b'Helpful technologyDiscoverhowSantaMariaCollegeleveragesNow, using technology, the process is straightforward and, in technology to manage future enquiries fact, at our Open Day for the first time last year, we found that Our Biggest Challenge over 80% of families pre-registered, which drastically reduced congestion on the day as families did not need to stop and The biggest challenge we faced when it came to managingenter their full details. We now have all family information in future student enquiries was the lack of a system to recordone place, using one system. Initially, I thought that it might relevant details of families that requested an Enrolment Pack.take a while to learn a new platform, but the menus and Instead, we just handed packs out randomly with no record ofinterface are very user friendly and intuitive.who they were going to, the age of the prospective student orWe have a dashboard which means we can see at a glance anything else.how many Enrolment Packs weve posted this year and how WealsoconducteightDiscoveryTourseachyear.Peoplemany people are registered for upcoming tours. wereregisteringforthese,butthedatajustwentintoaPriortothenewsystem,ourreceptionistwouldmanually spreadsheet which we used to check peoples names off onmake a note each time she posted a pack. A labour-intensive the day. However, it wasnt easy to capture additional data,task that once took hours, especially when it came to tallying and we werent following up consistently. up all the data. Another advantage is the instant analytics we For Open Days, the problem was exacerbated as we didntnow get. For example, using the analytics map, we can easily ask families to pre-register. People just appeared on the day.see where our students are coming from. We had no record of who came, whether they were alreadyThe Biggest Benefitsenrolledorafirsttimefamilyorevenwhethertheywere alumnae.Definitely having all of our information in one place. It makes it We felt there had to be a better way so we turned to technology,so much easier to manage the day-to-day tasks of a Registrar. a space that neither myself nor my receptionist were expertsCombining Tours, Events and Enrolment Packs in one system in, but one we were keen to explore. just makes life so much easier. No more spreadsheets to track data. Its truly changed our lives.How The New System Worked Also understanding patterns and trends in the data allows us We investigated and settled on a software platform (Enquiryto provide more insightful reports and make more informed Tracker)whichnotonlyletsusseewhetherafamilyhasdecisions on where we invest our time and money. Lastly, registered for and attended an Open Day or Discovery Tour,and definitely not least, we are able to build and maintain but whether theyve asked for an Enrolment Pack. Whatsrelationships with our families.great is it also allows us to manage our one-to-one privateI actually sometimes find it hard to remember how I managed tours for families that want that personalised touch. Evenbeforehand. We are embracing technologythe bonus is it better is that the information is all stored in one place andhas saved time and increased our customer service levels. each family has its own history. Its solved lots of problems. Ultimately, though, it lets us build the relationship with our Embracing technology and features like e-mail automationmost important peopleour families. has been a huge step forward, allowing us to save time andFinal Thoughtsbe more responsive than ever before. Families can request an Enrolment Pack or register for an event, or both, usingFirstly, dont be afraid to try technologyjust lean in and take forms on our website. Alerts come through via email whenthe plunge. Likewise, if you keep doing the same thing dont families complete these forms online, which is fantastic. Ourexpect different results. There are a lot of tools that can help receptionistthenmanagesthepostingoutofEnrolmentpeople like us make our jobs so much easier and save us loads Packs within a 24-hour turnaround.of time.Everyfamilyfillingoutaformreceivesanautomated,KYLIE LAWTLEY personalisedemailfromourschoolwhichnotonlysaves timebutdemonstrateshowresponsivewearetofamiliesADMISSIONS AND MARKETING LEADER that are interested in our school. It really allows us to build aSANTA MARIA COLLEGE, VICrelationship with families. DECEMBER 2019 63'