Strengths - positive customer service, always there to help, never ending support, job availability, positive employer relations
Challenges - keeping students motivated, student confidence to get jobs
Laura,
Oh wow...these are important touch points that need to be addressed. What can you do to address the areas related to smoking and signage that you mention?
Dr. Jean Norris
Strengths: Our Front Desk staff greets prospective students by name & with a warm smile, comes out from behind the desk to shake their hand, offers them water or tea. The Admissions Staff then creates good personal connections with students & motivate them to consider our school & career option. On the tour we introduce students to all staff & faculty available so they get a sense of the community & support available here.
Challenges: Our student smoking area is located in the parking lot where prospective students park - I would love to see this relocated for a more positive first impression. We aren't allowed to have signage on certain parts of our shared building (front doors) so it's imperative that our visitors are given explicit directions of where to go when they arrive. Many get frustrated if they can't find us on the first pass.
Gambel,
Good observations. What might you change or do differently based on this insight?
Dr. Jean Norris
The strengths in my department that can be seen by a mystery shopper are the passion that the employees have for their line of work and our program, and the patience that we all have to sit and discuss the program in detail, leaving nothing out. The challenges may be that the student is not asked the right questions to get them to open up more about themselves.
Nicole,
Great insights! You know the old saying, "You only have one chance to make a good first impression!" Some schools/colleges actually have a position known as a Director of First Impressions! :)
Dr. Jean Norris
One of the first challenges I would address in my final report would be when the student first arrives for their admissions appointment. We are a very small campus and we have no receptionist. I think this is a problem becuase they are not greeted right away every time. One of the strenths though would be the attitute of our admissions department. They are always going above and beyond to make the student feel welcome.
All good things to look for, Henry. What would the mystery shopper find if they visited your school this week?
Dr. Jean Norris
If i was a mystery shopper in my department i would look for key points at the final report. For example, were are my questions answered? Did my overview with the FA go smoothly and clearly were i was able to understand all the information given to me. Was the customer service level high and was the FA doing everything they could to help and not just get me into school.
Based on what we see in our assessments you have a valid point. The reputation of your school and the programs you offer will bring a student in, however it's the customer service that will keep them there. In many markets the competition is so stiff that you can't afford to NOT focus on customer service! Thank you for your post Janice.
Dr. Jean Norris
Our strengths in my department would be our commitment in working with our students to ensure that they complete the program. Our students know they can come to us if there are any issues that arise & we can help keep them on their education track. The challenges that arise is that not all of my colleagues keep on top of training outside of our field. It would be beneficial if all my colleagues were to take customer service training. There really should be an overall department consistency especially in regards to customer service.
Having staggered hours is a great strength for sure! The reality of it is that you never know when you will be mystery shopped. Another thought to consider is what would motivate everyone to treat every person that walks through the door as their most important customer (or a mystery shopper).
Dr. Jean Norris
Strengths would be extended office hours for our students. Employees stagger hours so the office is open 7:30 - 5:30 which is good for students needing something before class or after class.
Sometimes there is too much socializing which would definitely be considered a challenge. Professional dress on occasion from front office staff and even from faculty is a challenge as well.
Overall I think if everyone knew they could get mystery shopped, they would try harder b/c you never know who the person is on the phone or at the reception window.
It looks like there are great things going on at your school, Dee. Thank you for your post.
I think we'd get good marks overall. The reception desk is always covered. Admitting folks have been cross trained to handle the calls. It rarely takes more than 3 rings for staff to pick up and answer with the school motto, smile in their tone and ask how they can help. We don't have students taking potential students on tours, we have admitting folks doing that. Whenever I can I try to introduce myself to prospective students. A lot of the admission folks know I'm available if not in class and will introduce them to me and I'll chat with them a bit.
We have a lot of families come here. Husbands and wives, mothers/fathers and children. I'm proud of that. I think we'd get high grades overall.
Our main weakness in my mind is inconsistency of expectations among instructors. Seems it would be easier on students if we all expected work on time, no make up work, expectations that would encourage students to do their best in both general education class and in specific classes for their major. Not sure if students would complain about that, many tend to like those low expectations but it doesn't help prepare them for the work world.
I am the clinic director at our campus,so I would have to say that some of the strengths would be connectedness to students and "going the extra mile" to help them to make the most of their clinic experiences. Challenges would include the ability to balance the business side (running the student clinic) with the academic side of the program.
I think our strength would be our customer service to our clients that come into the salon. Our challenge would be to teach the students how to deal with the clients who are not happy with the service that was provided to them.
I take in pride of saying that our staff works very well together. We always keep each other informed about potential students and students. All of the staff also explains the programs, financial aid, career services, etc. to all students and makes sure that they understand and are always at the students aid if they have any questions or need any help.
Thank you for being honest and recognizing your opportunities. Your students can and do see if there is respect or lack of respect between departments. What can you do to improve the relationship between admissions and financial aid, and to improve the hand off?
Denise, you make a great point. How do you know what information to present to students? This is where your questions play an important role. The questions you ask and the information that you gather will help you tailor the experience to that particular student so that you don't have to go into too much detail about things they don't need to know.
Dr. Jean Norris
