Leading Australian University reduces wait times and improves the Student Experience

Overview

Improvement in the Student experience is something that all Australian Universities strive for.  Achieving this takes improvement in the way Student Service centres operate and leading this change is technology and a new way of thinking.

Around the world, students are united in the shared experience of standing in long lines within the student service centre. Such waits were not uncommon at a top-ranking universities in Australia until they implemented Hague QMS.

Digital queuing technology allows students to join a virtual queue and wait their turn wherever they like, rather than spending their busy days in a crowded waiting area. By enacting a highly flexible using the latest queuing technology, Hague QMS improved the entire student experience.

“In order to improve our user experience, we needed to implement a digital solution,” said the Director of Student Services. “Of all the options we considered, Hague QMS was the best from a student perspective, which is really our most important consideration. But it also freed up our foyer space and our staff’s time, all of which feeds right back into improving the overall student experience.”

Challenge

The university serves a student body of more than 37,000 students. These students needed a simple and efficient way to access their Student Services, which prior to deploying Hague QMS, used the traditional system of physical queues where students waited in line between classes or on their days off. This system adversely impacted staff efficiency and sometimes frustrated students into giving up on utilising services at their preferred time.

“To take advantage of our services, students had to find out where to go through various avenues, and then find time between classes to stand and wait in line,” said the Director of Student Services.

Equally important, service flow required improvements so that staff could spend more time servicing students and less time managing queues which could become difficult, especially during peak periods.

Solution

With a focus to improve the student experience, the university wanted a user-friendly queuing solution that took advantage of the latest technology. “Our students are great with technology, so we needed a mobile solution to capitalize on that,” said the Director of Student Services.

The university researched various options before contacting Hague Australia.

“Implementation has been highly successful,” said the Director of Student Services. “Training was clear and effective, the system very easy to use — it was an enjoyable experience from the initial implementation meeting, through the online and self-help training and through to go-live. We received great support from Hague Australia, it went very well.”

Although staff identified a high volume of face-to-face enquiries as a potential concern prior to the implementation, Hague QMS performed well. “We had a major intake only three weeks after our soft launch, and Hague QMS passed its performance test with flying colours,”

Upon implementation of Hague QMS, students join a virtual queue and receive text messages with their projected wait time and when they should return to the queue to be serviced. The system also informs students of delays and updates and provides the option to reschedule without losing one’s place in line.

While waiting, students are free to run errands or study – instead of physically lining up in a busy foyer. “Students can sit in a cafe and wait to be served, it’s a great way to leverage mobile technology to improve the overall campus experience.”

As students took to using Hague QMS, the foyer became less busy, creating a positive feedback loop and increasing overall efficiency. Staff no longer spent time managing lines with students navigating a crowded service area. The foyer became more welcoming, with users signing up at the kiosks, heading out and returning later for their meetings, creating a sense of intake and outflow rather than long, discouraging lines.

Results

With fewer students crowding the foyer, the Student Services on both campuses have become more welcoming spaces where individuals feel assured of being seen and receiving assistance.

With a larger number of students taking advantage of the suite of benefits and programs available at the university, they can make the best use of their formative university experiences.

Within just three weeks of implementation, Hague QMS eliminated more than 2,812 collective hours of physical wait time. This equals 382.59 days, or just over a year of physical queuing time students would have squandered otherwise.

The Director of Student Services reports that “overall, student and administrative feedback has been highly positive. The situation will improve further as more of our students take advantage of this fantastic new functionality.”

Mike Wheble – Managing Director of Hague Australia stated “the key to this project was working closely with the University.  At the very start, all teams had clear objectives, and these were to improve efficiency within the student service centre, improve the student experience and reduce staff workloads.  Using the Hague QMS solution, we have achieved all three goals”.

To date, we have over sixty locations using Hague QMS in Australia and over 1,000 worldwide.  The reason businesses use QLess within their student centres, customer service centres and health clinics is clear; Hague QMS utilises one thing that every student, customer and patient has; a mobile phone.

Want to know more about Hague QMS and how it can fit within your business?  Email us at contact@hagueaustralia.com.au  or complete the request below for an informal discussion.