MV & Assessor Newsletter August 2026
Welcome to the latest Quest Assessor and Mystery Visitor newsletter. In this edition, we are sharing key reminders, updates from across the network, and some useful learning from recent assessments and mystery visits. Thank you, as always, for the care, professionalism and insight you bring to every visit; your work continues to make a real difference to the quality of the customer experience & the standards across our sector.
Ongoing Support Our Quest proofreaders for both the Core Assessment Modules and Mystery Visit Modules have compiled a collection of “Golden Nuggets” from Quest reports completed so far this year. Thank you, Jean and David, for doing this!
This report is being shared in confidence and must not be shared with any third-party organisations. We would welcome your feedback and would appreciate hearing whether you find this resource useful. Please click HERE
This document highlights some examples of Areas for Improvement (AFIs) & strengths taken from a range of assessments completed by you. Please note that it is not intended to represent a perfect report. Instead, it serves as a reference guide, providing some examples of effective AFIs and Strengths, with examples that you may find useful when writing your own reports.
To further support Quest Assessors, members of the team have also been recording a series of webinars covering each of the Core Module questions. These videos provide guidance and suggested responses to help you when assessing to ensure our criteria is consistently covered. The webinars will soon be available via StaffMIS. Accounts will be created for you over the next couple of months, and you will receive a separate email containing instructions on how to access the platform, along with your username and password.
We do not expect you to include every example within your reports. Rather, we encourage you to use the document as a source of ideas and inspiration. We hope it will help to expand your knowledge, encourage new ways of thinking, and support you in ensuring that any “Excellent” scores awarded are fully evidenced and justified.
Thank you for your continued support and commitment to maintaining high assessment standards.
Mentoring As we move into the second part of the year, we are reviewing diaries and making more time for mentoring across our Quest Assessor and Mystery Visitor network. If you receive an email to say that you have been selected to have a mentor attend a facility with you, please do not worry. This is simply about support, shared learning and giving everyone the chance to see different styles and approaches in action.
Tel: 01582 840078 www.questaward.org Quest@rightdirections.co.uk
Right Directions Quality Support in Safe Hands
A few useful reminders • Car park arrangements: A couple of assessors have recently received car parking fines, so this is a gentle reminder to confirm car park arrangements by email before the assessment. That way, you have a clear audit trail. If you do receive a parking fine, please escalate it to the facility GM and copy in the Quest team. If the deadline is approaching and the fine is due to increase, please pay it, and if the centre had promised free parking we will work with you to recover the money from the organisation. If you are at all unsure about the arrangements, please pay for parking and claim the money back. • Compliance Declaration: Lots of assessors are now asking customers to submit Compliance Declaration evidence in advance. This can be really helpful, but please remember that it is optional. If the customer cannot send the evidence ahead of time, just ask them to let you know so that you can update the Quest Assessment Plan. • Lunch: Occasionally, assessors are not being provided with lunch. It may be worth adding a quick line to your email communications confirming that
you do not have any dietary requirements, or sharing them if you do, so the facility has what it needs when planning lunch. • Opening and closing meetings: A quick reminder to follow the required standards for opening and closing meetings on assessment day. Full advice can be found in this document: Please click HERE • Please do not give out scores on the day: We know everybody asks, but please do not share the mystery visit score or the preliminary Quest assessment banding on the day. We recently had a situation where a preliminary banding was shared, then adjusted downwards after proofreading, which led to a difficult customer enquiry. Holding back the banding helps avoid awkward situations for everyone. • Expenses: On expenses, a simple rule of thumb is to please ask for permission first if you can’t stick within the allocated budget. As a reminder, the current expense thresholds are £55 for MysteryVisitors and £100 for Assessors. Please also keep expenses in mind before applying for an assessment or mystery visit, especially if travel or parking costs are likely to be higher than usual.
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Mystery visit trends Our Mystery Visitors are doing a brilliant job and collecting really useful data and observations. Looking at the first five months of the year, some clear themes are emerging around inclusivity and accessibility. Below are some common themes that facilities can implement that , can make a real difference for customers, and may be useful for assessors to include in reports where relevant. • Published transgender inclusion guidance and carers policies on websites. • Clear safe-space messaging displayed in the facility and across digital channels.
• Accessibility video tours for customers with additional access needs on websites. • Customer feedback options, such as QR codes, surveys and feedback stations. • Setting service standards for responding to social media and online enquiries. • Reviewing gym staffing levels and staff visibility on the fitness floor. • Strengthening pre-exercise screening and induction processes for new gym users. • Promoting sustainability initiatives through the website, social media and facility communications.
Report writing – Mystery Visitors We hope you are all getting used to the new questions and format. Our proofreaders have shared a few helpful pointers that are worth keeping in mind: • Read the guidance notes before carrying out a mystery visit and make sure you are clear on what each question is asking. • Keep each answer focused on the specific question. Only include information that has been asked for, and make sure points are recorded against the correct question. • Use clear, easy-to-understand wording. Reread your answers before submitting to check they make sense.
• Use examples rather than general statements and personalise comments to the facility without making them too lengthy. • Check the Assessment Details section, including that the list of areas visited is completed in the correct format. • Check that the correct score has been selected for each question. • When scoring N/A or NT, note the reason in the Strengths section. • If a question is scored ‘Yes’, there must be at least one strength noted. • If there is one or more AFIs, the score should be ‘P’. If a question is scored ‘P’, make sure there is at least one strength noted as well as the AFI.
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• If there are no Strengths noted for a question scored ‘P’, the score should be ‘No’. • Make sure Strengths and AFIs do not contradict each other. • Avoid duplicating points in different questions, especially AFIs, as the facility should only be scored down for an AFI once. • If the facility does not have a café but has vending, note this in Ops Q.29 and score ‘P’. • Check that the facility has a standalone Carer’s Policies where required. • When possiblespeak to at least two staff members and aim to include three face-to-face conversations. • Aim for four answered phone calls, with
up to eight attempts. • Complete at least one online enquiry and one social media enquiry. • Use dialogue boxes for phone calls, online enquiries, social media enquiries and face-to-face conversations. • Don’t add any suggestions turn them into a factual AFI. E.g. “Sadly, there were no big lockers”, rather than “the centre could benefit from long large lockers”. • Read feedback carefully and make sure all comments have been addressed before resubmitting. • Did you know that you can talk into your phone on site, and it will add the text for you. You do need to check it, but it can save you time just press the microphone button.
Report writing – Quest Assessors • Refer back to the mystery visit: If the mystery visit report includes an observation that is different from what you see on assessment day, please raise it on the day. For example, if the mystery visit report highlights cleanliness issues but the facility is spotless during the assessment, you could add an AFI noting that cleaning schedules could be reviewed to help maintain high standards at all times, as the mystery visit
identified cleanliness issues. Similarly, if the mystery visit found lights on in unused areas of the building, but on assessment day you are told that items are on timers, PIRs, staff checks or a BMS matched to programming, an area for improvement could be to review that these systems are in place, match the programming and are supported by refresher training for staff.
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Customer Testimonials We also wanted to share a quick update on customer feedback. After each assessment, we email two different NPS surveys: one the day after the assessment, known as NPS 1, and another after the customer has received their report, known as NPS 2. • NPS 1: 92 at the end of June 2026 • NPS 2: 70 at the end of June 2026 • Combined NPS: 88 at the end of June 2026. These results are fantastic and are a real testament to the care, professionalism and hard work you all bring to Quest. We have received lots of positive quotes and feedback. Here are just a few examples: “Clive put me as ease straight away, he has an amazing presence and kindness about himself. It was obvious that Clive has extensive knowledge within the leisure industry. He was very professional throughout the assessment and gave me valuable feedback for improvements which I have taken on board.” Clive Douglas, assessing Tonbridge Swimming Pool
“Ryan came across very professional and you could see why he had been chosen for this role due to his previous experience in operating and managing facilities. His passion for this industry equally came across and was great to showcase all the fantastic things we do to keep our operational standard to a high level as possible.” Ryan Walker, William assessing Gregg VC Leisure Centre “James was a breath of fresh air, particularly whilst the site was going through managerial changes. Very knowledgeable and referred to experiences which assisted the process” James Bliss, assessing Erith Leisure Centre “Always super friendly and helpful. Contact was made prior to the assessment, which introduced us to each other and put us at ease. David is fantastic, and it was a pleasure to have him. Pointers and knowledge were shared throughout the day. He put everyone at ease, and the team loved chatting to him. We found this year’s Quest visit comfortable and relaxed, which allowed all staff to talk freely. I think Quest is a fantastic experience and should be used to learn and develop” David Constantine, assessing Faringdon Leisure Centre
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Quest Assessor and Mystery Visitor long service We would also love to recognise some of our longer-serving Quest Assessors and Mystery Visitors who have been part of Quest for some time. This is a fantastic achievement, and we wouldn’t be without them!
From the previous quarter we are celebrating: Jimmy Pimblett – 10 Years in May 2026 David Constantine – 25 Years in June 2026 Across this quarter we are celebrating: Caroline Constantine – 25 Years in July 2026 Clare Cardy – 5 Years in September 2026 Richard Burt – 10 Years in September 2026
Moving Communities Customer Experience Survey If you run a leisure centre, are you supporting the Moving Communities Customer Experience Survey? If you haven’t yet registered and would like to take part, please contact Sarah Forster at sarahforster@active-insight.org.
Martyn Hinam (Quest Assessor) We were deeply saddened to hear the news of Martyn Hinam’s recent passing. He was diagnosed with cancer only weeks ago, so his passing was a very sudden shock for us. Martyn was a fantastic centre manager (having achieved outstanding at Longwell Green Leisure Centre) and Quest Assessor. It was a privilege to know and work with him. He will be greatly missed.
Finally, thank you again for everything you do to support Quest and our customers. Your observations, reports and conversations help facilities keep improving and give customers meaningful insight into their services. Please keep sharing feedback, questions and examples of good practice with the Quest team — we are always keen to hear from you and to continue learning together.
www.questaward.org Quest@rightdirections.co.uk