Before We Ask for More: Investing in Admissions, Marketing, and Communications

One of the phrases that I would often hear at networking events or conferences was that "everyone does admissions." This is true, the entire school is driving reputation, enrolment, and development. It is equally true that the Admissions, Marketing, and Communications office is the two-way filter through which information travels and new enrolment journeys are guided in and out of the school.

There are only a few Board or leadership meetings in which enrolment numbers are not discussed - especially in todays environment. When enrolment is discussed, out fly marketing strategies, communications, stakeholder management, and all the other beautiful and brutal aspects of the work these offices do.

What is seldom discussed is the professional developement investment needed. How much attention are Boards or school Directors giving professional development or consultancy support to the Admissions, Marketing, and Communications team? How much is put in before so much is asked for as an outcome?

Schools generally invest little of their operating budget in their Admissions, Marketing, and Communications departments, and when it comes to drawing the line in the budget, most, if not all, of the revenue generation is strongly impacted by these offices.

When we think of budgetary constraints all schools are facing all the time, it is understandable that investments are made with an eye towards returns.

It is also understandable that returns, when it comes to Admissions, Marketing and Communications offices, are hard to gauge - as we cannot simply look at enrolment numbers to get that. Investment matters not only for outcomes but for the experience and retention of the professionals being asked to deliver them.

As the Admissions, Marketing, and Communications profession is also moving along with the various generations, leaving Millennials behind and opening doors to more Gen Z and Y staff, real opportunities for development become more and more important. When Boards and school leaders consider elements of stability that are important in their school, they should never forget the office that is most often their first stakeholder facing one.

Stability in the Admissions, Marketing, and Communications office is ensured not only through a vision, a nice campus or a good salary. Professional development, jointly and intentionally planned, can be a differentiator.

There are three aspects that I would encourage Boards and school leaders to look at when it comes to how they can support their Admissions, Marketing, and Communications offices:

1. Understand the role external support can have.

Whether the school contracts a consultant to offer bespoke support on issues the school is facing, or sending the team to workshops and conferences, there are clear advantages of engaging this type of support. It can function as a mirror to processes and siloes that exist in the school and a guide that helps draw out great solutions that always reside among the team members. Consultancy support can bring in missing pieces of the puzzle that is strategic enrolment: in the daily business of admissions or communications, it is quite easy to lose sight of what is happening in the market, in local or global economy or politics, that can affect schools in many ways. A consultant is someone who stays on top of this information and brings it in or has the time to explore and share it. Moreover, they have the freedom of complete honesty given their semi-detached approach, of a contractor.

2. Understand the type of support that your team needs, at the moment.

This implies that Boards and leaders maintain a continuous open dialogue with their Admissions, Marketing, and Communications teams to understand their needs for development and support. Unlike two decades ago, when I started looking around for development, today there are multiple ways in which a team can learn:

1. - micro-credentialing with ISS Edu Platform

   - within a large and great networking community with [YELLOW CAR]

   - through mentoring, strategic institutes or bespoke workshops with Sage Consultancy

   - through conferences organized or the magazine published by Faria Education Group

These learning opportunities cater to different budgets, different needs, and different ways of learning.

3. Check in for impact.

It is important that the open dialogue does not stop at need and that it continues around impact. Once support has been contracted, it is important to understand its impact, how it can be implemented in everyday action, and how potential returns are measured. This helps not only the understanding of return on investment but also helps calibrate more appropriate solutions in the future.

Schools scrutinize enrolment relentlessly while sometimes underinvesting in the professional capacity of the people whose work most directly supports enrolment, reputation, relationships and the family experience. While results of doing things differently might not be immediately visible, they will definitely pay off in the long run, through the connections, strategic thinking and stability of the team.