The first piece of advice that I would offer to a new employee would be to become well informed on the institution they work at. Some employee's may start their day in the office at 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. At this time, it may be too early to make outgoing calls to students for some institutions, or employee's, especially when you are on eastern standard time such as the institution I'm employeed by. This is good time for employee's to stay updated on policies and procedures of the institution, and also to do their homework in regards to growing within their specific job and learning new idea's.
Also, I do agree with not being afraid to tell a student that you do not have the answer, and will get back. I would love for my employee's to have all of the answers to any question asked from a student, but that's not the case all of the time. Before misrepresenting information to a student, we must rely on our resources at the instituion, or send the student over to a co-worker who may specialize in the area that the question was directed for more detailed and accurate information.
Marko,
Thank you for sharing your time management strategies with the team. Blocking time to update yourself on policies and procedures is a great strategy.
Cindy Bryant
We stress to tell new employees, not to be afraid to say "I don't know but I will find out the answer for you."
We do our very best to provide on-going training, constant communication and transparency with all of our employees. We also provide verbiage, updated processes, updated forms to all staff & faculty to make sure we are all on the same page.
For new employee if they do not know something we tell them to let the student know that but let them know that they will get the correct information and call them back. The new employee also can request more training as well.
Nick,
New employees are very vulnerable. It is important that new employees understand their boundaries and know that they are supported during training. It is great to let them know that may request additional training.
Cindy Bryant
I am actually a new hire, but from what I've seen and learned so far, it seems like the rep should always be honest and truthful about things. And if the rep/agent is unsure of an answer, they should not make something up, instead they should be honest and tell the student they are unsure, but will find out and get back to them.
I would tell new employees never to use would like "absolutely" and "guaranteed" and to always check with their coordinators if they do not know the answer to a question.
Yes we make sure that the employees get a lot of support.
Keith,
Hi! Welcome to the discussion forum. The best answer is always the right one. Telling a student that you will get back with them shows them that you are willing to take an extra step to ensure that they are receiving the correct information. I recommend that you set a date with the student to provide them with the answer, this will help you remember.
Cindy Bryant
Christina,
Thanks for joining the discussion. The word absolutely and guarantee carry a lot of weight with anyone. Avoiding those phrases are important whether you know or don't know the answer.
Cindy Bryant
Christina,
Thanks for joining the discussion. The word absolutely and guarantee carry a lot of weight with anyone. Avoiding those phrases are important whether you know or don't know the answer.
Cindy Bryant
Thanks Cindy! Yes I agree. It's important to set a date to get back to them, as well as a reminder for yourself so you don't forget.
My advice would be to learn everything about the school and programs. As you are educating the prospect on the programs offered, all information would be truthful and honest.
A new hire goes through extensive training as well as on going training while getting first-hand experience talking with and helping students. Asking questions to more senior staff members or even a manager is encouraged, when the answer to a student's question is unknown. My encouragement to a new hire would be keep notes on a question you don't know, in case the question rises again with a different student. One could always refer to the website, student handbook, or other useful information tools about the school to show the student where the answer is, if they would need to find some more answers.
I am a fairly new employee so definitely have experience of this recently and first hand. Before being able to be incontact with students we not only had extensive training but we were given the opportunity to shadow coworkers to see exactly how it is and what they say to students. I would say I was definitely encouraged that if I do not know to make sure and get confirmation before giving a response. Also, working in an environment in such close quarters whenever something comes up from a potential student I have many around me to ask whenever I am unsure about something.
Mary,
Hi, you mentioned on-going training which is the critical piece to keeping information fresh and accurate. Advocating the use of the student handbook is another good idea to reinforce in new hires.
Cindy Bryant
Samantha,
Hi! Sounds as if you have had extensive training which is commendable. The concept of shadowing employees enhances the training and allows new employees to become familiar with a coworker making it easier to ask questions.
Cindy Bryant
I would always tell a new employee to not answer a question if they are unsure. It is perfectly ok to tell a student "I dont want to give you wrong information, I do not have the answer but let me check on this for you". It is always better to have a slight delay than give bad information.
This to me is very important to address to new employees. At our institution we believe in a very detailed, week long training and onboarding. One of the most important parts of the training in my mind is the "role playing" we conduct after we provide the employee with the tools necessary to succeed. In the role play situations we have a current employee conduct different situations an advisor might run across. this really prepares the employee to better handle real life situations. I also stress to new employees to not be afraid to tell a student "I don't know, let me find that answer and i will get back to you as soon as i can."
Bryan,
Welcome! When dealing with an important topic, such as, misrepresentation you can over prepare. The first steps are knowledge and training. Once these steps have been accomplished the role playing helps reinforce what the employee has learned. Every situation may be different and having everyone involved in the process is very helpful.
Cindy Bryant
