While it isn't the first thing you connect to government appointments, focusing on customer experience in the public sector is important. In this article, we'll talk about why improving customer service in government must be a priority. As of 2021, citizen satisfaction with federal government services had hit a record low.[caption id="attachment_36346" align="alignnone" width="1536"] ACSI Data of federal government satisfaction over time[/caption]The American Customer Satisfaction Index shows that the federal government as a whole has a customer satisfaction score of 63.4, the lowest recorded level. The previous government satisfaction index all-time low was 63.9 back in 2015. Citizens make time in their day to pay bills, apply for permits, or obtain information regarding other government policies and procedures that keep their homes and properties rule-compliant; however, customer experience for the government public sector has hit this low due to a few reasons:
Walking into a busy office and seeing disgruntled office staff serving others who have been waiting for hours can make these simple tasks seem never-ending, frustrating, and unproductive.
Some citizens have turned away after waiting simply because they have the wrong paperwork in hand.
Others are deterred and walk out of the door because queue control is nonexistent, without a plan in place, your government office can become an unproductive and cluttered area with a negative reputation. Enhancing your local government customer service strategy is a priority - but staff are also often overwhelmed by high volume at peak periods and lack the support they need. A solution to help improve government customer experience?An efficient queueing system can help both sides of this common public sector customer experience problem: remove visitor management burden off of government staff while keeping visitors moving efficiently. Here is how QLESS technology can help improve customer service in government in just five simple steps.
It’s no secret that citizens don’t necessarily expect speedy service from government offices. The memes, jokes, and stereotypes about DMV wait times reflect citizen sentiment about what service they expect and often receive while in the DMV queue system. Even Disney children’s movie Zootopia spoofs the concept of how slow the DMV experience is, likening the DMV experience to sloths.
Use a modern queueing system to prove stereotypes wrong when it comes to customer experience in the public sector and take control of crowds in your government office.
During peak times, the line at your local government office can quickly get out of control, many hard working citizens work during the day then rush to appointments to complete necessary errands before going home to cook dinner or take care of their families. Articles about the frustrations and long waits encountered in government customer service, such as this 6 ABC article about DMV wait times outside of Philadelphia are scattered across the internet, further conveying the need to improve the customer experience in government offices and the public sector overall. During these busy time rushes, office staff often feel they lack the support they need to help serve visitors in a timely manner, so by improving your queueing system, you also improve the customer experience in your government office.[caption id="attachment_36347" align="alignnone" width="1536"]
ACSI Data of drivers of satisfaction[/caption]As of 2021, satisfaction for “process” is the lowest among all drivers of satisfaction with an index score of 63. “Customer service” also saw a decrease for the first time in years. Improving process and customer-service based aspects of the government visitor experience can help turn around this negative trajectory.
Implement a Queueing System to improve Government “Process” and “Customer Service”: The positive news is that by focusing on building a queueing system and implementing an appointment management system, this will focus on the “process” aspect of government satisfaction and aim to improve scores.If government staff are also more in control and unburdened by an influx of visitors, there is an opportunity to improve the “customer service” score as well.
Now, cloud-based technology allows visitors to schedule appointments in advance and wait however and wherever they want. A visitor management system for the public sector puts the power in citizens’ hands to visit at a time that works best for them, while helping staff better manage and predict visitor flow.
An online appointment scheduling software for government offices creates the opportunity for citizens to plan ahead and skip the wait. Putting the power into their hands improves the customer experience within the public setting, letting visitors reduce wait times and feel in control of their scheduling..
Waitlist software allows you to help your staff remotely direct customers to visit the office during off-peak times. Eliminate lineups by allowing visitors more choice as they enter the virtual queue either on-site or remotely.
QLESS uses FlexAppointments to integrate scheduled appointments with walk-in customers. FlexAppointments helps create the predictability of appointments, while still allowing people to join the queue as a walk-in.
Text reminders reduce no-shows and allow visitors to reschedule appointments or ask for more time as needed. Controlling your office queue will improve flow within weeks and is a powerful way to enhance the customer experience in government offices.
A major trend that QLESS has witnessed in the government sector in recent years has been a shift towards appointment scheduling. Harkening back to the DMV experience, even DMVs have recently moved in the direction of appointment scheduling. Appointment scheduling software for DMVs allows for greater visitor management, as well as a cleaner and safer environment for both the staff and visitors. QLESS has seen this with our own DMV clients, who have been more successful managing visitors using our appointment software. The QLess check-in app for DMV uses Flex Appointments technology to automatically handle appointments, and virtual queues to promote social distancing for walk-in customers. One of the largest DMVs in the country has seen success with QLESS, helping turn around the stereotypes of the DMV experience. This particular DMV was transformed using the DMV app: cutting wait times, reducing queues, and improving customer happiness.
Queue control technology is a proven local government customer service strategy that helps increase staff and customer satisfaction; in fact, our clients have observed an improvement in customer satisfaction by up to 100%. Despite the low satisfaction scores with government agencies recorded in 2021, there is a huge opportunity for growth by taking steps to enhance the customer experience in the public sector.
The good news here is that positive experiences can boost outcomes for government agencies.[caption id="attachment_36349" align="alignnone" width="900"]
McKinsey customer service report in 2019[/caption]Actions taken to improve customer service show massive improvements for government agencies as a whole. McKinsey data shows the many impacts various government agencies have experienced as a result of modernization through methods such as appointment booking software. Some of the Impacts of modernizing in the public sector include:
Call center wait time decreased by 70% as a result of focusing employees on customer experience.
After modernizing, a US government agency had a 50% increase in organizational health.
Dissatisfied customers lead to strains on government agency resources. Customers with poor experiences are more than twice as likely to contact agency numbers 3+ times for help.
Public trust experiences major increases when there are positive customer service experiences, with satisfaction increasing 9x if customers are satisfied.
Dissatisfied customers present increased levels of risk. Those who had negative experiences are 2x more likely to publicly share poor experiences.
QLESS has solutions to help all 5 of the above results become a reality for government agencies. Here are just a few of the many ways QLESS can help improve customer service in your government office through our solutions:
Staff productivity can be boosted by up to 90% as you integrate this technology alongside your current system. Using the help of a comprehensive solution including a queueing system and an appointment management system, staff’s efforts can be best focused on delivering strong customer service.
As long wait times disappear, customer satisfaction can be monitored using our virtual feedback surveys. These surveys track customer sentiment over time and can see how the daily operation of the office changes how customers feel about their experience.
Allow administrators more peace of mind as they can effectively schedule more staff during peak periods.
Keep up to date with visitors through reminder and confirmation texts and voice messages as well as any updates about their visits that they need to know. The days of guesswork are over, take the mystery out of your local government customer service strategy, shorten wait times, and allow your local office to keep visitors in the know through voice messages or text notifications. See why other offices across six continents are so satisfied with their QLESS experience.
One of the benefits of using QLESS to improve customer experience in your government office is that it often comes with feedback surveys that allow administrators to inform staff training and target areas for improvement in customer service. Using this information, your office can improve the quality of service faster and more efficiently. Past that, government agencies can also make the most of data and business intelligence provided by QLESS services to make smarter decisions to improve efficiency and improve customer experience.There are two major ways that QLESS can help government offices apply service-informed data:
Business Intelligence adds value to an organization. It provides key knowledge about how a government organization is performing, what exactly is happening, and how action can be taken to improve. QLESS Business Intelligence uses data for smarter opportunities.Business Intelligence can also save resources, time, and money by identifying insights that may never have been realized otherwise. Government agencies can apply Business Intelligence in a customer service setting to determine how to best provide what visitors need and when they need it.[caption id="attachment_36350" align="alignnone" width="664"]
Example of QLESS Data Visualization[/caption]
Keep a pulse on online appointment scheduling and queueing as they happen. Leverage insights to adjust resources as needed to meet the ebbs and flows of customer needs in the public sector.
Understand the micro-trends occurring throughout your office’s operations. Data can be broken down by location, queue, appointment, service type, reason for visit, employee, day of week, time of day, and more. Looking at these insights can allow your local office to improve the customer experience.
Determine where bottlenecks are occurring and what workload constraints exist. Business Intelligence provides insights into where adjustments can be made to processes and resources.
Skip mailing the paper survey, and instead allow your customers to complete their feedback form right after an appointment using SMS feedback surveys. By sending an SMS feedback survey, customers are able to give feedback right after an appointment while the experience is fresh. SMS feedback surveys are more likely to be opened than many other sources with SMS having a 98% open rate. Past that, research has shown that SMS surveys have a 209% higher response rate than other channels such as phone calls or email.
There is a host of information that should be collected from visitors in the follow-up survey.
These areas of feedback will help identify trends in your visitor experience - are there a certain type of visit that occurs most on a certain day or at a certain time? A feedback survey provides the opportunity to learn from your visitors. Providing an open-ended question for general feedback can open your office up to a variety of responses from visitors, but also can open your eyes to any blind spots that you hadn’t previously known about that visitors want or need. Many citizens are relieved by their change in waiting experience, and surveys reflect their satisfaction quickly. Take a look at some of the reasons your visitors will love using queue control technology in public sector offices in our product demo.
Once your office procedures are effective, another way to improve customer service in your government office is creating a brighter and quieter space. First impressions and environment matter, and making your government office an inviting and open space helps increase customer service satisfaction; for example, DMV’s are generally thought of as a notoriously unaesthetically pleasing setting, full of lines and waiting. With a DMV queue system set in place, DMV’s have a greater opportunity to open up space, decrease crowding, and create an inviting office setting.
An appointment scheduling app and queueing system can help create a more open, inviting office atmosphere.Here are just a few ways QLESS will help open up your office:
One of the main goals of QLESS is to decrease crowding, and the ultimate way to improve the office experience is to create a healthy flow of visitors, rather than a crowd of disgruntled people waiting.
Decreased crowding means that you can now place more comfortable waiting areas in your office. Create a variety of seating options to increase comfort and aesthetic appeal, think couches and comfortable stools instead of cheap plastic chairs anchored to the floor.
Repurpose now-empty space by renting out the area to a local coffee shop or bakery to give your visitors even more waiting options. With fewer visitors in the space at once, the opportunities for your newly-created extra space are endless.
Take the time to think about how to add to your office space with decor. Decorate your space with greenery such as plants or indoor gardens, you don’t need that space for extra bodies anymore.
A cluttered office is often interpreted as a disorganized and dirty office. A Princeton study found that too much visual stimuli makes it difficult for the human brain to focus and process information properly. To keep your office moving smoothly and both visitors and staff to have a seamless experience, keep the office clear of clutter. For more ideas on how to reduce wait times in your government office to create a more open and inviting visitor experience, read up on our top tips. Using QLESS to improve customer experience in your government office may well free up entire areas of your building for other use, thanks to effective queue control. You may well find that you can downsize over time or simply create a nicer atmosphere for your hard-working citizens and employees.
When the unexpected happens, people look to the government for help, resources, and guidance. Government agencies must step up and be there for the people they serve. After a natural disaster or other catastrophic events, the pressure to serve local citizens quickly increases exponentially as they try to put their lives back together on a short timeline, not only are citizens struggling with the unexpected event at hand, but they are trying to quickly find solutions for themselves and their loved ones. Every minute counts.
Using queue control measures is even more important in times of need. According to Accenture, "The areas with the lowest customer satisfaction in government agencies are trust (66%), service/effectiveness (69%), process/efficiency (69%), and process/ease (69%)." These are all customer service areas that would increase with a reliable queueing system that helps citizens get what they need faster in times of need. By being there when customers need it most, government agencies can help build trust and show effectiveness and ease with both process and service.
A queueing system can provide an area of organization and order for citizens during a time of chaos and disturbance. By making your process as simple and easy as possible, it gives citizens one less thing to worry about. The pandemic taught us that anything can happen, so being prepared helps ensure the customer experience with the public sector is a good one.
Citizens can wait in a virtual queue while taking care of other problems to help repair damage to their property or livelihoods. Instead of wasting precious time in line when citizens' time is critically needed elsewhere, they can multitask by standing in a virtual queue and tackling other concerns.
QLESS technology can help justify additional budget increase requests by effectively tracking the hours that staff work overtime. The ease of tracking overtime can help government agencies understand exactly what capacity is needed and how to best provide assistance to the citizens enduring crisis.
Let us help your office fill in the gaps efficiently as cancellations may become more frequent in times of need. Cancellations are to be expected when unpredictable challenges arise and people’s priorities shift by the minute. Queueing systems help intelligently move visitors up in the queue and seamlessly keep the process flowing. Having a queue control plan in place is a necessity for improving the customer experience in government offices and the public sector as a whole. Using technology that helps you navigate a sudden influx in office volume is paramount to your business reputation. Your goal is to ensure that every visitor is seen quickly and obtains the information they need.
No additional hardware is needed to begin the transition to improving customer experience in government offices and the public sector. QLESS makes it easy to make your customers’ and staffs’ lives easy. With a proven strategy to help your office succeed, see why innovative companies are so satisfied with our government management system. Join other success stories and improve your local government customer service strategy and queue control today. Contact QLESS today and request a demo now.
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University students attend higher education institutions with the hopes of expanding their minds and preparing for their future. Unfortunately, all too often they got lost in a system that doesn't cater to individual student experience. Instead of feeling that the administration exists for the students, attendees quickly realize that they must conform to the needs of administrators in order to be successful. Scheduling appointments, registering for classes, even asking advisors for help all become nightmarish experiences filled with long lines, tired and impatient staff, and inadequate information.
Oftentimes, students will enter university fresh-faced, excited, and ready for success. Over time, however, ineffective university resources begin to take their toll. When simple tasks like registering for classes or dealing with financial aid eat up so much of their time, their desire to continue with their education slowly decreases. Students struggle to gain support from on-campus systems, which explains why consistently negative experiences with campus resources are one of the main sources of attrition; unfortunately, universities struggle to increase student satisfaction with limited resources. While student experience often ranks as a top priority for administrators, improving on-campus systems seems like an insurmountable task. A large student population means long lines--there doesn't seem to be a way around the problem. Fortunately, online appointment booking tools and an effective scheduling application both provide a modern solution to a large problem in higher education.
By using an electronic scheduling application like the one from QLESS, academic institutions solve the problem of impatient students before it starts. Instead of expecting students to show up, wait in a line, and hope for the best, scheduling applications allow students to book an appointment ahead of time, eliminating the need for physical queues. In an age of ever-evolving technology, an electronic solution like a scheduling application can simultaneously push academic institutions into the modern age and improve the student experience.
Perhaps the most instantaneous result of an effective scheduling application is the elimination of physical lines, without an electronic tool, students often run into long lines at every on-campus location. While long queues are frustrating at any juncture, they're particularly irritating during key points in the year. When students struggle to register for class, change programs, or ask advice about their courses due to long lines, attrition begins to develop. Instead of forcing long queues that lead to general frustration and discontent, a scheduling application assigns students a specific time with which they can complete their necessary necessary business. When each student knows the time and date they can sign up for new courses, registering for classes becomes a breeze. Even signing up to see an advisor becomes a stress-free task--each person is assigned an appointment time, eliminating the pressure on both the student and the administrator. By bypassing lines and allowing individuals to address their issues at a specified time, students no longer waste their time waiting for help. They gain more time to study, hang out with friends, or even just relax, all of which will contribute to higher student satisfaction.
While a scheduling application gives students more free time, it also tailors the university experience to a new generation. Current and incoming university students have grown up with technology. They're well-versed in mobile applications, and they actually prefer to handle most of their business electronically. Academic institutions, like any business, attract the most customers when they know their audience and tailor their services accordingly, for a mobile generation, mobile scheduling applications should be the norm.
The QLESS scheduling application not only provides a mobile platform for students to access information from anywhere, it also sends text alerts to inform students of their appointment times. By creating a smartphone-friendly design, this scheduling application speaks to a main tenet of a new generation--consistent and reliable mobile communication. It ensures that students have simplified access to important academic information, and it lessens the possibility that they'll forget their appointment time and fail to show up.
While human error always stands as a distinct possibility, electronic scheduling applications allow students to feel comfortable an at-ease in their academic environments. By using technology they are already experts in, academic institutions create easy communication and connections between administrators and students. Students who feel comfortable in their academic environment are more likely to complete their university education, rather than cave to the pressures of campus life.
When students are constantly filtered into long lines and told to wait their turn, the personal element of higher education disappears. Students want to feel like their individual needs have significance, especially in an institution with the social weight of a college or university, many students accrue heavy debt in order to gain their degree. For instance, the desire to feel like their individual experience matters isn't misplaced. Difficulty gaining access to basic information and meeting essential needs for the future of their education is understandably frustrating.
Although electronic scheduling applications simply increase the organization and staff productivity on college campuses, they also allow each student to feel like they're receiving personalized attention. A specific appointment time communicates that each individual is important enough to receive focused attention, in which only their specific questions and needs matter. Simple as it may sound, a scheduling application can make all the difference in creating what feels like an individualized learning environment, despite the fact that each student receives the same time and attention to discuss their needs.
If students have a problem with campus systems, they want to make their opinions known; unfortunately, when it's difficult to even get a meeting in the first place, students don't feel that their concerns are being heard. Even if every individual problem can't be addressed immediately, allowing students to provide feedback on their experience can greatly improve student satisfaction with on-campus life. University processes may not change immediately, but allowing students to feel heard and appreciated subtly communicates that their opinion matters.
A scheduling application allows students the opportunity to address their concerns, without eating up the essential time of administrators. Instead of sitting in an office and listing off every complaint, students can fill out electronic surveys, effectively and quickly communicating the elements of the campus system that don't work for them. Feedback provides a two-fold opportunity for growth within the university. First, administrators hear student concerns quickly and easily, allowing them to adjust future processes to fix the most common problems. Second, students get their frustrations off their chest, lessening their irritation and providing hope that things will change in the future. A scheduling application allows universities to listen and react to the needs of their students, without decreasing the productivity of their staff. Students have a hand in the improvement of their education, and it doesn't come at a cost to either students or administrators.
Academic institutions are designed to push students towards graduation; unfortunately, the decision to leave university altogether is a common one. While each individual leaves their academic institution for their own reasons, dissatisfaction with campus resources often appears as one of the major sources behind drop-outs. Although it sounds like a no-brainer, it's worth stating that students who are satisfied with their college experience are far more likely to stay in school and eventually graduate.
An effective scheduling application increases student satisfaction with on-campus services. Students express their concerns, gain personalized attention, and generally improve their ability to function within a university setting. With a scheduling application, graduation seems like an achievable goal, rather than a faraway possibility. When students believe that they can graduate, they're much more likely to work towards that goal. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the work in front of them, students see a clear path towards reaching their degree. Sometimes a little hope and a plan is all it takes. Happy students who believe they can graduate are more likely to graduate. A scheduling application brings that goal to the forefront of their minds, encouraging students to stay in school and earn their degrees.
Using a QLESS scheduling application can change the life of university students everywhere. By eliminating physical lines and cutting down waiting times, scheduling applications allow students to feel like they're experiencing the personalized education they deserve; in addition, the mobile platform results in easy use for a tech-savvy generation and an opportunity for instantaneous feedback on campus services. Happy students are much more likely to stay in school, and to spread positivity about their academic institution, both online and in their personal life. If you want to increase your graduation rates, you need to learn more about QLESS systems today. If you think our system might be the right fit for you, contact us now. We'll answer all your questions about QLESS solutions. For more on improving campus operations and retention rates, read about how we've created college campuses without lines.
A well-developed workflow management system simplifies business processes at colleges and universities tremendously. As a business, these institutions provide education and degrees to their customers, also known as their students. Although colleges and universities stand as one of the most essential business organizations in young adult life, technological systems on-campus are often not on par with the fast-paced, technology-driven environment of the day. As incoming students reflect more expertise in current technology, so should their places of education. A workflow management system can change life at your university, both for your students and for your administrators.
In a school environment, multiple departments and individuals work together to contribute to the larger education machine. While some units identify prospective students, review applications, and send out offers of admissions, other divisions focus on registering current students for classes, organizing appointments with advisors, and assisting students with on-campus problems. Each of these individual systems work together to contribute to the overall goal of the organization--educating students and pushing them towards graduation, hence the need for workflow management.
A workflow management system simplifies all these processes. It's a software that automates some elements of your workflow management, taking the pressure off of your staff members and increasing the happiness of your students. By creating a streamlined network for all your most essential campus processes, a workflow management system allows each student to feel valued and supported, and each staff member to increase their productivity and efficiency.
A workflow management system creates an at-ease campus environment; not only that, it also brings your institution into the future. Easy-to-navigate education processes attract students, allowing your campus to continue running like the well-oiled machine that it is. Keeping your campus in the dark ages of technology not only hurts your students, it hurts your entire business. A high-tech workflow management system is a necessity your school can no longer do without.
Whether fair or unfair, students expect a lot of of their colleges and universities. An individualized learning experience is the standard, but most students would settle for consistent help from their on-campus systems. Unfortunately, high enrollment rates, a limited amount of resources, an overworked staff, and a surplus of tasks to complete often leave students feeling confused and overlooked. The more difficulty students experience navigating their education process, the more impatient they become. If enough time passes, the decision to leave school altogether becomes an easy one.
They're not getting the help they need to prepare for their future, why would they stay?
Consistently negative experiences with student services are one of the primary sources of attrition among college students. When students don't get the help or services they need, they drop out of classes, refrain from attending courses, or even leave the school altogether. As an organization that seeks to prepare young adults for their future, the current attrition rates are unacceptable.
Thankfully, a workflow management system presents a wonderful solution. By simplifying student access to on-campus services, a workflow management system decreases frustration and confusion among the student body. With a system like the one from QLESS, you can decrease attrition rates by as much as 50%. A workflow management system improves student satisfaction and increases retention rates by allowing each student to feel like their needs are being met.
While a workflow management system improves the lives of your students, it also leads to increased productivity of your staff. A higher education environment already deals with a lack of resources, but a larger problem presents itself in an ineffective use of the resources that do exist. Oftentimes, staff stretch themselves far too thin trying to meet the needs of all students, despite the lack of time or effective organization systems to do so. Advisors overbook themselves attempting to sort out class schedules, and the Registrar and Admissions offices are overrun with impatient students. While it's undeniably unfair to the students, it's equally as frustrating for the staff.
Workflow management systems streamline campus processes and effectively allocate your staff resources. By eliminating the need for physical lines and relying on technology-based systems for organization, workflow management systems allow your administrators to gain a clear view of the tasks they need to be completed. Instead of surprise assignments and a frustrating amount of work for staff members, each administrator focuses on their assigned tasks, increasing their overall productivity. Not only does it result in increased happiness for your employees, it also ensures that all your resources are used effectively, lowering operational costs and saving money in the long run.
In our technologically advanced world, physical lines and in-person wait times just aren't practical anymore. Many of the problems that develop in university settings stem from a general lack of organization. Without a workflow management system, students are forced to go to an office, wait in line, and generally waste their time in an attempt to progress in their college experience. At the same time, administrators have little control over the time and attention needed to help each individual student. With a finite amount of resources and an infinite amount of potential questions, administrators are unable to prioritize and organize accordingly. With that lack of organization, both staff and students waste their time, and neither leaves feeling happy.
A workflow management system sorts through the chaos in your offices and eliminates the inconveniences of poor organization. Instead of arriving at an unspecified time in a physical office, students are assigned an appointment time with which they can ask all their questions. Interactive virtual queuing simplifies the process if your student does need unexpected help, and mobile reminders ensure that each student arrives at their specified appointment time. Most importantly, all these processes are completed inside the system, without assistance from your staff, allowing them to save their abilities to actually help students and bypass the errors that often accompany in-person scheduling.
An effective workflow management system changes your on-campus life immediately. Improved allocation of resources, clear processes for students, and increased organization all lead to instantaneous changes in your business systems. However, workflow management systems also provide information on what needs to change in the future. As a completely automated process, workflow management systems collect valuable information on your student and staff patterns. Student wait times, staff efficiency, student needs--all these and more can be found within your workflow management system.
With QLESS systems specifically, we provide a real-time dashboard that consolidates data from multiple offices. At a glance, you have a general idea of what's happening in all areas of your campus. In addition, surveys within the system provide even more information about student satisfaction and necessary changes. Improving your business is a constantly evolving process, workflow management systems provide valuable insights to ensure that you can provide the best resources to your students for years to come.
We don't need to tell you that colleges and universities need students to stay afloat. Enrollment and retention present a major challenge for higher education institutions. That explains why many student administrators list student retention and student experience as their top priorities. While students may drop out when dissatisfied with their education, the ripple effect extends much farther than a single loss. Unhappy students spread information online and within their communities about the ineffectiveness of the school, giving other individuals the message that your institution isn't worth attending. While an individual drop-out can already present a hefty loss, consistent dropouts can negatively affect your application and enrollment rates over time.
An effective workflow management system leads to increased student happiness and higher retention rates over time, but it also allows your students to talk positively about your institution. Not only are you saving money on attrition, you're also building a strong reputation that will draw more students to your school over time. Reputation matters, both for the present and for the future. Workflow management systems support your ability to meet your student's needs, building a strong reputation as an institution that cares. With a reputation like that, who wouldn't want to apply?
Workflow management systems are a necessity in the modern age. It increases the happiness of your students and staff, leading to higher productivity and increased retention rates. In addition, it organizes your office with little effort from your staff and provides valuable insights into how you can improve your processes in the future. If you're ready to build a strong reputation, meet your students' needs, and save money for your business, you need to take the QLESS approach. Learn more about how our electronic queuing system can enhance your education systems today. Please contact us for more information about our system.
Waiting rooms have been an essential aspect of hospitals, doctor's offices, and other healthcare facilities. But it doesn’t take much thought to realize the idea is counterintuitive. Crowding individuals with ailments in congested areas while they wait for assistance is not ideal. This was only further emphasized as a person-to-person airborne pandemic struck the world. Patient queue management software can be the solution to remedy this.This experience caused many healthcare professionals to have to re-evaluate their waiting procedures. There were concerns about pandemic transmission in waiting rooms and the overall healthcare experience. Amid virus anxiety, would patients sit with others even with a mask on?For a while, there were no true means of eliminating the waiting room. But in recent years, to address these concerns, many healthcare providers have been implementing patient queue software like QLESS. This software aims to help reduce patients’ anxiety and create a waiting room experience that meets customers' expectations. The healthcare industry is crowded, and consumers abandon providers that can't meet their needs. According to Medical Economics, 69% of patients would switch providers for better services. Patient queue management software is an impactful solution that can de-congest waiting rooms and provide a safer, more patient-friendly experience. In a time where consumers easily switch businesses, the patient experience is vital. Below, we will break down what patient queue management is, how a virtual queue management system creates safer spaces, and why this is so important for patients and healthcare organizations.
Before we go any further, it is important to fully understand what patient queue management software is. The idea is relatively straightforward, and it has changed the healthcare sector. Why not have a virtual waiting room to manage customer flow instead of a physical one? Patients can access this virtual waiting room from their phones, computers, or on-site kiosks.With key features that enable customers to track the actual wait times for appointments, monitor the progress of the line they’re in, and communicate with staff, patients have a drastically changed experience when using healthcare services. Some organizations still hesitate to embrace and implement digital technology into the patient experience. But data indicates that customers already rely on digital technology and expect organizations to accommodate that reliance. According to a poll from Healthfully, 80% of consumers want the ability to use technology to manage their healthcare experience. Furthermore, the average consumer uses tech constantly throughout their daily lives. The average U.S. adult spends more than seven hours a day on screens, according to Exploding Topics. Healthcare organizations should prioritize implementing helpful tech solutions like patient queue management to avoid customer alienation. Patient queue management software has substantial benefits that enterprises should not overlook. With features that allow customers to enter virtual queues from their phones, patients can remotely wait in the virtual waiting room and monitor their queue times. Implementing virtual queues doesn't mean healthcare organizations need to eliminate waiting rooms. It simply gives patients the ability to choose.
The million-dollar question that healthcare organizations might have is whether or not waiting rooms are such a bad thing. Waiting rooms were the only option for healthcare services before technology advanced enough to make them less necessary. So how bad could it be? By implementing software to eliminate waiting rooms, might healthcare organizations solve a problem that doesn’t exist? The answer to this question is a firm no. Waiting rooms pose a genuine risk to older patients' well-being. A 2012 study of elderly residents of long-term care facilities published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal showed that a visit to an emergency department is associated with more than a threefold increased risk of acute infection. While this vindicates the need for patient queue software, it is also common sense. Requiring sick and injured people to share a room for extended periods increases patient risk. The pandemic highlighted that the prior waiting room model is untenable during an airborne virus outbreak among those visiting emergency rooms and doctors' offices. Healthcare providers adapted by spacing chairs, having customers wait outside, and mandating masks. While they may have curbed the virus from spreading, they reduced operational efficiency and didn't enhance patient satisfaction. It is not insignificant that waiting rooms also have extremely long patient wait times. The longer customers are cramped in a waiting area, even if socially distanced, the more at-risk they are. Similarly, the more unhappy they will be. This is why it is incredibly important for enterprises to be very conscious of the state of their waiting rooms.
We’ve established that waiting rooms might inadvertently put customers at risk, but what do your patients think of them? Customer satisfaction is vital in healthcare, as it's still a business, and unhappy customers can easily switch providers. The waiting room is a defining step in the patient's journey before receiving service. So it is worth asking if increasing patient satisfaction in the waiting room experience is necessary or if customers are okay with the current status quo. Data shows that consumers distrust crowded waiting rooms and dislike the experience they provide. A QLESS survey of 250 U.S. adults showed that 59.4% of consumers associate congested waiting areas with unsafe conditions. If customers feel unsafe in the waiting room, chances are they will not enjoy their overall experience. A contributing factor in this situation is that the average waiting room is just not a pleasant place to be. Typical healthcare waiting rooms present sterile environments with white walls, fluorescent lighting, outdated magazines, and a T.V. This is hardly a positive environment, and according to Fierce Healthcare, unpleasant waiting rooms are a bigger issue for customers than long wait times. Rather than investing in more comfortable chairs or a higher-definition television, enterprises should focus on the real problem. Customers just don’t like waiting rooms either way. Patients prefer waiting from home or nearby cafes to congested waiting areas. Giving the consumer the option to skip the waiting room altogether is the best solution to a longstanding problem.
The healthcare industry is about more than just improving patients’ well-being, although that is the primary objective. The modern consumer isn’t satisfied with just receiving excellent quality of care. The experience for patients along the way is not nearly as important. Healthcare organizations that want to survive in this new age of experience-centric care will do well to improve their waiting room. According to Forbes, 60% of Americans have had a negative healthcare experience in the past year, and 52% of those people will tell others about their negative experiences. Curating a positive waiting experience without risk and discomfort is important in building a patient-friendly healthcare organization. This will help create loyal customers and position healthcare companies to succeed.
It is clear that there is a need for change in the waiting room experience. Customers don’t feel safe, and there is an established correlation between emergency waiting room visits and further infections. The problem has only gotten worse in recent years. A 2022 study by Yale showed that emergency room crowds had reached crisis levels and posed significant patient safety risks. The same is true across Canada. The crowding is due to an overstressed system, not necessarily management failure. De-congesting the waiting room is incredibly important for both safety and satisfaction. Let’s explore how patient queue management software can lead to less crowded waiting rooms while providing efficient patient flow.
The primary feature that QLESS offers that is designed to help de-crowd the waiting room is its remote check-in software. In a typical waiting room without a patient queue management solution, individuals have to check-in in person. They arrive at the front desk, inform staff they’ve arrived, fill in a form, and take a seat, waiting to hear their name called. This requires physical presence throughout the waiting process. Remote check-in software lets customers wait for their appointment without physically arriving until it begins. How this works is that customers will receive a link when they register for an appointment. They can access this link via mobile devices, computers, or an on-site kiosk. When their appointment is scheduled, they can tap the link and check in. Once they’ve checked into their appointment, the patient is automatically placed in a virtual queue. The queue displays the number of customers ahead and the projected wait time based on data tracking and machine learning, accounting for the line's size and wait times at different parts of the day. Customers can be queued based on appointment type or healthcare professional they're meeting. They can track their progress through an app or website and know when to be there. This means lines can move smoothly without customers needing to be in the waiting room until the end. This also lines up with what customers prefer. In a QLESS survey of 250 consumers, 57.2% of respondents indicated they are likelier to patronize a business if they have early insights into wait times. QLESS virtual queuing system's remote check-in feature eliminates the need for customers to enter waiting rooms until their appointment begins. They can choose whether they are comfortable in that environment and wait on their own terms.
Long wait times in healthcare have been a persistent issue and seem unavoidable due to the nature of the industry. Demand often exceeds the ability of facilities to provide efficient service due to the need for proper care and attention for each patient. This is why patients wait an average of over 18 minutes at physicians’ offices, according to PartnerMD, and 145 minutes at the average emergency room, according to Autoinsurance.org. Patient queue management software can’t entirely solve the issue of long waits that are endemic to the healthcare industry. However, it can provide organizations with a tool to increase staff productivity, manage customer flow, and improve overall efficiency, positively impacting wait times.
There are two key ways this software helps with this. Firstly, the patient queue management system completely automates the queue process, so enterprises don’t need to oversee it themselves. The software has configurable policies, like no walk-ins or a maximum 5-minute late policy for appointments. Then, the lineup can be completely automated, with the artificial intelligence-based system drastically more efficient and organized than a standard physical queue. QLESS’s patient queue management software also has smart calendar features that give staff a better sense of their day. The entire appointment calendar is displayed for them, showing the customer, appointment type, and more. The calendar is color-coded and organized and can be segmented, so employees have a heightened understanding of their daily workflow, increasing overall efficiency. By reducing wait times, healthcare organizations can reduce the time people need to spend waiting for appointments. The remote check-in features allow customers to wait from wherever they please, but inevitably there will still be some customers that prefer to wait for appointments in waiting rooms. With automated queue management and smart calendar features, the QLESS patient queue management system ensures waiting times are trimmed, resulting in less crowded waiting areas.
Communication in the healthcare process is incredibly important. Customers strongly desire communication from end-to-end in the healthcare process, and having better communication can lead to safer waiting rooms. With better communication, enterprises can create safer waiting rooms in several ways. Having customers that indicate they might be contagious wait remotely will reduce infection risk, and enabling customers to message staff if they are running slightly behind but still keep their appointment will lead to fewer delays. While this type of communication could lead to a safer, less crowded waiting area, many enterprises are ill-equipped to offer this level of communication. Customers expect communication, particularly through digital methods. According to Forbes, 80% of consumers surveyed said they prefer to use digital communications with their healthcare providers, and 43% said they want to engage digitally with their healthcare providers before, after, and during their visits. But many enterprises lack the digital infrastructure to provide this level of communication that customers are hoping for, even if it can make customers happier and lead to safer waiting rooms. The QLESS patient queue management system empowers healthcare organizations with bi-directional communication features that improve the connection between customers and staff. With the QLESS features, organizations can drive a more communicative approach to healthcare. They can individually message customers and receive responses, schedule messages to entire groups of customers, and create automated messages triggered at different parts of the patient journey. Better communication means less confusion, as late customers or no-shows often trigger chain reactions that lead to extended delays. With better communication, there are fewer bottlenecks, which means lines move faster and waiting rooms are less crowded. This also improves the patient experience, as enterprises can answer patients' questions digitally during busy times when they might not have the time to respond face-to-face.
One of the most significant ways healthcare organizations have pivoted away from the standard waiting room model is by leaning into virtual healthcare. The pandemic made face-to-face appointments a near-impossibility at many practices, and to combat this, many organizations pivoted to virtual healthcare options like telehealth. Providing medical care virtually remains important even after the peak days of the pandemic. According to McKinsey, virtual healthcare remains hugely impactful, with 46% of consumers using telehealth now compared to 11% in 2019.Telehealth leads to less congested, safer waiting rooms for obvious reasons. With the option to schedule remote healthcare appointments, customers don’t need to visit healthcare offices at all. If customers have a mild but contagious illness, healthcare organizations can schedule virtual appointments to ensure they don’t spread their illness. Ultimately, the fewer in-person visits, the less crowded waiting rooms will be. But many organizations might buckle under the weight of managing an entire virtual calendar without the proper digital solution.
QLESS has virtual service features that enable healthcare organizations to provide a positive patient experience remotely. QLESS is integrated with Zoom and Microsoft Teams, two popular video meeting platforms, and enables organizations to put customers in mixed queues that accommodate in-person and remote patients. How this works for remote patients is they would schedule an appointment online and select a virtual appointment. They will then receive a QLESS link and be placed into a virtual queue when they check in for their appointment. They will then be able to monitor their wait time, see who is in front of them, and receive a Zoom or Teams link when their appointment is ready to begin. Virtual appointments are a crucial part of the post-pandemic world. The QLESS patient queue management platform enables enterprises to integrate remote patients into their virtual queues and digital calendar, creating a smooth appointment process and easier virtual appointment management.
The waiting room is a longstanding problem in the healthcare industry that most organizations have neglected to address. The concept of making ill or injured patients wait for long periods in a congested room is one that doesn’t hold up to scrutiny, although there haven’t been other options for organizations until recently. Now that QLESS for healthcare and other patient queue management systems exist, the need for waiting rooms has been drastically reduced. These digital solutions enable enterprises to create a virtual queue where customers don’t have to be physically present to wait in line or in the waiting room. The customer can check in, monitor their status in line, and communicate updates with staff, all from their phones or computers. This means they can wait outside the office, from their home, at a nearby park, or wherever else they’d prefer. Customers can still wait in waiting rooms if they want to, but QLESS allows them to wait remotely, helping to drastically reduce congestion in healthcare offices. Reducing risk in the waiting experience should be an important objective for all healthcare organizations, and it resonates with customers. Consumers strongly dislike the typical waiting room process that has been the norm in healthcare for ages. With QLESS’s queue software, healthcare businesses can meet the needs of the experience-oriented patient while creating a safer, more positive waiting process.
