Diane E. SnyderVice Chancellor for Fin. & Admin.

Alamo CollegesAnswer the Call‐Superior Student Services

Russell LopezContact Ctr. Manager

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• 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)

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HBCU, HSI

HSI

HSI

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• Identifying the Problem

• Finding the Solution

• Partnering for Success

• Showing the Results

• Future Expansion

OverviewOverview

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Not Answering the phone….  The student in line took priority

Inconsistent answers provided…  Web and other tools not helpful

Data not captured… Call frequency & reason code 

for preventative strategy

Identifying the ProblemIdentifying the Problem

Customer Service in a 4 minute call Not a Core Competency

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Alamo Colleges Student Financial Aid call metrics for 2011

Identifying the ProblemIdentifying the Problem

Efficiency % = Calls Received/Calls Handled in Call Center.   Students were calling multiple times during 2011 with peak months receiving >40,000 calls.   

Total 280,000Est. Repeats (180,000)

100,000

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< 50% answered

Students calling everywhere

OPTIONS CONSIDERED:A. Internal Call Center ORB. 3rd Party Partner

Partner Expertise: Higher Educ. Retention or Fin. Aid Expert, OR Professional Call Center (expert systems & Mgmt)

Finding the solutionFinding the solution

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HARTE HANKS CAPABILITIES

Customer Care Technical Support

• Customer Care, Technical Support

• Back Office Processing • Process Consulting• Insight, Analytics, Database,

Lead Generation

Services Include

• In-bound calls• Out-bound calls• Email• Chat• Social Media Monitoring

Contact Types

• Scheduling to Call arrival • (Intra-day Management)• Telecom: IVR, soft-phone

transfer• Ticketing/Reason codes

Systems & Tools

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WORKFORCE MANAGEMENTRhythm of Business

Quality Management

Performance Management

Call Management

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

QUALITY MANAGEMENT – QUALITY• Monitoring and coaching• Customer satisfaction• Feedback and review

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SERVICE LEVEL (SLA) MANAGEMENTFramework

Implementation of the shift schedules at desired adherence levels

Accurate estimation of volume arrivals at interval level

Matching of available staff to schedules or rosters

Determining requirement of workforce to meet levels for each interval

SLA Target for Alamo Colleges: 80% calls answered in 60 seconds

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

Benefits of Professional Contact CtrBenefits of Professional Contact Ctr

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Alamo Colleges Oversight

• Manager

o 2 Content Developers/Trainers

o 1 Data Analyst

Focus Area

Overall Responsibility 

1) Liaison with Alamo Departments2) Develop Standard Process3) ID Inconsistency in Practice/Web4) Create Searchable KnowledgeBase5) Train Agents

1) Mult. Daily touchpoints w/ center2) React to “early warning”/spiking calls3) Analyze call drivers & transfers for 

opportunities to prevent calls 11

Partnering for Success – Alamo TeamOur Job is to work to minimize calls & transfersPartnering for Success – Alamo TeamOur Job is to work to minimize calls & transfers

Exceeding Student’s ExpectationsExceeding 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

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Financial Aid 1st Year ResultsFinancial Aid 1st Year Results

2013 Average Speed of Answer (at Peak < 3 minutes)

ImplementationJuly 2012 ‐Telephony set up & training August 2012 ‐ SAC & SPC launchSeptember 2012 ‐ NVC, PAC, & NLC launch

2013 Call Metrics Total calls handled – 110,695     Monthly Calls Received : 5,000 to 21,000 

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Financial Aid 1st Year ResultsFinancial Aid 1st Year Results

BEFORE(Jan. 2011 – Jan. 2012)

AFTER(Jan. – Dec. 2013)

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3 Years to Scale Initiative3 Years to Scale Initiative

1st year + $300K Address Quality – Answer the Calls Phase in content & refine transfer process

2nd year Breakeven 10% reduction in calls (prevent the calls) Less transfers to Tier 2(call analysis)

3rd year ($500K) 50% reduction in calls 

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Future Expansion to other DepartmentsFuture Expansion to other Departments

Admissions and Records

Business Office

Directory Assistance

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Future Expansion of Tools to College Front Line

Future Expansion of Tools to College Front Line

KnowledgeBase

Ticketing/Reason Codes

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Future Expansion to Other Contact TypesFuture Expansion to Other Contact Types

Other In‐bound:ChatE‐Mail

Social Media Monitoring

Outbound Calls: Marketing Campaigns Funnel:  Applied but not Registered Retention Strategies for non‐returning students

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Diane E. Snyderdsnyder12@alamo.edu

Russell Lopezrlopez133@alamo.edu

Questions?Questions?

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