What will the review board meeting be like?
The review board meeting is a virtual meeting using GoToMeeting. We recommend you acquaint yourself with GoToMeeting before the review data. New to GoToMeeting? You can get the app now and be ready
when the review board meeting starts: GoToMeeting We will get together for 2 hours. After introductions, you will have
- around 45 minutes for your presentation of single solution certifications,
- then we allocate around 15-30 minutes to Q&A. Directors will use this time to ask whatever detail or clarification questions they have.
After the Q&A we say goodbye to you and internally discuss process questions the directors might have. We will NOT discuss the case or come to a common vote to ensure independent, unbiased, and diverse voting and comments from the directors.
Who will be on our review board?
A minimum of three Customer Institute directors will be present to review and score your solution. We intentionally do not communicate the names of the participating directors in advance and do not offer the option to
hand-pick your review board from the list of available directors.
However, during the application process you have the option to EXCLUDE directors from your project should they work too closely to your market or target group or in case you have concerns about any individual director being on your review board.
What kind of presentation do you expect from us?
Our directors will have to score your presented solution as per our published criteria. You can make the directors’ review job easier, if you try to address how you are meeting those criteria during your presentation.
Other than that, it is your choice how to structure your presentation and which material to show.
If you are – for example – presenting a training program for certification, then we would like to understand the underlying structure, the delivery process, and look at the presentation material from a bird view (e.g., in PowerPoint’s thumbnail view) and then dive into selected detail to get a feeling for the quality of the detailed execution. We do not need to review each individual slide of a presentation.
Can we bring more than one colleague to the review board meeting?
Yes, you are not limited in the number of colleagues you bring to the review board meeting. However, we recommend to only bring contributors and not observers to the meeting to keep the atmosphere interactive.
Should we assume that our submitted material has been read by all members of the review board?
The submitted material is used to check your solution’s eligibility for certification as well as an optional re-read for the directors. Please do not assume that all members of the review board have read all your material.
Instead, please present what is needed to determine how much your solution meets our certification criteria.
Can we present something different than what we submitted during the application?
As long as you still present the solution you applied for, you are free to choose different or updated material to support your case. The submitted material is used to check your solution’s eligibility for certification as well as an optional re-read for the directors. The scoring will happen based on the material you present during the review board meeting. If you plan to present different material than what you submitted with your application, please send it to our office before the review board meeting.
What happens after the review board meeting?
Directors have 2-3 days to submit their scoring to the institute’s certification office. There, it takes a few days to aggregate the scorings and the directors’ comments, determine passing or failing the certification, and – in case of passing – prepare the certification deliverables like the certificate, the badge, the online badge authentication, etc.
As a rule of thumb, you can expect to hear your results within a week after the review board meeting.
If we fail certification, will we get a refund of our certification fee?
No, the certification fee does not guarantee passing of the certification, but – instead – covers the process of organizing the review board meeting for you. No matter the certification result, you will receive a detailed scoring from each director together with comments by certification criteria highlighting the strengths and improvement opportunities for your presented solution.
If we pass, how long is our certification valid for?
Your certification is valid for two years. The Customer Institute offers reduced fees for re-certification after those two years.
If we pass certification, what will we get?
After a successful review board meeting you will receive:
- A detailed summary of the directors’ scoring by certification criteria.
- A detailed summary of (anonymized) comments directors had regarding your solution.
- A certification document.
- A certification logo in digital format for you to use in your electronic or physical collateral. The logo has an authentication link and validity data included in the design and must be used with both included.
We recommend to also link digital uses of the logo to the authentication page. - A visual to celebrate your successful certification in social media or on your digital properties.
