Developing an Effective
Call Center within
the Financial Aid Office
Texas Association of Student
Financial Aid Administrators
Fall 2010 Conference
Presenters
Christopher D. Murr, Ph.D.
Director
Financial Aid and Scholarships
Texas State University-San Marcos
Anita Ford
Supervisor
Financial Aid and Scholarships
Texas State University-San Marcos
Purpose
This session will focus on the process of creating a
successful call center within the Texas State
University financial aid organization to address
effectively inbound customer calls and emails,
while improving customer service and reducing
staff stress. The session will address both the
benefits and challenges of implementing a call
center, as well as the related use of technology,
quantitative measures, training and more.
Overview










Challenges to Customer Service
Objectives of Creating A Call Center
Organizational Change – First-Tier Customer Service
Hedge-hogging in The Call Center
Hiring the Right People
Leveraging Technology
Assessments
Call Center Results
Continuing Challenges of
Operating A Call Center
Future Objectives
Challenges to Customer Service






Callers during peak season waited as long as 45
minutes to speak with a financial aid
representative
Staff that answered calls also worked the service
counter and answered office email
Call supervisor lacked the ability to centrally
track call, counter or email customer contacts
Lacked staff and student accountability
mechanisms
Training took too long to allow staff to go live
and be productive
Suffered from high phone staff turnover
Objectives of Creating A Call Center








Focus select staff on answering calls
Achieve a 70% (31.5 minute) reduction in caller
wait time
Achieve a 60% (3 minute) reduction in talk time
Achieve a 90% good or excellent rating for phone
advisors on customer satisfaction survey
Provide phone team with the tools and training
necessary to be successful
Increase staff and customer accountability
Reduce training time for new staff by two months
Reduce phone staff turnover
Previous First-Tier Customer
Service Organizational Structure
Phone and Counter
Supervisor
Counter – FA Assistant
Phone – FA Assistant
Counter – FA Assistant
Phone – FA Assistant
Phone – FA Assistant
Revised Organizational Structure
Call Center Supervisor
Phone Advisor
Phone Advisor
Phone Advisor
Phone Advisor
Phone Advisor
Phone Advisor
Hedge-hogging in The Call Center
Removed secondary duties from call
center supervisor
 Focused advisors on answering phones
 Centrally located phone team staff
 Reduced incoming financial aid emails,
which phone advisors answer, by 90%
 Limit review of lists and other tasks to
those activities that can be performed in a
multi-tasking environment
 Staff read such books as Good to Great

Hiring the Right People
Hire potential phone advisors through
temporary agency (allows for evaluation
period)
 Focus on hiring those with previous call
center experience
 Assess learning and ability using a 100
question assessment instrument
 Raised base salary by 10% to a level
comparable to financial aid counselors

Leveraging Technology







Phone recording and screen capture software
Financial Aid Answer Bank – reducing email
inquiries
Online call tracking and unresolved issues
application log
Integration of call and lobby (walk-in) tracking
systems
Developed online document emailer applications
for phone staff
Developed online work lists for special programs
and revisions
Dual monitors
Assessments
Evaluation of phone recordings (formal
and informal)
 Average talk time and wait time per phone
staff member is a quantitative measure
incorporated within his
or her annual evaluation
 Knowledge tests (e.g., Title
IV withdrawals) with
supplemental training

Call Center Results








Successfully dedicated staff to answering inbound
calls to FAS
For 2008-2009, average wait time was reduced to
1:44
For 2008-2009, average talk time was 3:14
For 2008-2009, achieved a 96% good or excellent
rating for phone advisors on customer satisfaction
survey
Successfully implementing technology to facilitate
staff efficiency, effectiveness and job satisfaction
Increased staff and customer accountability
Reduced training time for new staff by two months
Reduced phone staff turnover by approximately
40%—2 year attrition rate
Continuing Challenges of
Operating A Call Center
Phone staff burnout
 Being too “Big Brother”
 Being too quantitative
 Keeping staff engaged during
non-peak periods
 Reduce the feeling of being
tied to the desk
 Keeping engaged with office

Future Objectives
Incentivizing performance on an individual
basis
 Implementing a call board system
 Online scoring of phone calls
 More flexible scheduling (e.g., 4-day work
week)
 Designing new work space
geared specifically for a call
center and the phone staff
 Making the job more fun

Christopher D. Murr, Ph.D.
Director
Financial Aid and Scholarships
Texas State University-San Marcos
cm18@txstate.edu
512.245.3975
Anita Ford
Supervisor
Financial Aid and Scholarships
Texas State University-San Marcos
af24@txstate.edu
512.245-3633