1. Presented by:Stella Garcia May 2007 Service Standards for the Telephone Presented by:Stella Garcia

2. The Gordon Institute of TAFE has been providing quality education and training since 1887 Location – Geelong, Victoria Campuses: City, Colac, Corrections Education, East Geelong Offering more than 220 nationally accredited courses at the Certificate, Diploma, Advanced Diploma, Apprenticeship and Traineeship levels Degree – Bachelor of Arts (Visual Arts) Over 600 Staff Members including Teachers and Administration Staff 20,000 enrolments a year (approx) Background

3. New Telephone System (Nov 2005) Call Centre established Service Standards for Call Centre developed Presentation to Management Recommendation for the development and implementation of Institute Telephone Service Standards Background

4. Development of Telephone Service Standards Consultant appointed (2006) Project group formed (Institute wide invitation) Three meetings of project group between April to August Mystery shopper contracted (selected from 3 quotes)

5. Mystery Shopper Mystery Shopper research was undertaken over a 20 day period between: –Monday 9 June – Friday 16 June 2006 –Monday 3 July – Friday 14 July 2006 Gordon Institute of TAFE provided a list of relevant and specific survey questions and also telephone numbers to be dialled.

6. Mystery Shopper Q: You want apply for the Cert IV in Aged Care (part time) but need to know if the classes are held at night or during the day. How long does it take to complete part time? A: Classes are held during the day between 9 – 4 pm and the course will take 6 months to complete. 93 calls were placed into the organisation (average 4-5 calls per day)

7. Time to answer: 65% answered in 1– 4 rings Greeting: 54% answered with a greeting, department name & their name (very low percentage) Mystery Shopper Feedback Tone of voice: 29% were excellent: friendly, enthusiastic and genuinely interested in responses; 1% were poor Knowledge of staff: 24% vague (lower than benchmark) 32% excellent

8. In addition: some staff having difficulty using the functions of the phone eg. hold, transferring It was discovered that many phones were not set up with voicemail. average time to receive requested information was 4.9 days (1 took 8 days) 21 voicemails left (8 not returned) Mystery Shopper Feedback Willingness to help: Staff members are willing to help answer their callers queries 96% rated as acceptable or excellent (positive result) Impression at end of call: Subjective criteria 71% rated as good or above (pleasing) 29% poor and average

9. Project Group Meetings Meeting 1 (Apr 06) Defining purpose Scope Project stages Request for collection of ‘What Cheeses You Off’ feedback Meeting 2 (May 06) Revision of ‘What Cheeses You Off’ feedback Service expectations Development of Standards Meeting 3 (Aug 06) Review ‘Mystery Shopper’ feedback Review draft Standards Planning for launch: –Communication plan, –Timeline –Promotional campaign

10. Telephone Service Standards Publication Telephone Service Standards document was prepared and covered the following: Endorsement from CEO Role of the Call Centre Your Responsibilities –Managing Office and Mobile Phones –Voicemail –Answering Calls –Transferring Calls

11. Implementation of Institute Service Standards Notification and endorsement of TSS from CEO via “Staff All” email Presentations booked across the Institute – to date 200 staff have seen the presentation Presentations delivered using hard copy of standards, PowerPoint presentation, DVD and t-shirts Quick reference sheet provided to attach to all phones Documents listed on Intranet, teachers handbook etc.

12. Service Standards - Overview Your Responsibilities Managing Office and Mobile Telephones Voice Mail Answering Calls

13. Standards incorporated in Staff Inductions Telephone Service Standards reminders during the year by Student Services Recognition & rewards for roll-out and demonstration of exceptional Telephone Service Standards – prizes donated 2 nd mystery shopper survey in July 2007 Review of Telephone Service Standards implementation in October 2007 Sharing our model with other TAFE’s and Universities The future: Strategies for Success

14. Questions? Contact: Stella Garcia Team Leader – Student Services Ph: (03) 5225 0441 Email: sgarcia@gordontafe.edu.au