Building and Implementing a Repeatable Framework for Campus Communications

Practical Application of a Framework to Inform Customers and Manage Expectations

Kathy Kral

Chief Information Officer Blake Adams

Director of User Services University of West Georgia

Building and Implementing a Repeatable Framework for Campus Communications

Overview • Background • Shared Challenges • Best Practices • What we can we do? • Case Study/ Unified Communications Model Framework –

Implementing at UWG • Challenges, Lessons learned, Emerging Trends • Conversation

Our Background

• Chief Information Officer • Over 20 years of experience

in Information Technology

• Director of User Services • 20 years of experience in

Customer Service, 15 in Information Technology

Shared Challenges

What challenges are you facing in communication right now?

• Customer Needs Growing • Department Resources Shrinking • Expectations Increasing – Speed to Resolution of Issue/Request • Methods of Communication Continuously Changing

– How do you tailor every message to every customer in a one to many medium?

• Customers and Services Providers – are we speaking the same language? • We are Tasked With Planning for the Unplanned • Failure to Communicate = Reputational Risk

Best Practices Best Practices: Value Touch Points (Julie Mohr) • What Improves the customer experience?

– Off shore/outsourced service/help desk? – Interactive Voice Response Systems? – Well trained staff? – A place to find what they need?

• Quick Map to Improving Customer Experience – Consider Every Touch Point – Status Message – Highest rated value Touch Point – Active Listening – Second highest rated

What can we do about the Challenges we Face? • Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

– How do we speak to our users?/How do they listen? • Clarify Service Offerings

– What do you do? What services do you provide or support? – How can a customer find the status of the services?

• Calendar of Maintenance – Announce Planned Outages of Service – Record Unplanned Outages of Services – Publish a Standing Maintenance Schedule

• Email Alternative – Mass Communication – Twitter – Facebook

• Partnerships within your department – Build relationship and trust – Allow Subject Matter Experts to focus on Subject Matter – Customer Service/Service Desk/Help Desk – Must focus on communication

• Drive Help/Service Desk functions from inbound function (reactive) to outbound (proactive) function.

How do we tackle the problem?

How do we implement all of these changes?

Building a Framework

• A well thought out, repeatable plan. • Brainstorm first, organize second. • A shotgun approach will not work. • A solo mission will not work. • Find – or be – a champion. • Organize based on quick wins/low hanging fruit follow by bigger picture ideas. • Plan for a culture shift. • Get buy in. • Be patient. • Deploy, Market, Revise, Repeat.

A Repeatable Framework for Campus Communications

Service/Status Page – The Customer’s Home Base for Information

http://status.westga.edu

A Repeatable Framework for Campus Communications

A Repeatable Framework for Campus Communications

• Brand name and describe Enterprise/Mission Critical Services • Establish informal OLAs for communications and handoff • Build Calendar of Maintenance (Scheduled Events/Outages) • Status Page • Service Interruption Message (SIM) • Communication Templates (Format and Content) • Branded Closings • Defined ownership of status page and SIM updates • Defined Announcement Frequency • Service Level Guidelines – Communication • Value Touch Points Defined and Marketed

Anchor Tools

E-MAIL RELIANCE: HIGH

A Repeatable Framework for Campus Communications

• Formalize OLAs for communication/handoff/response/resolution • Social Media Integration

– RSS Feeds – Twitter – Facebook

• Online Customer Self Service – Right Sized “Service Catalog” – Top FAQs Published and Visible (easy to find) – Integrated/Subscribeable- Global Issue Communication

• Service Level Guidelines – Services – Fully defined SLGs for each branded service • New Value Touch Points Defined and Marketed

E-MAIL RELIANCE: Moderate

A Repeatable Framework for Campus Communications

• Service Desk Level Monitoring of Mission Critical Services • Mission Critical Emergency Text Messaging (Opt In) • Standardized, documented communication procedures • 3rd Party System/Services Support Agreements • Comprehensive review of Service Level Agreements, Operating Level Agreements,

3rd Party Agreements • New Value Touch Points Defined and Marketed

E-MAIL RELIANCE: Low

A Repeatable Framework for Campus Communications

• Mobile Application Integrations (Status Updates) • Knowledge Level Management

– Frequently Asked Questions – Extended

• Research New Communication Channels, Consider for Inclusion • New Value Touch Points Defined and Marketed

E-MAIL RELIANCE: Supplemental

Lessons Learned and Emerging Trends

• Develop an IT Strategic Communication Plan. • Automation is improving, consider adding where appropriate. • Leverage texting by capturing cell phone numbers during registration. • Distinguish between what customer wants to know and what you want customer

to know. • Craft the same message in different voices (styles) for different audiences. Speak

the language they understand. • Manage internal IT communication as well as external communication. • Consider how much time you can put into social media monitoring before using it

as a venue for communication.

Thank you!

Now let’s continue our conversation…