anything with a VACC logo on it.

Can you see the problem here? This is a good example of where the rules of the association need to change to reflect the contemporary industry and consumer environment.

There are also opportunities to build a better arrangement whereby the Executive Board develops and endorses membership-wide accreditation systems that engage all members and highlights to the public how an accredited business will protect them. Is a consumer more interested in the tooling you have in your workshop or how you will deal with their personal information, their data security, and their complaints? 

Clearly, things have changed.

There is also a great opportunity to protect the VACC brand for members, irrespective of accreditation or not. Workshops that carry the accreditation sign while run down and outdated are bad for all members. It’s no wonder this confuses consumers.

Accreditation is on the agenda for November’s VACC Special General Meeting. This is a great opportunity for members to provide their position on the motion to reform the accreditation system that ensures VACC stays ahead of the curve.

Words: VACC CEO, Geoff Gwilym. As featured in Australian Automotive October 2021.

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