Understanding Secret Swimmers

Overview

Secret Swimmer is Drowning Prevention Australia's independent aquatic facility assessment program, designed to provide an objective evaluation of operational performance from the perspective of a customer visiting your facility.

Formerly known as Mystery Guest, Secret Swimmer has evolved into a comprehensive digital assessment platform that measures much more than customer experience. Assessments are undertaken independently by trained Drowning Prevention Australia assessors and provide facilities with valuable insights into operational performance, compliance with best practice and opportunities for continuous improvement.

Unlike the Assessment section of Assessment Manager, where facilities complete self-assessments, Secret Swimmer assessments are completed independently by Drowning Prevention Australia. The Secret Swimmer section within Assessment Manager provides facilities with access to their assessment results and performance over time.

What Does Secret Swimmer Measure?

Secret Swimmer currently assesses facilities across three key operational areas:

• Aquatic Supervision

• Customer Experience

• Facility Presentation

Each section contains a number of modules and assessment criteria that are designed to evaluate how the facility is performing from both an operational and customer perspective.

Together, these assessments provide an independent view of the customer journey and the effectiveness of day-to-day operations.

How Are Secret Swimmer Assessments Completed?

Secret Swimmer assessments are undertaken by trained Drowning Prevention Australia assessors who visit facilities without identifying themselves to operational staff.

During the visit, the assessor observes facility operations, evaluates performance against a structured assessment framework and records notes and observations using Assessment Manager.

Once the assessment has been completed, the results become available within the Secret Swimmer section of Assessment Manager, allowing facilities to review their performance and identify opportunities for improvement.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Open the Secret Swimmers Section

From the main navigation menu, select Secret Swimmers.

This will open the Secret Swimmer area of Assessment Manager, where you can review both your overall Secret Swimmer performance and the results of individual assessments undertaken at your facility.

Step 2: Understand the Two Secret Swimmer Views

The Secret Swimmer section contains two separate views.

The first view provides a dashboard summarising the average results of all Secret Swimmer assessments undertaken during the selected period. The second view provides a register of every individual Secret Swimmer assessment completed for your facility.

Together, these views allow facilities to understand both long-term performance trends and the detailed results of individual visits.

Step 3: Review Overall Performance

The Secret Swimmer Dashboard provides an overview of your facility's average performance across all completed Secret Swimmer assessments.

This information helps identify consistent strengths, recurring opportunities for improvement and changes in performance over time.

Step 4: Review Individual Assessments

The Individual Assessments tab allows users to review each Secret Swimmer visit separately.

Selecting an individual assessment provides access to detailed assessment information, including maturity ratings, assessor observations and comments recorded during that visit.

Step 5: Use the Results to Support Improvement

Secret Swimmer assessments provide an independent perspective of how your facility is performing during normal operations.

Review the findings with your leadership team and staff, celebrate areas of strong performance and identify practical actions that can further improve the customer experience, facility presentation and aquatic supervision.

Tips and Best Practice

Secret Swimmer assessments provide valuable independent feedback and should be considered alongside your facility's self-assessments within Assessment Manager.

Rather than focusing on a single assessment, review performance across multiple Secret Swimmer visits to identify trends and determine whether improvement activities are producing measurable outcomes.

Sharing Secret Swimmer results with supervisors and operational teams can also help reinforce good practice and encourage a culture of continuous improvement throughout the facility.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Secret Swimmer?

Secret Swimmer is Drowning Prevention Australia's independent assessment program that evaluates facility performance through unannounced visits by trained assessors.

Is Secret Swimmer the same as Mystery Guest?

No. Secret Swimmer is the next evolution of the former Mystery Guest program. While it builds on the same concept of independent facility assessments, it has been significantly expanded to provide a comprehensive digital assessment platform covering Aquatic Supervision, Customer Experience and Facility Presentation, together with real-time dashboards, detailed maturity ratings and assessor observations that provide much deeper operational insights.

Can I edit a Secret Swimmer assessment?

No. Secret Swimmer assessments are completed independently by Drowning Prevention Australia and cannot be edited within Assessment Manager.

What areas are assessed?

Secret Swimmer currently assesses Aquatic Supervision, Customer Experience and Facility Presentation.

How should I use Secret Swimmer results?

Secret Swimmer results should be used to recognise strengths, identify improvement opportunities and support continuous improvement across your facility.