April

Best practices for student customer service

When front desk personnel come together to share information, students have a clear road to run.

By Cory Phare

April 17, 2017

When it comes to helping Roadrunners, every little bit counts. A positive service experience can make the difference between a student’s smooth continuation along his or her degree path or a frustrated moment of giving up.

That’s just what Enrollment Services Supervisory Team (ESST) was formed to address.

“Our main focus is customer service,” said Emily Willan, assistant director of Enrollment Management and special assistant to the associate vice president of Enrollment Management, and current leader of ESST. “We’re always looking for ways to improve communication and better serve students.”

Made up of front desk representatives from Admissions, Academic Advising, Registrar, Financial Aid, Testing Services, Call Center, New Student Orientation, Student Academic Success, Welcome Desk, Cashier, and Bursar’s office, ESST is an opportunity for service providers to all get on the same page. Every two weeks, the group meets for two hours to discuss departmental updates, deadlines and issues they’re encountering. 

Created this past June, the ESST is part of the Division of Enrollment Services’ larger focus on customer service assessment. Some of the resulting actions include creating a customer service survey, and distributing it via tablets at front desks along with QR-coded handouts and linked email signatures. The responses are the result of data collection and analysis.

The common link? Continual process improvement for a seamless student experience.

“The front desk is where the rubber hits the road,” said Willan. “That might be one of the only interactions students have with the University; it’s extremely important that front line staff are equipped with the right knowledge as representatives of MSU Denver.”

And one thing is clear – ESST’s impact isn’t just on clearer pathways for students, but enriching departmental culture itself.

According to Willan, “We recently overheard a staff member saying, ‘This is the meeting where all the good information is.’”