The higher education system has evolved significantly over the past few years to accommodate the rapid pace of technology. Much more aspects of school are virtual than ever before, and staff and students have benefitted significantly. However, there are still many systems that the average higher education institution has yet to update. They must begin to consider the impact software like a student management system can make. Many North American colleges and universities are recovering from a pandemic that completely changed how they operate. Many campuses were forced to digitize their operations and saw this led to a marked improvement in several key areas. This all comes when many students are dissatisfied and open to change. Only 56% of students in private or public four-year programs are happy with their institution, and 2.1 million students transferred higher education institutes in the 2020-21 academic year.
A student management system is a way for higher education institutes to evolve during a pivotal moment in the industry. These administrative software are all-in-one digital solutions that change how students interact with their campus. From waiting in line or checking records to scheduling an appointment, a student management system is designed to make interacting with campus resources easy and seamless. A student experience platform like QLess gives students and staff a powerful tool designed to make their lives easier. The advantages of an online school management software are many and varied, because this software has wide-ranging features, there are wide-ranging benefits. Let’s explore some crucial ways a school management system can help students, staff, and administrators improve the higher education experience.
Students' happiness with their higher education experience is a big determiner of an institution’s success. In every industry, the customer experience is a significant indicator of whether a business will succeed. According to Emplifi, "Businesses in the US lose $35 billion every year in customer churn caused by avoidable customer experience issues." In higher education, where students pay premiums for their experience, the bar for customer experience is set very high. There are a lot of different things that dictate a student’s happiness with their school. One of these is how easy it is to access campus resources; for example, accessing advisement appointments, financial offices, and student records is something that every student will want to be frictionless and fast. However, this isn’t typically the case. There are often long lines in academic offices, and scheduling appointments is tricky with outdated systems.
A school management system like QLess can impact this in several key ways. QLess has appointment scheduling features that are accessible 24/7, allowing students to book appointments from their mobile phone. If they want to book a class registration appointment, they can simply select the appointment type, choose their advisor, and find an available date and time. It is a seamless and efficient school scheduling system. QLess also has queue management features that allow students to join a virtual queue from their phones. Rather than wait in waiting rooms or long stand-up lines, they can check into their scheduled appointment, monitor the actual wait time from their phone, and enter the office when it is time for their appointment. This ability to remotely wait will give students more free time and a more positive overall waiting experience. Accessing on-campus resources can be a difficult and agitating task for students. For the sake of their happiness and the success of a university, implementing a solution that optimizes this process is an important decision. No one enjoys waiting in long lines or scheduling appointments on outdated, ineffective systems. With QLess, an educational institution can ensure students don’t have to do either.
The pandemic had a far-reaching impact on higher education institutions around the world. There was a need to adjust on the fly as lockdowns took hold in the middle of the academic calendar. Most schools figured out a system that worked for them, although this was by no means an easy process. Classes are back in person, and things are returning to normalcy, but the pandemic can’t yet be declared over, and the need for social distancing remains. While most schools will not be reverting to a fully digital school experience, many will take some steps to implement social distancing where possible. An effective school management system can be an easy-to-implement solution that helps schools keep certain parts of their administrative process socially distanced. We’ve mentioned that the QLess virtual queue system removes the need for crowded waiting rooms or physical lines. This will decongest offices on-campus and limit contact to only necessary in-person meetings.
QLess can also help schools run contactless consultations with virtual services features. The virtual services are features that enable schools to run appointments and manage schedules without needing to meet in person. The process is simple, students schedule an appointment through the software, receive a check-in link sent to them via SMS, and can then monitor the waiting times through the software. Then, they’ll be able to enter a virtual meeting with the QLess Zoom and Microsoft Teams integration. Students can choose between virtual or in-person meetings, and offices can blend their different kinds of meetings on the app’s flexible calendar automation. Virtual meetings can save students time and help schools limit physical contact. Managing a virtual appointment-based schedule is simplified with a school management system. It is a flexible tool that helps administrations implement more social distancing on campus.
Data is a valuable tool that arms enterprises with the information they need to make assured decisions. The value of data is significant, but collecting it can be difficult, particularly when it pertains to things like the customer experience. For higher-education institutes that want to understand how the experience is for students interacting with campus resources, you will need a tool with non-invasive business intelligence features. That is what QLess can bring. QLess has business intelligence features that provide pivotal details to schools that want better insights into their processes. Schools can collect information on the appointment no-show percentage, transaction times, number of students serviced daily, and median wait times. They can then see the information from this data presented in charts and segment them according to the day of the week, time of day, employee servicing them, appointment type, and more.
The data from the QLess system provides schools with crucial information that would’ve been hard to access otherwise. They can understand which offices or appointment types tend to have long delays, which time of day is busiest, or which day of the week has the most congestion. They can then use this information to make informed decisions to improve their processes for students. If a certain appointment type or office is consistently slow, identifying that as a problem is crucial to removing that bottleneck.
There’s a reason business intelligence has become a pivotal part of how businesses around the world run their operations, including higher education institutions. According to TechJury, "2020 saw the rate of higher education institutions that rate cloud-based business intelligence tools as critical jump from 15% to 30%." The more informed schools are, the better decisions they can make. A visitor management solution for schools helps collect high-value, accurate data that gives schools a clear picture of how they can improve. Understanding their strengths and weaknesses is a big reason schools like Broward College have managed to trim their wait times and optimize their operations with QLess.
Schools are meant to cater to students, adapting to their tendencies and preferences. If that is the case, many schools are falling short here. Many schools across the country have a population composed of primarily Gen Z students, the most tech-savvy and digitally activated demographic. Yet their academic systems are stuck in the past, with desktop websites that consistently crash or phone appointment lines. Implementing a school management system doesn’t just help with administrative tasks and customer flow. It also aligns with the tech tendencies of the modern student body. The age range for the average undergraduate student in a college or university typically falls in the Gen Z range of people born between 1997 and 2012. This age group grew up on cell phones and the internet, they are no strangers to adopting new technologies and solutions at a rapid pace. For colleges worried that their student body will struggle to adapt to a new school management system, don’t underestimate Gen Z regarding technology. "A 98% of Gen Z has a smartphone, with 91% receiving one before their 16th birthday," according to War Room. They spend more than 10 hours every day engaging with digital content, with a good chunk of that time coming on their smartphones.
Students use their smartphones on-campus as well, with 95% saying they carry them with them at all times and 78% saying they document information with them in class. The average school has students incredibly reliant on mobile technology, and schools should ensure they have systems in place that meet their technological preferences. A school management system like QLess is a solution oriented to consumers’ current tech preferences. Students can use a mobile app or website to schedule appointments, manage their appointments, or check remotely into a line while monitoring the wait time. Most undergraduate students will prefer the ease of use and convenience of current systems. The tech-friendly features of QLess are part of why schools using the platform have boosted student satisfaction by up to 75%.
Higher education institutions cater to a large population. While there are some exceptions, the average school in Canada and America has a massive student population. There are ten universities in the United States with undergraduate student populations of more than 39,000. This isn’t even factoring in graduate students. Academic institutions are responsible for catering to all their students' unique needs. This includes the student population that may be dealing with a disability. According to the Postsecondary National Policy Institute, "19% of postsecondary students reported having a disability." This is a significant percentage of the student body, so every decision that schools make should keep this in mind.
Catering to the needs of all the college students your school caters to will make universities a more inclusive place and keep the student population happier. If a school is implementing queue management software or any other type of school management system, it must ensure that it is complete with features that make it accessible. QLess includes several core features designed to make its systems usable for a diverse population like the one higher education institutes cater to. These features reflect a commitment to accessibility that most colleges strive for. Whether you’ve implemented QLess with on-site kiosks, a desktop website, or a mobile app, these features have accommodations that make them easier to use for everyone. These features include dyslexia-friendly font, a text-to-speech reader, the ability to edit font size and spacing to make it more visible, helpful tooltips, and the ability to pause and start so students can go at their own pace.
QLess also has different language settings, higher education institutions serves large populations of people with unique needs. If a school implements a system, it has to be flexible enough to accommodate such a large population without excluding student body members. QLess has customizable features that widen the number of people that can benefit from the solution and ensure accessibility for a diverse student population.
We’ve mentioned the size of the average university. Some universities in the United States, such as the University of Central Florida or Texas A&M University, have undergraduate student populations of more than 55,000. This is a lot to manage for staff and administrators, as handling such a significant population's academic needs and appointment burden can be difficult. Schools need solutions in place that can make servicing large populations easier. That is what school management and queue management systems provide. The core advantage of school management systems is that they make lives easier for students and staff. We’ve covered their impact on students, saving them precious time by allowing them to bypass physical lines, but for staff, the advantages are similarly pronounced.
A school management system can make managing appointments drastically easier for administrative staff and help them better organize their timetable. The biggest ways QLess does this is by increasing visibility and automating several components of staff’s tasks. QLess increases visibility by laying out appointment information in a flexible, color-coordinated calendar. Here, staff can see appointments arranged by type, date, time, and more. They can see who these appointments are assigned to and tap on students’ profiles to message them or learn more information which provides a clear insight into their schedule for the upcoming day or week.
By automating aspects of the appointment process, QLess removes human error and lightens staff’s load. Staff can set preferences for the line, like prioritizing people with appointments or removing people that are 5+ minutes late from the line. The line will automatically adjust based on the preferences that have been established and blends both appointments and walk-ins. It is faster and more efficient. QLess helps streamline efficiency and ensure staff isn’t overburdened by large student populations. That’s why institutions with tens of thousands of students, like Texas A&M, have used QLess to ensure more efficient processes and easier management for staff.
One of the core tenets of great customer service is communication. Schools tend to remain in constant contact with their students, sending emails and newsletters to students that are often left unopened or sent straight to junk. Email has its place, but it might not be the best channel to communicate with students for things like appointment scheduling and reminders. A school management system with communication features can help improve student engagement and add transparency to the appointment process. QLess has bi-directional communication features, meaning staff and students can message back and forth. This is helpful in a variety of instances, staff can ask pre-appointment questions, get necessary details from students, and check in if they’re running late. Students can better engage with staff to ensure a more personal experience and address any uncertainties. This will help make the pre-appointment process more transparent and ensure that staff and students are fully prepped for important appointments.
Another important aspect of the communication features of the school scheduling system is that staff can send SMS appointment reminders to students. Missed appointments are a problem for academic offices because they harm efficiency. Staff blocks off time for an appointment that doesn’t end up coming, and it sets everything back, but with SMS appointment reminders, offices can send students reminders directly to their phones. This will help reduce appointment no-show rates and ensure offices are maximizing their appointment calendar. The better you communicate with your students before and after their appointments, the better they are likely to feel about their experience. The benefits of strong communication are apparent in results, too, as offices can cut appointment no-shows and ensure all necessary information is on hand before appointments begin. Open communication is a good measure to ensure students are engaged and happy with their appointment experience.
Wait times are a serious problem in every industry, from retail to healthcare. Long waits are one of the most unappealing aspects of the customer experience and something for which the average person has little to no patience. In a university setting, where students already have so much on their plates, long waits are something that must be avoided, yet many college campuses have waits for essential services that take a big chunk out of students’ days. People hate long queues. There is something draining about sitting in an office or standing in a long line with an uncertain wait time, particularly when you have other places to be. According to a QLess survey of 250 US adults aged 25+, "54.4% of respondents will only wait 0-5 minutes in a queue for a non-essential service or product." People are increasingly impatient with lines and expect near-instant results.
While no academic institution can completely eliminate waits, QLess goes a long way toward reducing them. We’ve touched on how QLess removes the need for a physical line, which makes the waiting experience much better for students, but it also significantly impacts cutting wait times down to an amount that is much more palatable for the average person. QLess has been found to reduce wait times by up to 97%, making accessing essential services a much easier and friction-free experience. QLess reduces wait times by providing a flexible tool for staff to manage and automate the line. Staff can move appointments around in real time, with customers being notified of changes through their phones. Rather than have a long hold up because a customer is late for an appointment, staff can just move that appointment back and the next one up. This ensures fewer delays and that staff can adapt to change more effectively. These small adjustments add up, leading to a significant reduction in overall wait times.
Academic institutions have a momentous task. They are charged with educating the next generation of leaders, providing their customers with an individually-tailored experience, and meeting students’ unique needs. They are trying to do all this with a massive student population that requires assistance with schedule planning, academic advisement, financial aid, and more. There is a lot on the plate of the average college or university. What can help make an academic institution’s run more efficiently is a high-quality school management system like QLess.
QLess enables schools to reduce the need for physical lines and cut wait times while improving communication with students and providing high-value business intelligence. Ensuring that students have easy access to the services schools provide is incredibly important, and with the QLess school management system, schools can create a more efficient, student-friendly operation.
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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.
