Customer Experience Standard Operating Procedure by University of East London

Customer Experience Standard Operating Procedure uel.ac.uk

Version Control Version Date No. 0.4

14 Oct 21

0.4a

29 Oct 21

0.5

19 Nov 21 Feb 2022

1.0

Equality analyses completed Initial responses received from OIE via email

Responsible Approved Date officer by Approved Dr. Ian Pickup

Project Board

Revision Description

TBD

Added ‘inclusion’ to institution value of ‘diversity’

Jan 2022

Table of Contents 1 2 3 4 5

Introduction and background Purpose Scope Values and guiding principles Customer Insight 5.1 Customer Identification 5.2 Customer Journey 5.3 Customer Consultation 5.4 Reporting 6 Communication 6.1 Face to face 6.1.1 Visual Communication 6.1.2 Vocal Communication 6.1.3 Verbal Communication 6.2 Telephone 6.3 Emails, CRM and Live Chat 6.4 Digital (Website, apps, social media, etc) 6.5 Enquiry Management 6.6 Dealing with complaints 6.7 Service Level Agreements 7 Wellbeing, Customer Conduct and Safeguarding 7.1 Staff and Customer Wellbeing 7.1.1 Staff Wellbeing 7.1.2 Customer Wellbeing 7.2 Customer Conduct 7.2.1 Students 7.2.2 Staff 7.2.3 Other Customers 7.3 Safeguarding 7.4 Physical Environment 7.5 Creating the Wow Factor

4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 9 9 9 11 13 14 15 16 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 18 18 18

Appendices Appendix 1 - Strategy Appendix 2 - Sample Metrics and Standards Appendix 3 - Indicative High-level CX Dashboard Appendix 4 - Digital User Experience Themes Appendix 5 - Customer Wellbeing Support

20 21 25 26 27

1. Introduction and background Customer experience is how our stakeholders, such as students, staff, and partners, perceive our institution and services. This could be based on their engagement with us or simply on what they’ve heard about us. Their perception may not match with our perception of service delivery. Providing a consistently outstanding customer experience within a Higher Education (HE) setting can be a challenge, as it is not simply a single transactional experience but sometimes span years and across different business areas. Differences in local arrangements and approaches to customer experience often means that the customer experience can depend on the customer type and the type of service the customer engages with. In developing this set of procedures, input has been gathered from colleagues across all schools and services through focus groups. This is to ensure that the procedures are relevant to all areas of the University. Please remember that the term customer in this document is used in the broadest sense encompassing service users, clients, partners and learners, and does not necessarily assume financial transactions. The aim is to provide customer-centric services. It is also important to note that as an institution of higher education, our role is to challenge and stretch our students intellectually. As such, we balance our commitment to providing an outstanding educational experience for our students with that of our commitment to providing an outstanding customer experience. This document has been developed in line with the Customer Experience strategy on a page (Appendix 1)

2. Purpose The purpose of this document is to provide a set of standards that can be applied across all schools and services within the University. These standards will aim to ensure we deliver a consistent customer experience across all customer types and in all areas of the University, with the goal of having a customer-centric culture where our students and other stakeholders get what they need, when they need it, often exceeding their expectations.

3. Scope All UEL employees and contractors have a responsibility to deliver an outstanding customer experience to our customers. This set of procedures provides a framework to support colleagues in delivering an outstanding customer experience. However, it is important that this document is read in conjunction with schooland service-level processes and procedures and that these link cross-institution to deliver a coherent experience across the customer journey. Review and enhancement of business processes is a related and ongoing stream of work. 5

4. Values and guiding principles UEL’s values are the foundation of everything we do, and this is particularly important when it comes to delivering an outstanding customer experience. The following principles guide our approach to customer experience delivery. We will: Embrace diversity and inclusion – By recognising the diverse needs of our customers and ensuring we are inclusive and accessible for all (e.g., inclusive language, accessible content, equal opportunities, and support) – By providing mechanisms for everyone to feedback and to ensure everyone’s voice is heard – By celebrating and showcasing the richness of diversity amongst our staff and customers Be courageous – By taking ownership of all problems and following through on resolution – By thinking innovatively, trying new things and challenging outdated processes – By being honest and transparent, admitting when we get it wrong Be passionate – By putting the customer at the centre of everything we do – By using the information available to anticipate the needs of our customers so that we can interact with them effectively at every stage of the journey – By going the extra mile to enable successful outcomes for our customers.

5. Customer Insight

5.1 Customer Identification - Who are our customers? A customer is a person, organisation or company that receives, consumes, or buys a product or service. At UEL we may think of our main customer as being the student, however we have many different customers who engage with us. Listed below is an example of our customers, each of whom may have varying journeys and touchpoints. – Parents – Alumni – Students (prospective, current, and past) – Staff (prospective, current, and past) – Government authorities – Local schools and colleges – Contractors – Employers – Partners (e.g., commercial and charities) – Tenants – Members of the public – Media – Research customers (e.g., nations, sectors, industries)

5.2 Customer Journey Each of our customer segments (e.g., students, staff, partners) will have different journeys. It is important that we understand the touchpoints along the journey of each customer segment. We are drafting segmented customer journey maps and will provide guidance on experience delivery for each touchpoint as part of a wider development programme. 5.3 Customer Consultation Customer consultation is a key element of providing an outstanding customer experience. Customer consultation gives us customer insight, by helping us to understand who our customers are, what they want and how we can deliver on their needs. Customer consultation can come from: – Focus groups – Surveys – Feedback By really understanding our customer needs we can deliver products and services towards meeting their needs. There will be toolkits and development produced to help support local teams with the various approaches to customer consultation. Once we have listened to our customers and developed products and services to meet customer needs, we will let our customers know what we are doing. Some examples include You Said We Did boards, customer newsletters, announcements on social media and use of digital screens 5.4 Reporting Through customer consultation and other means of data capture it is important that we report on qualitative and quantitative data at both local and institutional level. This will enable us to identify trends, set targets and allow continuous improvement across the institution. Appendix 2 provides guidance on metrics and standards, linked to institution key performance indicators (KPIs), that can be captured as relevant. The tables within these appendices list the indicators that we will continually monitor to determine how well we are doing against our targets. The indicators will be documented and monitored at school and service level. Risks to achievement of targets will be flagged in operational risk registers and flagged at institution-level as relevant. Not all indicators will be relevant for every school or service. Those indicators highlighted in green can be reported on a UEB/UMB dashboard with RAG ratings (see sample in Appendix 3).

6. Communication Customer communication is a key element of customer experience. This section aims to identify the different forms of communication and will give an overview of how we can enhance the customer experience using each method of communication. When communicating to our customer, whatever the form, we must ensure that our communication is inclusive, accessible and cognisant of the diverse needs of our customers. This includes awareness about proficiency in English, disability awareness, and cultural awareness. 6.1 Face to face During face-to-face interactions, communication can be categorised in three ways: – Visual, this includes presentation, body language and facial expressions – Verbal, this includes the actual words we say – Vocal, this includes the way we say these words (Tone of voice) Forming good first impressions with our customers is vitally important, as this can be the difference in a customer purchasing or engaging with our services or not. An example to illustrate the importance of this is during an undergraduate open day. The first impression that the prospective student gets from these initial interactions will aid their decision as to whether to study at UEL or not. In the 1970s Professor Albert Mehrabian of UCLA developed the Mehrabian model to characterise human communication. Mehrabian’s studies (Vliet, 2013) suggested that our impressions about someone are based on body language and tone of voice, rather than the words we speak. The Mehrabian model quantifies the impact of nonverbal communication through the 7-38-55 rule. According to this rule: – 55% of first impressions come from visual forms of communication – 38% come from vocal communication – 7% come from verbal communication Thus, the Mehrabian model states that 93% of first impressions come from nonverbal communication. Although contested by some researchers and viewed through a singular cultural lens, the model encourages us to pay attention to our visual and vocal cues, particularly in the initial moments of interacting with a customer.

6.1.1 Visual Communication Presentation and appearance How we present ourselves and how a customer perceives our appearance may be formed by a variety of factors. It is important that we present ourselves in a way that is appropriate to our job role and to the customers we will encounter. For some of us a clean and clearly identifiable uniform with a name badge will be expected by our customers. For others, smart casual clothing or even a suit may be appropriate. It is important that our presentation meets local expectations within our school or service. Our presentation also extends to our work area. It is important that we keep any areas visible to our customers clean and clear. Cluttered or untidy areas makes us appear unprofessional to our customers, particularly on first impression. Some tips in relation to presentation include: – Take a moment before encountering any customers to check your own presentation. – Present yourself in a way that is appropriate to your area. – Ensure any areas in which customers are likely to see are kept clean, tidy and are well maintained. – Ensure that if you are identifiable as a UEL staff member or contractor that you uphold professional presentation standards on and away from campus, for example during commutes to and from campus, whilst engaging with customers remotely through teams or other platforms or whilst attending meetings or events. Body Language People from different cultures interpret body language in different ways. Within some Western contexts, directing, and slightly leaning your body toward the customer conveys readiness to assist them. Your posture can indicate your involvement and interest. Turning away from the customer can make it appear that you have lost interest or are not engaged. Generally, adopting an open posture during your customer interactions can be interpreted as positive interaction. Crossed arms and legs are often interpreted as a sign of defensiveness and may suggest that your engagement with the customer is minimal. When communicating visually we should have cross cultural awareness, for example smiling and maintaining eye contact may create a positive and welcoming environment for some cultures; however, it may have the opposite effect for others.

6.1.2 Vocal Communication Our tone of voice will depend on the type of customer and the type of enquiry. Sometimes we may need to have a more formal tone and sometimes a more informal tone, for example; Our tone of voice will impact the customer experience, so it is important that your approach is guided by our guiding principles. 6.1.3 Verbal Communication Whilst visual and vocal communication channels are more important in providing the right first impression, the words we use during a conversation are also important. Simple words that we use in everyday life can create both positive and negative feelings amongst our customers. Reframing our language more positively can create a much more positive experience for our customers. The below table provides examples of some familiar words and phrases that can create both positive and negative feelings. Negative No problem or no worries No, you can’t I don’t know I can’t help you It’s against our policy. There is nothing I can do Don’t do that I’m busy right now Call me back

Positive You’re welcome You can do this / Have you tried this? I will find that out for you I will find someone that can help you What I can do for you is …

Please can you do this I’ll be with you in just a moment I’ll call you back

In addition to reframing our language to be more positive, we can also mirror the customer’s use of language to help create a more customer-centric customer experience. 6.2 Telephone Answering the telephone plays a key role in how prospective or existing customers perceive our services. For the prospective customer, this may be their first encounter with the University, and the person to whom they speak will play a vital part in forming their opinion. An existing customer may have their impression enhanced or changed considering the response they receive.

UEL uses different telephony systems in different departments. It is therefore important to ensure that colleagues are familiar with the system with which they use. If telephones cannot be answered, then suitable accessible systems should be in place to reduce waiting times and to re-assure the customer that their enquiry is important. These may include: – Having call diverts in place if you are away from your desk or when working from home – Having voicemails, which are regularly checked in place if you cannot answer the phone – Having queue systems in place for inbound calls, particularly in reception areas, call centres or areas of high inbound call traffic – Ensuring that contingencies are in place so that re-directed calls are not lost or ‘dropped’ The process of answering the phone can be divided into a series of simple steps: 1. Smile as you pick up the receiver. Irrespective of your mood, smiling helps to disperse tension, and induces a more relaxed state. A smile can be ’heard’ at the other end of the line and it can help to brighten up someone else’s day. 2. Identify the University/school/service/department and yourself to the caller. Do not wait to be asked the name of the department that has been reached. Anticipate this by giving the information at the beginning. Identify yourself to establish a relationship with the customer. 3. Discover the caller’s name if you must transfer the call to another person. Although you are unaware of the purpose of the call at this stage, be prepared to take down customer details should that be necessary. 4. Determine the purpose of the phone call and the caller’s needs. Only when you become aware of the customer’s needs can you proceed to provide them with the help or information they require or transfer the call to the relevant person. 5. Respond to the caller’s needs. Most customers expect that the person answering a call has all the information which they seek at hand. If you have the required information, you can give it to the customer. If not, then either transfer the call to another employee who can help or promise to obtain the information. Give the customer the option of remaining on the line while you discover the information or offer to call them back later. If you promise to call the customer back, always do so. Broken promises create a bad image for the University. If the customer chooses to remain on the line, keep them informed about the steps you are pursuing. 6. Close the call. Once the information has been given, ask the customer if there is anything else that you could help them with. A courteous goodbye is appropriate to end the call.

Telephone Technique Step by Step 1. Answer the call within three rings, where possible. 2. When you answer the phone adopt a polite, friendly tone of voice by using techniques such as smiling and varying the pitch and pace of your voice. 3. Use appropriate greeting manner to include relevant greeting forms such as ‘Good Morning’, ‘Good Afternoon’, ‘Good Evening’, always followed by ‘Thank you for calling UEL (Service/school/Department name) (Your name) speaking. How can I help you?’. 4. If you are asked to transfer the call to one of your colleagues, you should always say ‘Can I take your name please and ask about the purpose of your call?’. 5. When you put a caller on hold or transfer them to another department always let them know in advance about the steps you are taking. 6. Use the appropriate closing form: ‘Is there anything else I can do for you today? (Wait for the answer) Thank you for calling. Goodbye.’ 6.3 Emails, CRM and Live Chat Many enquiries we must deal with will either come direct to our emails, through a shared mailbox, through a customer relationship management (CRM) system or through a live chat function. Wherever these queries arrive there are 5 key principles which will impact the customer experience: 1. Ease of sending query We must make it as easy as possible for customers to contact us at every point of the customer journey. This information should be displayed digitally, for example on our webpages, apps and social media pages, as well as in customer facing areas around our campuses. Online forms and live chat functions should be developed in such a way that it is user friendly and that we collate the right level of information to help with enquiries 2. Response time A query that is responded to quickly will provide a much more positive experience than a response that is delayed. Poor responsiveness can also have a negative impact on business as we may lose customers. We should respond as quickly as possible to all customers, providing an initial acknowledgement and resolve issues within our service level agreement (SLA).

3. Information Given We should always aim to resolve any queries during the first response. We may need to ask additional questions to the customer to clarify their query. We can then seek to provide accurate information using information on the intranet or from a knowledgebase (currently under development). If we are using bots to respond to customers, then it is important that this technology is well managed, and the information being inputted is accurate and regularly reviewed. Auto responses If we have auto responses set up, we should ensure the customer is given the following information: – – – –

Team email signature with the following information: Team Name Team Contact Number Team Working Hours

– Signposting to further information, for example, FAQs on a website. – FAQs should be developed and regularly updated to allow customers to better self-serve. This will save time for the customer and remove the need to send further enquiries. – Service level agreements (SLAs) – Being transparent about when a task will be completed (e.g. “We will respond to all enquires within 3 days”.) Out of Office Messages We should ensure that mailboxes have an out of office message set up during any period of absence. An out of office message should contain the following information. – – – –

Return date from absence Personal response time after return Signposting to further information if relevant Signposting to an alternative colleague or team, who will be available throughout the duration of absence. It is important that this is discussed with the team or colleague in advance of the absence to ensure they are prepared for additional enquiries.

4. Professionalism We should communicate in a professional manner when sending emails or communicating through CRMs. Some useful things to remember are: – Use language appropriate to the audience. – Address the customer in a courteous way and by their preferred name and title, as relevant. – Sign off emails with the ending relevant for the audience. – Abide by data protection regulations, including ensuring that you are sending the communication to the correct individual (e.g., careful use of ‘reply-all’ and autofill). 5. Friendliness/Tone of email The tone of email, like the tone of voice during face-to-face interactions, has a significant impact on the customer experience. Some useful things to remember are: – Come across friendly, welcoming and use positive language during any email communication. – Proofread any email before sending to ensure that it is clear and professional. – If we have an emotional response to an event or to a customer enquiry or complaint, then it is important that we take a moment before sending an email to avoid a negative response. 6.4 Digital (Website, apps, social media, etc) The user experience across our website and digital platforms is key to the overall customer experience. Often our website or digital platforms will be the first touchpoint of customer interaction with us. The below themes are of importance to delivering an outstanding customer experience on digital platforms, though they apply across the customer experience delivery. Further details about these themes can be found in Appendix 4. 1. Personal, relevant customer journey 2. Engagement, inspiration & delight 3. Standing out above the crowd (be bold) 4. Fostering relationships 5. Up to date, ahead of the curve & innovative 6. Demonstrating pride in our people & organisation 7. Being accurate & definitive 8. Creativity empowered by technology 9. Enabling our customers 10. Global personal experience 11. Process-led governance 12. Well-resourced, trained team 16

6.5 Enquiry Management As has already been explored, enquiries may come through a variety of means. The following general principles can be applied to all enquiries. – Ensure all enquiries are acknowledged immediately through an autoreply with clear response timelines. – Ensure that you are clear about the customer’s query or needs. – Keep the customer informed about the progress of the resolution of their enquiry. – Aim to resolve an enquiry within locally set SLAs. The below workflow provides a basic framework on how enquiries should be managed. INBOUND ENQUIRY

Can the enquiry be resolved immediately?

YES Enquiry resolved. At this stage ensure the customer is happy with outcome before closing the enquiry.

NO Ensure the enquiry is acknowledged, communicating the SLA to the customer.

SLA Can the enquiry be resolved at the first attempt?

After acquiring knowledge can the enquiry be resolved within the SLA?

YES Enquiry resolved at first attempt. At this stage ensure the customer is happy with outcome before closing the enquiry.

NO Acquire more knowledge to enable enquiry to be resolved or forwarded to the appropriate team or staff member.

YES Enquiry resolved at second attempt. At this stage ensure the customer is happy with outcome before closing the enquiry.

NO Forward enquiry to relevant team or staff member. Communicate the update to the customer.

(Locally driven)

Ideally, ‘ownership’ of the query would remain with the person who first received the call. This would mean that the initial call handler follows up with the team to which the call was escalated. Further work is underway to agree a cross-institution approach to call-handling and any enabling technology. 6.6 Dealing with complaints It is important that relevant procedures are followed when dealing with complaints. Part 14 of the manual of general regulations sets out the University’s complaints procedure in relation to student complaints. PART14 Complaints Procedure March 2021.pdf Schools and services should use these procedures as the framework for dealing with complaints from other stakeholder groups. The following approach can be used in conjunction with the University complaints procedure above when a customer makes an initial complaint. If used correctly, this approach can help us to reduce the number of formal complaints.

The LEAD approach to handling complaints When dealing with an angry or unsatisfied customer take your time to listen to them carefully and try to understand their viewpoints. In line with one of our guiding principles, it is important that we are courageous and take ownership of the issue. We can then apply LEAD. – Listen - Listen to the customer carefully, take notes if needed and try to collect as much information you can about the complaint. Ask them questions to gain a deeper understanding. – Empathise – Put yourself in the place of the customer, try to understand the issue from their point of view. Apologising at this point can help deescalate the issue and shows that we have the customer’s best interests at heart. – Advise – Advise the customer what you will do and when you will do it by. Give timeframes as to when you will get back to them, however, do not make any false promises. – Deliver – Ensure you deliver on what you have advised the customer. Keep the customer updated at every stage of the resolution process.

It is important to keep a record of all complaints that are received and include – Information about the complaint – date, time, nature of complaint. – Information regarding responses – any communication with the customer including dates and times . – Outcome of complaint – Any investigation that took place and the proposed resolution. Ideally, any informal complaint will be resolved within three business days. If the complaint progresses to the formal stage, use the institution complaints procedure as the framework, adapting it to the relevant customer type. 6.7 Service Level Agreements A service level agreement (SLA) is a commitment by a service provider about the levels of service a customer can expect. When talking about SLAs within this document and in the wider context of customer experience we usually refer to expected response times and resolution times. SLAs should be developed at a local level, considering: Opening hours/working hours of school, service or department – Local processes in enquiry and complaints management – Urgency of enquiry – Number of enquiries – Time of year / seasonal demands These SLAs should be posted on the school or service internet and intranet sites (i.e., under ‘About Us’). Customers will have a better customer experience if the SLA is shorter, however this must be realistic and achievable. If we fail to deliver on an SLA, then it can have a negative impact on the customer experience. Different enquiries may have different SLAs and certain enquiries may have shorter SLAs depending on the time of year. By using the CRM to manage SLAs: – We can program the SLA into the CRM, which can be used to automatically prioritise enquires that are likely to breach the SLA. – We can monitor our service and use the data to inform changes and better serve our customers. In the absence of a cross-institution CRM that can track SLA progress, schools and services should monitor these manually and discuss them in regular team meetings.

7.0 Wellbeing, Customer Conduct and Safeguarding 7.1 Staff and Customer Wellbeing 7.1.1 Staff Wellbeing There is a wellbeing risk associated with all forms of communication with customers. Examples include verbally aggressive or abusive customers, online trolling or stress caused by dissatisfied customers. It is important that we always look after our own wellbeing and that of our colleagues. UEL has extensive wellbeing support and resources to help colleagues that may have been affected by interactions with customers. More detail on this support can be found on the H&S Unit’s intranet page. If there is an immediate concern for our wellbeing or that of a colleague, then security should be called on 7771 and, in an emergency, we should call 999. 7.1.2 Customer Wellbeing During our interactions with customers we may become aware of a wellbeing concern. Depending on who the customer is and what the wellbeing concern is we should signpost to the relevant support service. A full list of support services and wellbeing resources can be found in Appendix 5. If there is an immediate concern for the wellbeing of a customer, then security should be called on 7771 an in an emergency we should call 999. 7.2 Customer Conduct If during any interactions with customers there is a breach in rules, regulations, terms and conditions or a code of conduct then we should refer to the relevant policy. 7.2.1 Students Student policies and code of conducts can be found on the student conduct team’s intranet page. 7.2.2 Staff Staff policies can be found within the employee handbook on HR’s intranet page. 7.2.3 Other Customers We aim to have a central policy that outlines our expectations about customer conduct, which will be clearly visible and accessible to both our staff and our customers. In the absence of a central policy, then local policies should be used in managing poor customer conduct.

7.3 Safeguarding If during our interactions with children and vulnerable adults we become aware of a safeguarding concern, we should follow UEL’s Safeguarding policy. 7.4 Physical Environment By following our guiding principles, we can ensure that the physical environment will positively impact the customer experience. We can: – Embrace diversity and inclusion by recognising the diverse needs of our customers and ensuring we are inclusive and accessible for all. - We can do this by ensuring we have accessible and inclusive facilities across our campuses (e.g., disability access, baby-changing areas, etc). – Be courageous by taking ownership of all problems and follow through on resolution. - We can do this by ensuring we have a clean and well-maintained environment, for example by picking up litter in a customer-facing area or identifying, reporting, and following up on a maintenance issue. – Be passionate by anticipating the needs of our customers wherever they are in their journey. - We can do this by providing visual cues to signpost customers to relevant services at point of need 7.5 Creating the Wow Factor Creating a wow factor for our customers will distinguish a customer from having an outstanding customer experience versus a good one. This is something that often surprises or delights a customer in a positive way. It is something that goes beyond their expectations. The term TNTs (Tiny Noticeable Things) are often used to describe actions that we can take to wow our customers. TNTs are often small and simple actions that have an explosive impact for the customer. Examples may include sending a birthday greeting and/or gift to customers, greeting customers by their name or simply opening doors for our customers. The more we deliver the same thing it will become expected and will become expected by customers. It is therefore important that we continue to deliver on these actions to ensure we are meeting expectations, whilst thinking of new and innovative TNTs that can create the wow factor. Delivering the wow factor goes beyond our procedures and this is often based on our own actions. By using our guiding principles and embracing diversity and inclusion, being courageous and being passionate we should constantly be thinking of new TNTs we can use to wow our customers. 22

References Vliet, V., 2013. Communication Model by Albert Mehrabian - Tools Hero. [online] Management tools for the manager - Tools Hero. Available at: <http://www. toolshero.com/communication-management/communication-model-mehrabian/> [last accessed Thurs, 14 Oct 2021].

Appendices Appendix 1 - Strategy on a page Customer Experience Strategy (CX Strategy) What is CX?

CX is how our stakeholders, such as students, staff, and partners, perceive our institution and services. This could be based on their engagement with us or simply on what they’ve heard about us.

Why important?

Delivery of an outstanding customer experience ... – Inspires students to study with us, businesses to partner with us, and all stakeholders, including our staff, to maintain their relationships with us. – Builds reputation and enhances positioning in key league tables. – Saves money used for compensation for complaints. – Employs clear processes and procedures that allow us to get it right the first time. Thus, it positively impacts institution income!

BHAG

We have a customer-centric culture where our students and other stakeholders get what they need, when they need it – often exceeding their expectations!

Vision 2028 Institutional KPIs

Future Graduate: student retention, student experience, attainment gap Future Professional: graduate employability, apprenticeship provision Future Life: community impact and engagement Sustainability: efficiency, student numbers, market attractiveness and reputation, skills in workforce

Our top performance indicators

By 2028, we will ... Earn a 90% satisfaction rating for our service delivery to our students and other stakeholders. Retain the loyalty and trust of our stakeholders as evidenced by a 90% retention rate of their business. Raise our profile in the sector as evidenced by our net promoter score. Earn a 90% satisfaction rating from our staff as an employer of choice.

Framework: Customer Service Excellence (CSE) Standard

Customer Insight: customer identification, engagement, satisfaction Culture of the organisation: leadership, culture, staff professionalism Information and access: range, quality, accessibility of information; partnerships Delivery: standards, outcomes, efficiency of problem-solving Timeliness and quality of service: standards for timeliness, timely outcomes

Owners

All members of the organisation Monitored/reported by Directors/Deans/Heads of Service

Appendix 2 – Sample Metrics and Standards Future Graduate Metrics*

Target

Audience

Tools

Examples of services for which metric may be relevant

Student /stakeholder retention

90%

Students Stakeholders

Students: SITS/Power BI, Career passport

Student Recruitment and Admissions

Stakeholders: Career passport; satisfaction surveys; UX

Academic Advising

Students Other internal stakeholders External stakeholders

Mystery Shopping NSS/PTES/PRES/ UKES League tables Randomised surveys UX

Library, Archives and Learning Services

Students

SITS/Power BI UX Civitas REC action plan

Student Complaints

Overall service satisfaction

90%

Attainment gap 13% (between BAGM and white students; plus, granular targets)

The Hub

Health and Wellbeing Services

Future Professional Metrics*

Target

Audience

Tools

Graduate employability

90% of students feel confident and ready for employment

Students Employers

Students: Graduate Careers & outcome survey Enterprise (GOS); Career passport Employer: Career passport; satisfaction surveys; UX

90% satisfaction rating of employers Apprenticeship provision

Nn of places 90% satisfaction rating of students

Examples of services for which metric may be relevant

Students Employers

90% satisfaction rating of employers

*includes data collection for EDI assessment

Students: SITS/ Apprenticeships Power BI; satisfaction surveys; UX Employer: Contract management tool (?); satisfaction surveys; UX

Future Life/Sustainability Metrics*

Target

Audience

Tools

Examples of services for which metric may be relevant

Student / stakeholder numbers

10% increase YOY

Students

Students: SITS/ Careers and Power BI; Career Enterprise passport Stakeholders: Career passport

Student engagement score

Service/site visits/usage

10% increase YOY

Net promoter score

Event engagement

Students

PowerBI Lenel Moodle Teams Career Passport

Academic Advising

Students Other internal stakeholders External stakeholders

PowerBI Lenel Google analytics E-resource analytics Dynamics

East London Sport

Students Other internal stakeholders External stakeholders

Industry calculator

ERD

Numbers registered Numbers attended 90% Satisfaction

Students Other internal stakeholders External stakeholders

Surveys UX LibCal Eventbrite CRM Web Social media Career passport F2F headcounts

Careers and Enterprise

*includes data collection for EDI assessment

LALS (Kortext)

The Hub

Student Recruitment and Admissions

Enquiries

Numbers received % resolution within n period % referrals v % immediate resolution 90% Satisfaction

Students Other internal stakeholders External stakeholders

CRM LibAnswers Dynamics Web Social media Career passport

Credit Control

Numbers received Fulfilment time % referrals v % immediate resolution 90% Satisfaction

Students Other internal stakeholders External stakeholders

CRM LibAnswers Dynamics Web Social media Career passport

IT Services

Feedback (Numbers received)

% Acknowledgement within 24 hours % Outcome communicated within 3 working days

Students Other internal stakeholders External stakeholders

CRM Human Resources LibAnswers Dynamics Complaints Web Social media CareerZone tool

Complaints

0 received % resolution time within agreed institution policy % satisfaction EIA - % from protected groups

Students Other internal stakeholders External stakeholders

CRM LibAnswers Dynamics Web Social media Career passport UX

The Hub

0 received nn outcomes upheld EIA - % from protected groups

Students

CRM SITS UX

Complaints

Requests

Student disciplinaries/ misconduct

Schools

Estates and Services

LALS

Student Conduct

Sustainability cont’d - staff for all services and schools Metrics

Target

Tools

Overall service satisfaction 90%

Pulse survey including question about employer of choice

Training

Number of training events Number of staff attending % Staff confident of using new skill

Training feedback PDRs

Employee engagement

% attendance at targeted events % involvement with targeted activities (e.g., volunteering)

Pulse survey Events analytics HR/scheme records PDRs

Employee relations

Number of disciplinaries Number of grievances EIA - % percentage protected groups impacted by restructures Number of strike actions

HR records

Appendix 3: Indicative High-level CX Dashboard Sample figures for illustration purposes only. Tool

Service

Audience

Target

Actual

Variance w/ RAG

Overall service satisfaction (non-staff) NSS (Q19)

Library, Archives and Learning Services

Students

90%

85%

-5%

Satisfaction Survey

Student Hub

Students

90%

85%

-5%

All services

Staff

90%

75%

-15%

Nnn

Schools overall

Students

85%

70%

-15%

Nnn

Careers & Enterprise

Businesses

95%

Nnn

Apprenticeships

Businesses

95%

85%

-10%

External Relations

Students Stakeholders

nnn

-nnn

Overall service satisfaction (staff) Pulse survey Student / stakeholder retention

Net Promoter Score

Appendix 4 – Digital User Experience Themes 1. Personal, relevant customer journey We gather and use data to tailor the messaging, experience, and actions for each customer type, entity and individual; making their journey with us more relevant and personal 2. Engagement, inspiration & delight We engage, inspire, and delight our customers, giving them a positive impression of UEL at each step of their journey with us; surprising them with immersive, experiential content 3. Standing out above the crowd (be bold) We stand out from our competition, portraying UEL and East London as an industry-leading place to study, work and live, communicating Vision 2028; doing so with pride, and doing so boldly 4. Fostering relationships We create and foster ongoing relationships with our customers, industry, and business partners, delivering success to all parties through equitable value exchange 5. Up to date, ahead of the curve & innovative We publish rapid, frequent content updates, as well as being ahead of the curve and quick-to-market with new ideas and technologies 6. Demonstrating pride in our people & organisation We promote our educators, students, alumni, and community, giving them space to share their work and experiences, and express themselves with their own identities 7. Being accurate & definitive We provide an up to date, accurate and definitive source of information for our customers and colleagues alike 8. Creativity empowered by technology We are empowered by robust, flexible, and easy to use systems that allow us to maintain, enhance and improve the customer experience on an ongoing basis 9. Enabling our customers We provide the tools our customers need to be able to perform their tasks and be creative; and make it simple and intuitive to do so

10. Global personal experience We give customers access to our content how, where, and when they want, according to their individual needs, location, and preferences 11. Process-led governance We have governance and processes in place that ensure consistency of approach, messaging, and communications; points of escalation; decision making and performance monitoring 12. Well-resourced, trained team We are sufficiently well-resourced, with a programme of development and training; enabling us to take advantage of the available technology and serve our customers with the best experience possible

Appendix 5 – Customer Wellbeing Support Students Student Wellbeing Team Staff H&S Unit All Customers Newham Talking Therapies If you live in the borough of Newham (this includes anyone living in UEL Halls of Residence) then you can access a range of free and confidential talking therapies and specialist support newhamtalkingtherapies.nhs.uk/ Samaritans A charity to support with mental health or anyone going through a difficult time samaritans.org/ NHS Direct For any non-emergency support from the NHS. digital.nhs.uk/services/nhs-111-online or call 111 Emergency Support For an emergency then call 999, as well as security on 7771