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When You’re the Educator, What Should You Teach? - 1/21/25


The best customer service professionals are also excellent educators.  Not only within the organization, but I’m talking specifically about the role they play as educator with their customers.  With all the self-service options that technology provides, customers often have the opportunity to do things on their own, to investigate Read more

Wrap It Up Right: Why Follow-Up Communications WOW Customers - 1/14/25


Dena had some questions about her water bill, so she looked for answers on the utility’s website.  She didn’t find specific answers, and she really didn’t want to get on the phone with somebody at the time and risk staying on hold.  She had lots going on, but she Read more

From Conversation to Connection: Defining Customer Engagement - 1/7/25


Maggie was sitting in the Service Excellence Training class, and the instructor kept talking about staying engaged with the customer.  Proactively engaging the customer.  Being fully engaged in the conversation. After hearing this same phrase (“engage”) used in various ways, Maggie raised her hand and asked a question probably several Read more

Self-empower for the New Year - 12/31/24


Jeff joined the company, in part, because he loved their approach to culture.  Leadership tried to create an empowerment culture.  They tried to develop an environment where, within certain parameters, individual team members could make a decision and feel confident that they would be supported by leadership. The reality was Read more

2024 Holiday Poem - 12/24/24


I sometimes hear it said That things have never been like this before. That challenges are unique, That stresses seem like more.   I sometimes hear it said That we're asked to do much more with less. That workloads are increasing, And we're resource-constrained at best.   And others often say That things are really very good. That they enjoy those Read more

Is Their Poor Planning Your Emergency? - 12/17/24


Have you ever heard the saying:  Your poor planning is not my emergency. I’ve heard it said often – not necessarily directly from one person to another.  More typical is that I hear it from the person having to drop everything and do something immediately because someone else didn’t think Read more

Empathy Examples for Everyday Situations - 12/10/24


I’ve often said that empathy is the single most important characteristic of people who are great at customer service.  If empathy is essentially “to understand the other person,” it helps so much to have that ability in order to specifically help someone.  To talk to what’s unique about them.  Read more

Tell Them Why You’re Giving Thanks - 12/3/24


Thank you! Merci! Danke! Doumo! Gracias! It seems like every language has a translation of Thank You.  Even though I only fluently speak English and speak Spanish, un poco, I – and probably most of you – have heard some or all of the translations of "Thank You” noted above.  Read more

Refine Your Decision-making Process - 11/26/24


Every day, you make decisions of what to do and what not to do.  And in the world of customer service, often the affected parties are our customers, our co-workers, and our company.  Here are a few quotes to consider when you’re thinking about evaluating and refining your decision-making Read more

Acting on the Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service - 11/19/24


In last week’s tip, we shared 5 Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service.  This week, let’s address what “taking action” looks like on those key principles.  If last week was about what to do and WHY, this week is about the HOW. Engage with Interest: To engage with interest, proactively Read more

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Student Success Starts with Knowing Them

Posted on April 23, 2014 in Business Advice, Education Please leave a comment

Blog 4-23-14Phillips Community College in Arkansas won an award recently for Student Success – increasing its graduation and 4-year college transfer performance.

With the plethora of best practices and concepts, programs and pathways, you might think that the Student Success was driven by these proven strategies…but you’d be incorrect.

According to the article PCCUA recognized for student success, the starting point was understanding the student. Who are they? What is their background? What’s the lens through which they see college life and experience PCCUA? Apparently, many students come from generational poverty, and the faculty and staff do not.

This basic fact gets at a core problem with many organizations in the education industry and other industries as well these days. There are leaders, faculty, or staff that know a product, they know a topic, they know a program. But delivering that knowledge effectively often requires that they know the person to whom they deliver. We can’t assume that all students receive and process information in the same way, that they all want the same learning environment and examples.

Sometimes to best impart knowledge, we have to – first – know the student.

Survey your students. Ask them questions. Learn about their past. Then learn what most effectively guides them to a future of possibilities.

Student Success starts with knowing them.

Did you like this post? Here are other Student Success-related posts:


Student Success is About Getting to One

Posted on November 21, 2013 in Business Advice, Education Please leave a comment

The article Community College Group Launches Texas Success Center has Lone Star Community College System Chancellor Richard Carpenter noting that “There are about 30 different student success programs at Texas colleges. They are programs designed to help students complete their two-year degrees or successfully move on to a four-year university. ‘We find ourselves initiative rich,’ he said. ‘All of these initiatives must be herded.’”

This statement is followed by the announcement that a new Texas Success Center “will be supported by about $2.4 million provided by the state’s 50 community colleges, the Kresge Foundation, the Houston Endowment, the Greater Texas Foundation, the Meadows Foundation and TG, a nonprofit corporation that provides financial planning support to Texas students.”

Just percolate on that for a minute…there are 30+ initiatives, and the State needs $2.4 million to aggregate, or simplify, or eliminate, or better communicate about those initiatives. Most likely, what is being done at the community colleges to improve Student Success is laudable and is specific to that college’s students, curriculum, faculty, and future vision. So any effort to herd initiatives should be done with that understanding of local focus in mind.

In addition, a litmus test for each dollar spent and each initiative tested needs to start with the basic agreement that Student Success is about getting to one. It’s about knowing (at times, even before the student knows) how each one individual student can succeed, how the student defines success, how likely they are to succeed, and what can be done to ensure success. In other words, how does one initiative help one community college to help one student succeed?

Get to the point where each college can know each student on a 1-to-1 basis, and you’ll get the point where Student Success is within reach.

Did you like this post? Here are other Student Success-related posts:


Coach for Student Success

Posted on October 24, 2013 in Business Advice, Education Please leave a comment

Vince Lombardi was the coach of the Green Bay Packers, but would his style really work well in an Education setting? Apparently it did – along with being a great football coach, he also was a successful teacher of Latin, algebra, physics and chemistry. In other words, teaching and coaching can be very similar.

And in the University and Community College arenas these days, teaching doesn’t just apply to the classroom. Much of what students need to be taught involves everything that surrounds the classroom. It’s the financial aid, general time management, navigating school processes and policies, dealing with school-specific tech applications, or navigating a campus.

To address the need to teach about these aspects of the Student Experience, some colleges are investing in Success Coaches. In the article “Success coaches” prodding college students to graduate, examples from Wallace State Community College and the University of Toledo are highlighted. Essentially, the coaches’ responsibilities can involve many tasks including:

  • Monitoring student accounts to ensure students are staying on-time and on-track with registering, attending, and completing classes.
  • Communicating with faculty about issues or red-flags, then taking action.
  • Being almost like an account representative for a pro sports team’s season ticket holders, being the main point of contact for the student.

Of particular benefit to First Generation Students, these coaches have a 1-to-1 perspective of their relationship with the students, working to keep tabs on, develop relationships with, and help to navigate their student experience.

Think of all the information that your organization has available on your customers or your students. Then ask, who is that dedicated resource charged with looking at and acting on that information to ensure student retention, a great student experience, and long-term success?

Find a coach to help guide the student to success.

Did you like this post? Here are other Student Success-related posts:


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