1. Purpose

Elite Offshore Academy is committed to maintaining a transparent, fair and improvement-focused feedback system. Feedback is a critical input for training effectiveness, safety, learner welfare, course development, assessment integrity and customer satisfaction.

The purpose of this Actionable Feedback Policy is to ensure that feedback is not merely collected, but is assessed, assigned, acted upon, communicated and reviewed for measurable improvement.

2. Scope

This policy applies to feedback received from all stakeholders, including learners, delegates, candidates, course sponsors, shipping and offshore clients, employers, trainers, assessors, employees, contractors, suppliers, visitors, auditors and regulatory or accreditation representatives.

It covers feedback related to course enquiry, admission, joining instructions, training delivery, practical exercises, assessments, examinations, certification support, certificate verification, facility conditions, safety arrangements, learner welfare, communication, administration, customer service and post-course support.

3. Policy Statement

Elite Offshore Academy will maintain an accessible, respectful and evidence-based feedback process. All feedback will be reviewed objectively and used to support continual improvement while protecting confidentiality, fairness and professional conduct.

Feedback will be welcomed from all stakeholders without fear of retaliation, bias or disadvantage.
Feedback will be recorded in a manner that allows follow-up, trend analysis and corrective action.
Urgent safety, welfare, discrimination, harassment, assessment integrity or certificate-related concerns will be escalated promptly.
Actions arising from feedback will be assigned to responsible persons with target completion dates where appropriate.
The outcome of feedback will be communicated to the person providing feedback when contact details are available and confidentiality permits.
Feedback trends will be reviewed periodically by management as part of continual improvement and quality assurance.

4. Definitions

4.1 Feedback

Feedback means any comment, compliment, suggestion, concern, observation, complaint or improvement idea received from a stakeholder in relation to Elite Offshore Academy’s services, conduct, facilities, training or support activities.

4.2 Actionable Feedback

Actionable feedback is feedback that identifies a specific issue, risk, opportunity, expectation or improvement area that can be reviewed and addressed through a defined action, response, correction, preventive action or management decision.

4.3 Complaint

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction that requires investigation, response and documented closure. Complaints may relate to service quality, conduct, fairness, safety, welfare, assessment, administration or certification support.

4.4 Corrective Action

Corrective action is an action taken to eliminate the cause of a nonconformity, recurring issue or justified complaint and to prevent recurrence.

5. Feedback Channels

Feedback may be submitted through one or more of the following channels, depending on availability and suitability:

Course feedback forms completed during or after training.
Email, phone, website enquiry forms or direct communication with administration staff.
Face-to-face feedback to trainers, assessors, coordinators or management.
Client review meetings, sponsor communications or post-course discussions.
Internal staff meetings, trainer debriefs, assessment reviews or management reviews.
Audits, inspections, verification checks, incident reports or nonconformity reports.
Social media, online reviews or other public feedback channels where relevant.

Where anonymous feedback is received, the Academy will review it in good faith. However, anonymous feedback may limit the ability to investigate fully or provide a direct response.

6. Feedback Classification and Response Expectations

Feedback Type	Examples	Minimum Action	Target Response
Appreciation / positive feedback	Compliments on trainer, course material, facility or support	Record and share with relevant team; consider as good practice	Within 7 working days
Suggestion for improvement	Ideas to improve joining instructions, course delivery, handouts, assessments or logistics	Review feasibility, assign owner and action where practical	Within 10 working days
Dissatisfaction / concern	Issues with behaviour, fairness, communication, facilities, scheduling or learner support	Acknowledge, investigate and communicate corrective action or outcome	Acknowledge within 2 working days; close target within 15 working days
Safety or welfare issue	Unsafe conditions, harassment concern, health risk, emergency readiness issue	Escalate immediately to management; control risk and document action	Immediate acknowledgement; urgent action same day where required
Assessment or certification feedback	Assessment fairness, marking consistency, evidence, certificate accuracy or verification concern	Review against assessment and certification procedure; correct records if needed	Acknowledge within 2 working days; close target within 15 working days

7. Responsibilities

7.1 Management

Ensure the feedback system is implemented, resourced and reviewed.
Promote a culture where feedback is welcomed and acted upon.
Review trends, repeated issues, high-risk feedback and corrective actions.
Approve major changes to policy, procedure, facilities, staffing or training arrangements arising from feedback.

7.2 Quality Manager / Responsible Officer

Maintain the feedback register, complaint records and action tracker.
Classify feedback and assign actions to relevant owners.
Monitor deadlines, evidence of completion and closure status.
Include feedback trends in quality reviews and management review meetings.

7.3 Trainers and Assessors

Encourage learners to provide honest and constructive feedback.
Respond professionally to feedback received during training.
Escalate concerns relating to safety, welfare, fairness, assessment integrity or learner support.
Participate in course review, root cause analysis and improvement actions.

7.4 Administration and Support Staff

Record feedback received through enquiry, registration, payment, logistics and certificate support channels.
Route feedback to the appropriate responsible person without unnecessary delay.
Maintain respectful and clear communication with learners, clients and stakeholders.

7.5 Learners, Candidates and Clients

Provide feedback honestly, respectfully and as specifically as possible.
Raise urgent safety or welfare concerns immediately.
Provide supporting information where necessary to allow proper review and resolution.

8. Feedback Handling Procedure

Receive and acknowledge feedback through the relevant channel.
Record the feedback in a feedback register, complaint log, quality record or equivalent system.
Classify the feedback by type, urgency, risk level and responsible function.
Determine whether immediate containment, safety control, learner support or management escalation is required.
Assign an owner and target date for review or action where the feedback is actionable.
Investigate objectively using available evidence, including course records, assessment records, communications, attendance records, facility checks or staff interviews where required.
Decide the appropriate response, such as correction, explanation, improvement action, preventive action, apology, retraining, process update or management decision.
Communicate the outcome to the feedback provider where contact details are available and disclosure is appropriate.
Verify completion of actions and close the record with evidence.
Review recurring themes and use the results for continual improvement.

9. Escalation Requirements

Feedback must be escalated to management without delay when it involves:

Immediate safety risk, unsafe act, unsafe condition or emergency preparedness concern.
Learner welfare, harassment, discrimination, bullying, abuse or dignity concern.
Allegation of bribery, corruption, fraud, misconduct or unethical behaviour.
Assessment malpractice, conflict of interest, unfair assessment or certificate authenticity concern.
Serious client dissatisfaction, legal risk, accreditation risk or potential reputational harm.
Repeated complaints or repeated negative feedback in the same course, trainer, process or facility area.

10. Making Feedback Actionable

To support meaningful action, Elite Offshore Academy will encourage feedback providers and staff to capture the following details wherever possible:

Course name, date, batch number, location or mode of delivery.
Specific issue, observation or suggestion.
Impact on safety, learning, assessment, customer experience, compliance or operational efficiency.
Supporting evidence such as photographs, emails, records, names of relevant persons or examples.
Suggested improvement or expected outcome, where known.
Contact details for follow-up, unless the provider wishes to remain anonymous.

Staff receiving vague feedback should make reasonable efforts to clarify the issue respectfully without pressuring the feedback provider.

11. Non-Retaliation and Fair Treatment

No learner, candidate, employee, trainer, assessor, client or other stakeholder will be penalized, disadvantaged or treated unfairly for raising feedback, a concern or a complaint in good faith.

The Academy will not tolerate retaliation, intimidation, victimisation or adverse treatment connected with feedback submission, complaint participation or cooperation in an investigation.

12. Confidentiality and Data Protection

Feedback records may contain personal, training, assessment, employment or client information. Such information must be handled with care and shared only with persons who have a legitimate need to know for review, investigation, action or compliance purposes.

Where feedback involves sensitive personal matters, learner welfare, discrimination, harassment, assessment integrity or misconduct, confidentiality must be maintained as far as practicable while allowing proper investigation and lawful or contractual obligations to be met.

13. Feedback in Training and Assessment Quality Assurance

Feedback will be used as an input to training and assessment quality assurance. Relevant findings may be used to update lesson plans, presentations, practical exercises, assessment briefs, marking guidance, joining instructions, communication templates, facility arrangements and instructor development plans.

Assessment-related feedback will be reviewed with due regard to fairness, evidence, competence standards, assessor independence and applicable course requirements. Feedback will not be used to improperly influence assessment outcomes or certification decisions.

14. Complaints and Appeals Interface

Where feedback constitutes a complaint, it must be handled in accordance with the Academy’s complaint handling process. Where feedback relates to assessment outcome disagreement, certification decision or assessment fairness, it may be treated as an appeal or referred to the appropriate assessment review process.

A person submitting feedback should be informed when their feedback is being managed under a more specific complaints, appeals, ethics, safety or disciplinary procedure.

15. Records and Evidence

The Academy will maintain records sufficient to demonstrate that feedback has been reviewed and acted upon. Records may include feedback forms, emails, feedback registers, complaint logs, investigation notes, action trackers, meeting minutes, evidence of completion and management review outputs.

Records should be retained in accordance with applicable legal, quality management, accreditation, contractual and internal retention requirements.

16. Monitoring, Review and Continual Improvement

Feedback data will be periodically reviewed to identify trends, repeated issues, good practices, training needs, resource gaps, customer expectations and opportunities for preventive improvement.

Management review may consider indicators such as learner satisfaction, complaint closure time, recurring causes, trainer performance trends, facility feedback, assessment feedback, certificate support issues and effectiveness of corrective actions.

17. Communication and Awareness

This policy should be communicated to employees, trainers, assessors and relevant contractors. Learners and clients should be informed that feedback is welcome and that concerns can be raised through available communication channels.

Staff involved in feedback handling should be aware of the importance of respectful communication, confidentiality, timely escalation, objective review and evidence-based closure.

18. Review of this Policy

This policy shall be reviewed at least annually or earlier if required due to changes in law, accreditation requirements, customer requirements, organisational structure, course portfolio, quality management system or significant feedback trends.