Best practices in higher education service delivery to students.

1. Creating a WOW
Service
Experience
Presented by Dr. Jim Black
President & CEO of SEM Works

2. • Needs and Expectations of Today’s Students
• Institutional Promise
• Three Key Ingredients of WOW Service
Delivery
• Best Practices in Student Services
• Essential Service Skills and Strategies

4. Delivering WOW
Service

5. WOW Service is not…
• Suggesting a business model for customer
service
• Aligning with “the customer is always right”
philosophy
• Allowing students to escape their
responsibilities
• Reducing or eliminating consequences for
the actions or inactions of students
• Implying that opportunities for student
success should be artificially enhanced

6. College-Centered vs. Student-Centered

7. Need and
Expectations of
Today’s Students

8. Zero tolerance for delays.
High tech, high touch services.
Emerging Trends
Consumer expectations.
Seeking edutainment.
Diverse students with diverse needs.
1
2
3
4
5

9. Today’s Students Needs/Expectations
 Speed
 Convenience
 Customization
 Seamless and intuitive
 High tech and high touch
 Educational vs.
transactional

10. Advising
Registration
Paying
the Bill
Student Success
INTEGRATEDSTUDENTSERVICES
Source: UNC
Orientation
The Student Experience
Admission

11. The Student Economy
Service
Economy
Experience
Economy

12. What they sell is the ability for a 43
year-old accountant to dress in black
leather, ride through small towns,
and have people be afraid of him.
Harley Davidson does NOT sell
motorcycles...

13. Disney does NOT sell rides...
What they sell are memories and
experiences… the Tower of Terror…
character breakfast… clean amusement
parks… cast members, etc.

14. The student, not the institution, will define what learning is,
how it is to happen, and when and where it occurs. Students
with increased alternatives for learning will also have higher
expectations for the level of individualized service provided by
the non-teaching staff and regarding the services surrounding
the learning. Source: Community College of Baltimore County

15. Institutional
Promise

16. 1
2
3
5
46
FROM TO
Understanding
the Promise
Living the
Promise
Operationalizing
the Promise
Delivering on the Promise
Conveying
the Promise
Defining the
Promise
The Power of
Congruence
Claims Delivery
Expectation = Reality

17. Sample Institutional Promise
Preparing
Futures
Education that
is Relevant
Connections
with People
A Place that
Supports
Success
Pathways to
Opportunities

18. Sample Promise
Inspire success
and self-reliance
Service Philosophy
Every encounter
with a student is a
teachable moment
to inspire success
and self-reliance.

19. Sample Promise Pillars

20. Delivering on the Promise
Institutional
Promise
Student
Experience
Employee
Experience
Moments
of Truth
Institutional
Experience
Institutional
Loyalty

21. Institutional Loyalty
 competitive
advantage
 student satisfaction
 “word of mouth”
recruiting
 student retention
 student loyalty
 fundraising
 institutional image
 institutional vitality

22. Three Key
Ingredients of
WOW Service
Delivery

23. Keeping the Promise
Promise
Elements
Process

24. The bottom line…
There is no chance to create a WOW
service experience if systems, processes,
and policies are dysfunctional or unreliable.

25. Managing Moments of Truth
We have thousands
of moments of truth
every day.
How we manage
them enhances or
erodes school loyalty.

26. Service
Dimension Definition
Reliability 30% The ability to perform the promised
service dependably and accurately.
Responsiveness 25% The willingness to help customers and
provide prompt service.
Assurance 20%
The knowledge and courtesy of
employees and their ability to convey
trust and confidence.
Empathy 18% The caring, individualized attention
provided to the customer.
Tangibles 7% The appearance of facilities, equipment,
personnel, and communication materials.
Defining Quality Service

27. Execution is Everything!
People – the only sustainable
competitive advantage that exists.

28. Motivation vs. Competencies
High
Low
Low High
Positive
attitude but
frustrated
High
performing
Unproductive,
possibly
counter-
productive
Capable but
frustrated

30. Student Satisfaction Factors
• Faculty and staff attitudes
• Personalization of services and instruction
• Problem solving ability
• Information access and usability
• Information accuracy and reliability
• Service and instructional efficiency
• Responsiveness
• Message handling
• Student runaround

31. Process Reengineering

32. I just want
to start my
college
experience.
Process-Oriented Services
Get
Admitted
Pay for
Classes
Register
for
Classes
Select
Classes
Become a
Student
Attend
Orientation

33. Wayfinding
Submit/Request
Information
Apply for
Financial
Aid
Apply for
Admission
Are all
credentials
in?
Admit
Decision
Get
Advised
Take
Placement
Test
Register for
Classes
Pay for
Classes

34. Wayfinding
• Intuitive signage
• Kiosks
• Visual process maps
• “Steps to” diagrams
• Process-oriented labeling
• Intuitive information
architecture
• Screencasts
• Streaming video
• English language query
tools
• Help agents

35. Critical Processes
• Campus visits
• Student inquiries
• Admissions processing
• Communications flow
• Student enrollment
• Orientation
• Academic advising and
registration
• Paying for college
• Class scheduling
• Degree planning

36. The Campus Visit Experience

37. The Pre-Arrival Experience
Online (form) or phone visit reservations
Rapid acknowledgement
Campus directions (Google map, MapQuest,
or GPS coordinates)
Links to area hotel accommodations
Flight information
Visit agenda
Tour guide information

38. Adapted from:Campus Visits and College Interviews
by Zola Dincin Schneider.
Source: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/find-
colleges/campus-visit-guide/campus-visit-checklist

39. The Arrival Experience
Welcome signage or banners on
campus
Welcoming gate personnel
Reserved parking
Intuitive pathway from parking to the
tour launch point
Best location
Tour launch and presentation
environment
Welcome by Admissions staff

40.  Reception area
 Visual impact (paint,
plants, pictures,
signage)
 Auditory impact
(background noise and
music)
 Emotional impact
(school paraphernalia,
student and alumni
success stories,
outcomes by the
numbers)
 Display rack
 Umbrellas
 Refreshments
 Multimedia

41. Design first impressions
Create a “signature
moment”
Personalize the visit
Engender emotion
Have visitors live your
institution through
hands-on experiences
Surprise your visitors
The Campus Visit Experience

42. The Presentation
Information light
Visual heavy
Takeaways
Know your audience
Customize based on audience interests
Content
 Key institutional selling points (academic and
student life)
 Storytelling
 Enrollment steps
 Financial aid basics
 A preview of the campus tour

43. The Campus Tour
The “Money Walk”
Tour guide affinity matching
Tour guide skill development
 Presentation skills
 Listening skills
 Group dynamics
Cell phones
Attire
Time management
The tour
guide is
the tour.

44. Post-Visit Experience
Personal note from tour guide
Faculty contact
Alumni contact
Tour evaluation (impact on decision
to enroll)

45. Best Practices in
Student Services

46. Integrated Services

47. Strategy Worksheet
Strategy Domain Vision Functionality/
Scope
Service
Protocols
Roles &
Responsi-
bilities
Capacity
Requirements
One-Stop
Unified
Student
Experience
Contact Center
Website/
Social Media
Communi-
cations
Virtual Service
Knowledge
Management

48. Integrated Services
One-stop
Services
No-stop
Services
Any-st op
ServicesCo-location &
integration of
services
Two clicks
to truth
Knowledge
Management

49. One-Stop Services

50. A Campus-wide Service Philosophy
A service philosophy is
a shared ethos that
guides organizational
and individual
behavior affecting
interactions with those
you serve.

51.  Inbound calls (enrollment and financial aid)
 Email responses
 Web chat
 Social media
No-Stop Services

53. Integration of
English
language
query tool,
web chat, and
video
tutorials.
No-Stop Services

54. Portal Strategy

55. Website Strategy

56. Website Strategy

57. Any-Stop Services

58. Any-Stop Services

59. Essential Service
Skills and
Strategies

60. Communication Channels
In Person Phone Mail Email Digital
Media
Social
Media
How can we
best connect with
and serve our
students?

61. In Person Strategies
• Listen before you speak
• Ask open-ended questions
• Parrot back what you think you have
heard
• Choose the right words
• Add welcome words to your vocabulary
• Avoid jargon
• Speak professionally
• Review the main points

62. In Person Strategies
• Make sure your tone matches the
message
• Demonstrate empathy
• Smile
• Make eye contact
• Have an inviting posture
• Reflect your institution’s personality

63. Phone Strategies
Call me. I want to
know you care about
me as a future
student at your
school.

64. Phone Strategies
• Answer with a smile
• Answer with energy
• Answer on the first ring
• Maintain an inviting
posture
• Plan your greeting
• Establish a rapport
• Put your best ear
forward
• Write down key points

65. Phone Strategies
• Give the caller your full
attention
• Show your human side
• Recap any action you
may be taking on the
callers behave
• Ask if you can help with
anything else
• Provide your name
again
• Thank the person for
calling

66. Mail Strategies
• Centrally coordinated
• Multiple authors
• Personalization
• Tone
• Tailored messages
• Proof points
• A call to action
• The power of the P.S.
• Enclosures

67. Email Strategies
• Personalization
• Tailored messages
• Driving traffic
• XTML vs. text only
• Multimedia
• Third party validation
• A call to action

68. Social Media Strategies
Go where they are.
Engage. Don’t communicate.

69. Social Media Strategies
• Listen and engage
• Permission-based
• No creeping
• The human touch
• Targeted ads
• Pay per click
• Event promotion
• Becoming a fan

70. Relationship
Management
Student
Communications
Delivering on the
institution’s
promise
Deadlines, support services,
service tutorials, degree
completion
Individual needs and
service and learning
preferences
Missed deadlines, early
interventions, policy
implications
Awareness of services
offered, service hours,
service benefits
Current Student Communications

71. Learner
Attributes
Learner Needs
Audience-based
Messages
Calls to Action
Trans-
actional
Learner
Engagement
Relationship
Management
Success
Building
Audience Messaging

72. AlumGraduate4th Term3rd Term2nd Term1st TermEnrolledAdmitAppInquiry
Inquiry
Generation
& Cultivation
Admit
Conversion
Application
Completion
Student Success
Behaviors & Plan,
Academic & Social
Integration
Mentoring
Relationships,
Program Affinity,
Career Guidance
Initial
Enrollment
Transition
Student
Engagement,
Sense of
Community
Career Guidance,
Completion
Strategies,
Loyalty
Transition,
Loyalty
Loyalty,
Employment,
Advanced Education
Former
Students
Current
Students
Future
Students

73. Enrollment
Stage
Communication Audience
Delivery
Method
Timeline Objective
Effectiveness
Measure
Continued
Enrollment
Postcard announcement
regarding priority
registration and meeting
with advisors
non-
graduating
students
Mail October/
March
register for
classes
number of
registered
students
Banners and fliers
advertising priority
registration
continuing
students
Display October/
March
register for
classes
number of
registered
students
Ad in school paper
advertising priority
registration
continuing
students
News-
paper
October/
March
register for
classes
number of
registered
students
Web banner promoting
priority registration with
link to registration
system
continuing
students
E-mail,
Web
October/
March
register for
classes
number of
registered
students
Reminder to register for
classes before leaving
for the semester
non-
registrants
E-mail,
auto-
mated
phone
message,
Web
posting
December
/April
register for
classes
number of
registered
students
Campaign encouraging
eligible students to use
financial aid funds for
Summer I classes
continuing
students with
remaining
financial aid
eligibility
Mail April register for
Summer I
classes
number of
registered
students

74. www.semworks.net