Mystery

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Mystery
Mystery
Shopping
Shopping
Promoting Quality in One-Stop Career Centers
Region V Disabilities Training Forum March 3,
2004
eta
EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION UNITED
STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
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Mystery Shopping Environmental ScanThemes

• Widely used in the private sector and
  increasingly in the public sector
• Shoppers pose as customers to evaluate quality
  and consistency of customer service
• Measures performance against a set of
  standards/expectations
• Provides a third party objective view

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Mystery Shopping Environmental ScanOne Stop
Career Center Results

• The snapshot revealed
• 10 states have programs ( Alaska, District of
  Columbia, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, New York,
  South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington)
• Some WIBs in six states have programs (
  Florida, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania,
  Washington, West Virginia)
• 10 other states expressed interest

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Mystery Shopping Environmental ScanOne Stop
Career Center Results

• Obstacles to implementation include
• Lack of funds
• Fear factor or the gotcha syndrome
• Lack of knowledge on how to set up a program

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Mystery Shopping Environmental ScanOne-Stop
Career Center Case Studies

• State-Led
• Michigan
• New York
• South Carolina
• Texas
• Washington

• Locally-Led
• High Country Region, North Carolina
• Pacific Mountain Partnership, Washington
• Philadelphia Workforce Investment Area,
  Pennsylvania
• Walla Walla, Washington

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Mystery Shopping Environmental ScanCritical
Components

• Involvement of all affected parties
• Clear set of locally developed standards
• Questionnaire designed to measure service
  standard/expectations
• Staff Training on the service standards/expectatio
  ns
• Recognition program
• Analysis and use of results for continuous
  improvement

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Mystery Shopping Environmental ScanKey Findings

• Mystery shopping can be a used to improve service
  quality
• Mystery shopping should be built around critical
  components and expectations
• Mystery shopping should be integrated with other
  quality initiatives

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Mystery Shopping Approach

• Qualitative and quantitative data collection
• Shop in-person, by phone, email and web
• Diverse shoppers including
• Small business
• Individuals with disabilities
• Limited or non-English speakers
• Common categories
• Physical facilities
• Knowledge, skills, helpfulness of staff
• Quality of resources available

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Mystery Shopping Next Steps

• ETA articulates One-Stop expectations
• ETA operates mystery shopping within the context
  of defined One-Stop expectations
• Mystery shoppers will include a variety of job
  seekers and employers, including people with
  disabilities