This week, I was out of town completing an assessment of the customer service experience at a college.
This is the second trip I have made, so I decided that in addition to the staff I was planning to speak to, it was important to get a first-hand account of the customer service experience from the perspective of a student.
I had just put my handy "note-taking-book" down, when a student walked up to the desk that I was observing, looking rather confused and unsure of what his next steps should be.
I recognized that deer in the headlights look...
not only from the years that I worked at a community college, but also because several years ago, that same scared yet eager potential student was me.
It is very easy to point someone in a direction and send them on their way, but sometimes we have to look a little beyond that and notice when someone needs our help guiding them along an unfamiliar path.
Knowing this, I offered to walk him over to the advising and registration area, but not before asking him several questions along the way.
Intrigued by his experience, I was eager to see what he was going to experience from his initial inquiry to his actual enrollment...
so I asked if he would mind if I shadowed him throughout the entire process.
I felt it was important to walk in his shoes for a short time.
As I expected, there were some miscommunications, delays and frustrations with not knowing exactly what to do and how to effectively navigate through the enrollment process...
but 4 hours later, he became a registered student.
As I sit here now, I reflect on this fact: If more of us who are responsible for providing student services could focus more on the end goal of achieving student success and walking through their institutions in the students shoes, the perspective would be different...
as would the method with which customer service is delivered.
I am well aware that most colleges are currently experiencing double digit enrollment growth, but I am equally aware that this is a cyclical trend based on economic conditions.
This translates into realizing that this increased growth has an expiration date.
It will naturally begin to decline when the economy picks up.
One way to help sustain this growth is to focus on quality customer service.
An easy way to do this is to physically step back from our day to day activities and experience what happens when we take that extra step, when we show that we care and that we will partner with each prospective student to help lead them down the path that will lead them to academic success.
Prior to my week at that college, it had been many years since I was that student, a person longing for someone to show me the ropes, and to help me navigate the pitfalls that could prevent me from reaching my goals.
Walking with that student, those feelings came rushing back and solidified my desire to help improve the process for all potential students.
Improving each student's individual enrollment experience is a key element in the college success equation.
It is simple..
..
If enrollment is a confusing, vague process, a potential student very well might give up before they enroll.
If this happens, the college lost that prospective student.
On the other side of the coin, if it is evident that you are committed to each student's success, they will succeed because they know that there are people just as invested in their success as they are.
They say it takes a village to raise a child.
I say that it takes a committed staff to deliver exceptional service that makes a lasting impression in the eyes of a student.
Before we parted ways that day, I handed that freshly enrolled student my business card and explained to him that although I do not live in that city, I will be checking on him and if he needs my help at anytime, to give me a call.
It Looks like I have a new buddy and that college has a new student! I can't wait to get my invite to his graduation.