Quality Control and Accountability

quality control The Massachusetts Export Center is part of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (MSBDC) Network. Both the Massachusetts Export Center and the MSBDC Network place great importance on monitoring and measuring the quality, return on investment, and economic impact of the services that we provide.

Below are measures that we have in place to ensure that we are focusing on our mission and delivering the best service possible to exporters in Massachusetts:

Individual staff members are assigned annual deliverables across a number of different areas, including: number of clients assisted; number of direct counseling hours provided to clients; number of long-term clients assisted; training programs organized; export impact generated; and more.
Staff members have detailed reporting requirements for performance on deliverables and work on other projects.
All staff members are required to receive at least 24 hours of professional development training each year to ensure that they are staying current on the latest export trends and issues affecting clients.
All staff members are required to take the Certified Global Business Professional (CGBP) exam and achieve the CGBP credential, which demonstrates knowledge and competency in the field of international trade.
All clients are surveyed by the MSBDC state office for overall satisfaction and quality control. Clients receiving over five hours of assistance are also surveyed by phone.
All possible client successes are surveyed annually for export economic impact.
The Export Center operating plan is updated annually with input from all staff. This plan is based on the overall MSBDC strategic plan.
Annual programmatic reviews are conducted by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Accreditation reviews are conducted every four years by the Association of Small Business Development Centers. Accreditation standards meet Baldrige National Quality Program requirements.