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1. Program-of-interest call routing<\/b><\/h3>\n
The more time your support team spends handling issues and questions, the less time team members have to review applications. Cutting waste and inefficiency in the communications process helps alleviate this problem.<\/span><\/p>\nOne way to expedite support is to eliminate unnecessary steps on a prospect call. Program-of-interest call routing means that a prospect gets right to a team member with expertise in the applicant\u2019s desired program. This means the call is handled and resolved much more quickly. The applicant is satisfied, and your representative has time to put into other contacts or in the application review process.<\/span><\/p>\n2. Information-gathering from prospects<\/b><\/h3>\n
Applicants sometimes submit incomplete paperwork that requires follow-up. This scenario means your team needs to reach out to the prospect to gather more information.<\/span><\/p>\nContact-center technology makes it easier to organize the information-gathering process and documents of information received. Applications get finalized, which reduces a bottleneck in your system. Your team is able to efficiently review applications and communicate a decision as quickly as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"A](\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/cx-ed-student.jpeg\")
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3. Effective contact tracking<\/b><\/h3>\n
The combination of information submitted in the initial application and additional details gathered by your representatives makes contact tracking important. You need a system that allows for simple, cross-platform documentation of applicant details.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhen your team has a cross-platform, cloud-based solution for organizing applicant details, you avoid oversights and redundancy. Details are immediately added during contacts, which safeguards against oversights. Holistic access means your agents can see what information is held and what information is needed.<\/span><\/p>\n4. Admissions team collaboration<\/b><\/h3>\n
Contact center technology helps with interactions between reps and students and enhances collaboration within your admissions teams. Your team can hold meetings, gather and share details from the meetings, and ensure consistency throughout the process.<\/span><\/p>\nAgents can interact with each other at any time across multiple communication methods. This capability means team members in dispersed work locations can utilize their preferred channel.<\/span><\/p>\n5. Fast responses to prospect questions<\/b><\/h3>\n
In addition to outgoing calls to resolve incomplete applications, your admissions team receives contacts from prospects. These questions come before, during, and after the application process. Fast response times to these calls project a good image to potential students and contribute to process efficiency.<\/span><\/p>\nThe right tech infrastructure enables cross-channel, live responses on-demand, enabling your applicants to use the channel they prefer at any point in time. Skills-based call routing, in which callers respond to questions upfront, results in transfers to the agent most equipped to handle the particular inquiry.<\/span><\/p>\n6. Schedule coordination for appointments<\/b><\/h3>\n
Some admissions processes include interviews or appointments with applicants. These meetings may take place on campus or virtually. It takes time to schedule them and book all admissions team members.<\/span><\/p>\nYour contact center technology enables easier coordination of schedules among team members. You can see the schedules of agents to find universally open times. It is also easy to integrate communication processes with the applicant and between reps, so everyone knows about the meeting. In some cases, automatic email or text messaging distribution is set up so that the details of planned meetings go out immediately after times and places are established.<\/span><\/p>\n7. Keep your contact center on campus<\/b><\/h3>\n
Some colleges and universities outsource contact center management to third parties instead of handling contacts internally. They do so because it seems to be the more cost-effective approach to handling outbound and inbound communication with prospects.<\/span><\/p>\nHowever, external contact centers do not have the direct connection to students that you want. They also typically represent various client companies, which means their agents may have limited experience with college admissions communication.<\/span><\/p>\nWith a powerful tech infrastructure, you can maintain local admissions contacts while achieving cost efficiencies. An on-site contact center means better brand representation and better opportunities to build good relationships with potential students.<\/span><\/p>\nAdditional benefits of an on-site contact center include:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- 24\/7 around-the-clock access:<\/b> A combination of live agents and off-hours AI-driven chatbots allows you to resolve student questions any time of day or night.<\/span><\/li>\n
- More time for personalization:<\/b> With better efficiencies in admissions communication, team members have more time to personalize engagement.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Better control:<\/b> It is always easier to control your operations internally than through outsourced entities. A direct contact center puts you in charge of your admissions and communication.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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