What's the difference between a complaint and a corrective action?

A complaint is an incoming report (from a learner or a client). A corrective action is what you do internally to address that complaint or any other identified gap. One complaint can generate one or more corrective actions.

Must a corrective action be linked to a complaint?

No. You can create a standalone corrective action — for example, following an internal audit, a poor survey result, or a team initiative.

How can I prove to a Qualiopi auditor that I have an improvement plan?

Certeef's Continuous Improvement module is your documentary proof: actions are dated, tracked, and linked to their root causes. You can export them to present during an audit.

Can a corrective action be assigned to a team member?

Yes, each corrective action can be assigned to an administrator in your workspace. The assigned person sees the action in their pending tasks.

Continuous improvement plan

Create corrective actions following a complaint, a drop-out or a Qualiopi gap, track their progress and close them.

Updated on June 14, 2026 Read: 5 min

Continuous improvement is a core Qualiopi requirement. Certeef lets you formalise every corrective action, link it to its root cause, and track its resolution.

Prerequisites

Administrator role.

1. Access continuous improvement

In the sidebar, click Continuous improvement. You see all open corrective actions, sorted by creation date.

2. Create a corrective action

Click + New action.
Enter a clear title describing the gap to correct.
Choose a root cause from the options (complaint, survey result, audit gap, internal initiative, drop-out).
If the cause is an existing complaint in Certeef, link it via the Linked complaint field.
Set a due date and optionally assign the action to a team member.
Click Save.

Tip: be specific in the title — it serves as documentary evidence during an audit. Prefer “Reduce contract delivery time to D-10” over “Improve contracts”.

3. Add steps to the action

From the action detail page, click + Add a step to break the action into sub-tasks. Each step can be marked as complete independently.

4. Close an action

Once the gap is resolved:

Open the action’s detail page.
Fill in a closing comment explaining what was put in place.
Click Close action.

The action moves to “Completed” status and remains available in the history.

Important: do not delete completed actions — they are your proof of continuous improvement for Qualiopi renewal audits.

Next steps

Handle a complaint — the complaint that can initiate a corrective action.
Track drop-outs — drop-outs can also trigger corrective actions.
Understanding the compliance dashboard — Qualiopi gaps to address.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between a complaint and a corrective action?: A complaint is an incoming report (from a learner or a client). A corrective action is what you do internally to address that complaint or any other identified gap. One complaint can generate one or more corrective actions.
Must a corrective action be linked to a complaint?: No. You can create a standalone corrective action — for example, following an internal audit, a poor survey result, or a team initiative.
How can I prove to a Qualiopi auditor that I have an improvement plan?: Certeef's Continuous Improvement module is your documentary proof: actions are dated, tracked, and linked to their root causes. You can export them to present during an audit.
Can a corrective action be assigned to a team member?: Yes, each corrective action can be assigned to an administrator in your workspace. The assigned person sees the action in their pending tasks.