As the adage goes, “Feedback is a gift.” That’s something I remind myself and my colleagues when we review and discuss the Administrative Services Survey feedback each year. What did University Communications and Marketing (UCM) learn from this year’s survey? First, that campus is as pleased with our department as they have been since the annual survey began. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being highest, UCM earned a 3.98 score. Moreover, three-fourths of all respondents reported being satisfied or somewhat satisfied with UCM’s work. Both of those scores continue a pattern of improvement.

Campus partners appreciate UCM the most for being courteous (4.58, up from 4.34 last year), professional (4.55, up from 4.23), and knowledgeable (4.45, up from 4.10). Those are the same top three strengths identified in last year’s survey.

Not all feedback is positive, of course. In terms of areas of improvement, respondents most want UCM to be more responsive (3.88) and to deliver more work on time (3.85). These are difficult criticisms to face, as we have worked hard this past year to improve our responsiveness and reliability, even though our staff is 25% smaller than the prior survey period. Making the department smaller was a difficult yet strategic decision to shift resources from staff to services, in order to expand marketing and especially to support the critical need for stronger student recruitment. Still, perception is reality, and we will reflect on what more we can do to improve our responsiveness and turn time.

How about the work itself? Respondents feel that UCM’s output is strongest in the areas of campus communication (4.27) and donor communications (4.05). They would like to see improvement in student recruitment (3.86), public relations (3.86), and strategic planning (3.64). 

Here are some steps we have in mind for spring semester:

Responsiveness and deadlines: 
1. Better educate campus partners on who to contact within UCM for specific needs.
2. Better communicate and reinforce the necessary lead time required to complete a request (typically 2-3 weeks for standard requests, and 4-6 weeks or longer for more complex needs)
3. Ensure campus partners clear their requests first through a Deans Council or President’s Council member so that all of the work being done for a unit is properly prioritized.

Student recruitment:
1. Finish and implement a digital dashboard. This dynamic tool is nearing completion (thank you, ITS and Admission!), and it will help us better understand the impact of marketing efforts across multiple platforms and the University website. We can then periodically report to campus partners on strides being made.
2. In addition to sharing digital dashboard metrics, we would like to periodically share with campus when we have launched new marketing campaigns (digital, social, email, etc.) or tools. This is likely to alleviate questions about what we are doing to help drive recruitment.

Public relations:
1. Work to define a more efficient process for promoting unit-level news, particularly the academic units.
2. Promote the self-serve “Faculty and Staff Accomplishments” form, which allows any faculty or staff member from across campus to generate a news item for the University’s online newsroom.

Strategic planning:
1. Initiate the annual strategic planning process earlier with key partners, particularly Admission and the academic units.
2. For other areas and projects, rely on our Wrike project management system as a tool to help ensure that all aspects of a project have been properly planned upfront – and that we are not just responding to an on-the-fly request that lacks sufficient details.

I welcome any feedback about these ideas, or other suggestions. We are proud and grateful to be stewards of the University’s brand and reputation, and to work with so many great partners from across campus and beyond.

— Dave Remund, executive director, University Communications and Marketing