Are you as good as you think you are? If I were to ask anyone working in Admissions whether they are operating at leading practice, most, if not all, would reply in the affirmative. Yet, our recent Admissions survey indicates otherwise. According to the survey, many schools are not fulfilling the processes regarded as best practice. Such oversights can result in the loss of potential enrolments or they can leave prospective parents feeling under-valued and/or disengaged. Our survey highlighted a variety of reasons for these shortfalls. In some cases, there was simply a lack of resourcing, resulting in Admissions staff not having the time to complete or action all processes. In other cases, it was staff not being aware of the strategies and processes that could and should be undertaken. In many schools staff understood they were doing an effective job, but were not perceived well by the prospective parents. So, we need to ask, what is regarded as leading practice? And how can we test whether we are actually implementing the best practices at our particular school? Firstly, what are the main drivers parents are seeking from a school for their child? The top two reasons are the quality of the teaching and whether the school provides a safe, caring and nurturing environment for their students. Obviously, these factors are beyond the direct control of Admissions, but, if in place, the Admissions team needs to passionately articulate them. Admissions staff members are often seen as the face of the school, so they need to be empathetic, have an understanding of educational pedagogy and, most importantly, be passionate advocates of the school. A communication plan needs to be developed for all potential families. This plan would ensure families feel part of the school community even before they actually start at the school. There are a number of ways to test whether your school is actually ticking the boxes and to gather some hard data: Mystery Shopper The first is to implement a ‘mystery shopper’ program. In this exercise a third party acts as a fictitious parent and phones the school to enquire about enrolling a child. Factors to be analysed include: . . Are contact details readily accessible? . . How was the call answered? . . Was the person friendly and professional? . . If the caller was transferred, what was the wait time? . . If sent to voice mail, what messages were conveyed and how long did it take for the school to make contact? . . If the caller spoke to someone in Admissions, what questions did the officer ask? . . Was the Admissions officer across all relevant details such as school fees and co-curricular programs? . . Was the caller invited to attend an upcoming school tour or open day? . . What steps were outlined regarding the application process? . . Was the overall experience a pleasant one? . . Was a request for a prospectus, application forms or more information, responded to in a timely fashion? . . Did the school follow up after the call? Were any appropriate newsletters, magazines or invitations sent? . . Was any information forthcoming about the status of an application? FACE 2 FACE MAGAZINE 5 8