Advisory visits are £395 + inspector’s expenses. Advisory visits are not mandatory.
IQCS annual membership fee is £595. If your company is ISO20252 registered and joins as a member only company then there are no additional costs.
Inspection fees
Inspection fees generally range from £695 – £895.
Advisory visits are relevant to all companies wanting to benefit from yearly audits conducted by our highly experienced inspectors. Most of our inspected members are not ISO20252 registered but some of our members choose to be inspected by the IQCS in addition to the ISO audits for all the reasons described below.
Inspection fees are based on total number of groups and/or face-to-face fieldwork days and/or telephone hours conducted, plus the number of methodologies undertaken in a calendar year. Also the number of sites to be visited are taken into consideration.
Being a member of the IQCS offers exceptional value for money. We are the only quality organisation which offers members direct and active input into market research standards and tailored advice where needed. IQCS council members work for leading research companies, are often members of other quality association boards and ensure that the voice of IQCS member companies is heard in the industry. ISO 20252 standards are based on IQCS standards and IQCS council members are involved in reviewing them.
IQCS Member Benefits
The IQCS member companies directory is a vital part of the IQCS website. Clients from all over the world use this directory to find their suppliers. More than 45% of all hits on the website are directed to the members directory. Other associations charge about the same rate as our annual membership fee just for this service in addition to their membership fee. Our members benefit from this service without additional charge.
We conduct working forums regularly throughout the year and cover hot topics such as changes to data protection regulations, changes to employment law, training of interviewers and supervisors, operational leadership, developments in the industry and related bodies and everything else important to our members. Members’ suggestions for working forums are very welcome and we invite high profile speakers such as representatives from the Information Commissioner’s Office, employment law specialists from leading law firms, key representatives from the Market Research Society and expert operational staff from some of the biggest research firms in the UK to conduct forums. Our members benefit from working forums without additional charge.
We always take every opportunity we can to get our members together to network and share common experiences and knowledge. At our working forums we ensure time is allocated for refreshments and socializing before or after the forum itself. We always finish off the AGM evening with a social – with wine and a delicious buffet, and we host a very well attended New Year’s party which is usually scheduled for February each year. All of these present a chance for people to meet old colleagues or new contacts in data-collection. There is no additional cost to member companies. All this is covered by the annual membership fee.
The IQCS council and Gill, our Administrator, have a wealth of market research experience and are very happy to advise members on everything data-collection related – from quality and operational processes to data-protection. Council members themselves work in all areas of market research, including hands on operations, quality, senior management, small business, telephone and field operations, qualitative / recruitment field, data security, risk management and other quality standards. If we can’t help, however, we will point members to someone with specialist knowledge who can.
Council members are also very active in the industry in other areas and have representation on the MRS Company Partner Scheme (CPS), the Market Research Quality Standards Advisory Board (MRQSAB) and the Association of Qualitative Research (AQR), making sure the IQCS stays well connected within the industry.
Our standards were designed to facilitate quality management and have been refined over the years by the operational stakeholders themselves to ensure that working to IQCS standards will most definitely help you structure and streamline processes – saving both time and money. The council and auditors are here to support applicants on the way and after they have been accepted as IQCS members.
Costs of membership are easily offset by operational cost savings. The focus of the Standards is both on ensuring staff are adequately trained, supported and appraised, as well as providing assurance to clients that consistent quality is maintained. We survey our members annually to continually evaluate the Standards and ensure they are relevant and current. Feedback from members is that they feel that adoption of the Standards produces positive benefits for staff – facilitating their work, helping them feel more productive and appreciated and that client confidence in IQCS accredited data-collection leads to repeat business.
We keep overheads low with the help of IQCS council members and member companies. Council members offer their services free of charge. Meeting space is usually sponsored by council members or by member companies. Auditors plan and combine audits where possible to keep travel and accommodation costs to the bare minimum. This enables us to focus on quality and on supporting our members and most importantly it helps us to keep the membership fee as low as it is now.
