Alamo Colleges Answer the Call Superior Student Services

Transcription

1 Alamo Colleges Answer the Call Superior Student Services Diane E. Snyder Vice Chancellor for Fin. & Admin. Russell Lopez Contact Ctr. Manager

2 Alamo Colleges Footprint St. Philips (1898) Northeast Lakeview (2007, pending accred.) HBCU, HSI Palo Alto (1985) Individually Accredited Colleges (Note: Alamo & Dallas only CC in state) 12 off-campus sites supporting the 8 county service area Annual Enrollment: 90,000+ (credit) and 30,000 (non-credit) HSI HSI Northwest Vista (1995) 2 San Antonio (1925)

3 Overview Identifying the Problem Finding the Solution Partnering for Success Showing the Results Future Expansion 3

4 Identifying the Problem Not Answering the phone. Inconsistent answers provided Data not captured The student in line took priority Web and other tools not helpful Call frequency & reason code for preventative strategy Customer Service in a 4 minute call Not a Core Competency 4

5 Identifying the Problem Alamo Colleges Student Financial Aid call metrics for 2011 Total 280,000 Est. Repeats (180,000) 100,000 < 50% answered Students calling everywhere Efficiency % = Calls Received/Calls Handled in Call Center. Students were calling multiple times during 2011 with peak months receiving >40,000 calls. 5

6 Finding the solution OPTIONS CONSIDERED: A. Internal Call Center OR B. 3 rd Party Partner Partner Expertise: Higher Educ. Retention or Fin. Aid Expert, OR Professional Call Center (expert systems & Mgmt) 6

7 HARTE HANKS CAPABILITIES Services Include Customer Care, Technical Support Back Office Processing Process Consulting Insight, Analytics, Database, Lead Generation Contact Types In-bound calls Out-bound calls Chat Social Media Monitoring Systems & Tools Scheduling to Call arrival (Intra-day Management) Telecom: IVR, soft-phone transfer Ticketing/Reason codes Customer Care Technical Support 7

8 WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT Rhythm of Business CALL MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY Workforce management and staffing Volume and responsiveness Case tracking PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PRODUCTIVITY Optimizing call script and call flow Training and re-training weekly Experience sharing Incentive plan Motivation Call Management Performance Management Quality Management QUALITY MANAGEMENT QUALITY Monitoring and coaching Customer satisfaction Feedback and review 8

9 SERVICE LEVEL (SLA) MANAGEMENT Framework Accurate estimation of volume arrivals at interval level Determining requirement of workforce to meet levels for each interval Matching of available staff to schedules or rosters Implementation of the shift schedules at desired adherence levels SLA Target for Alamo Colleges: 80% calls answered in 60 seconds 9

10 Benefits of Professional Contact Ctr 1. Information Granular Call Forecasting Call Reason Codes Calls and service levels 15 min. intervals Call stats to optimize Office hours Early warning system for on campus issues 2. Technology Agent schedules aligned to call arrival patterns KnowledgeBase for agent scripting, key word searchable Ticketing resolution by code and transfers by topic Tier 2 Transfers vs. work queue ticket or person to person Telecom: Interactive Voice Response, Soft phone 3. Agent Management Turnover: Hiring, Training, Re training, Performance Mgmt Absenteeism: Intraday mgmt of breaks, etc. 4. Peak staffing via Shared Group Pay for when needed 10

11 Partnering for Success Alamo Team Our Job is to work to minimize calls & transfers Alamo Colleges Oversight Manager o 2 Content Developers/Trainers Focus Area Overall Responsibility 1) Liaison with Alamo Departments 2) Develop Standard Process 3) ID Inconsistency in Practice/Web 4) Create Searchable KnowledgeBase 5) Train Agents o 1 Data Analyst 1) Mult. Daily touchpoints w/ center 2) React to early warning /spiking calls 3) Analyze call drivers & transfers for opportunities to prevent calls 11

12 Exceeding Student s Expectations Multi task during the call Checking complete student file while student is asking their question Deciphering what the question is Answer the unasked question Provide answers to questions students may not be asking Be Proactive, Think Preventive Target critical information students may not be aware of to prevent future call 12

13 Financial Aid 1 st Year Results 2013 Average Speed of Answer (at Peak < 3 minutes) Implementation July 2012 Telephony set up & training August 2012 SAC & SPC launch September 2012 NVC, PAC, & NLC launch 2013 Call Metrics Total calls handled 110,695 Monthly Calls Received : 5,000 to 21,000 13

14 Financial Aid 1 st Year Results BEFORE (Jan Jan. 2012) AFTER (Jan. Dec. 2013) 14

15 3 Years to Scale Initiative 1 st year + $300K Address Quality Answer the Calls Phase in content & refine transfer process 2 nd year 10% reduction in calls (prevent the calls) Less transfers to Tier 2(call analysis) 3 rd year 50% reduction in calls Breakeven ($500K) 15

16 Future Expansion to other Departments Admissions and Records Business Office Directory Assistance 16

17 Future Expansion of Tools to College Front Line KnowledgeBase Ticketing/Reason Codes 17

18 Future Expansion to Other Contact Types Other In bound: Chat E Mail Social Media Monitoring Outbound Calls: Marketing Campaigns Funnel: Applied but not Registered Retention Strategies for non returning students 18

19 Questions? Diane E. Snyder Russell Lopez 19