Retail has transformed dramatically in the past few years for various reasons; for starters, brick-and-mortar stores now have competition, they are not alone as the sole driver of the shopping experience, they are competing in a crowded marketplace with e-commerce and social commerce. Numerous traditional retailers are experiencing losses, with the pandemic serving as a catalyst for a notable shift towards online shopping habits among consumers. Retail stores need to find a way to regain their hold on consumers and reintegrate into the customer journey or risk falling into obscurity. According to Salesforce, "87% of shoppers now begin their shopping search on digital channels." For retailers unwilling to adapt, this can be a death sentence; however, for those willing to make changes, there are still a lot of opportunities to appeal to everyone, from online shoppers to conventional buyers.
Retail businesses can still appeal to more potential customers and become pivotal parts of the shopping experience by innovating to boost shopper safety and increase consumer confidence. The past several years have made some people less willing to venture out of their homes, and many customers wouldn't feel comfortable being in a crowded retail environment, but there are tools out there that can change this.
Utilizing modern technology for an integrated retail experience is a way to stay ahead of the online shopping revolution. One technology that is becoming a pivotal part of the retail experience is QLess and the rise of the virtual queue. The combination of waiting line management and appointment scheduling software offers retailers a bold new way to improve the customer experience.
In a new era of shopping, where so much is technology driven, QLess and the waiting line management system can spur incredible growth. Let’s look at how this useful platform can help businesses boost shopper safety and build confidence in the retail environment.
The shopping experience was largely the same for decades, but the rise of the online retailer has changed what people want. People expect easy access and convenience when shopping, and if an in-person retailer can't provide that, they'll look elsewhere. If you want to build a customer base that will allow you to sustain and grow your business, you have to consider the importance of technology in the customer experience.
Physical retail stores can still have a role to play in an increasingly digital marketplace if they manage to reconfigure their services to be more technology-based. According to McKinsey and Company, "Retailers can change their offerings in several key ways by leaning into technology." Reimagining their physical space and becoming an omnichannel retailer will help inspire customer loyalty. One of the key ways they can do this is by utilizing QLess.
QLess' platform has several key features that make it a technology worth implementing for brick-and-mortar retail stores. One of the most important ones is the use of virtual queues which allow consumers to check into line from wherever they are and see estimated wait times, this increases convenience for customers and reduces in-store suggestions. Staff can organize customers into different lines according to their needs, and the bi-directional communication features allow for simplified connections between staff and customers leading to an experience that is much more technology-driven and convenient. Customers can check into the line from their mobile device, wait from a distance, and arrive at the store when it is their turn to be checked in. This has limitless applications for retail businesses, they can set up virtual lines for returns, appointments, and much more. It will provide customers with an experience that aligns with their technology preferences.
Not only are retail stores competing amongst themselves for consumers' attention, but they are also competing with a whole different method of shopping. E-commerce is a rapidly growing industry that is increasingly earning consumers' confidence, as people only become more and more technology-oriented, retail will need to find a way to stand apart from e-commerce. According to Digital Commerce 360, "E-commerce sales grew 14.2% in the United States in 2021, reaching over $870.78 billion in revenue." E-commerce has several advantages over brick-and-mortar retailers, there are no lineups, no need for social distancing, and you don't have to get off your couch. However, there are still many things that in-person retailers can offer that will set them apart from e-commerce.
Focusing on experiential shopping will give retailers a competitive edge over e-commerce. There is still an intrinsic value to being in a store, seeing a product firsthand, and trying it on. E-commerce can't compete with this, it offers such unparalleled convenience that customers are willing to sacrifice the in-store experience. If retailers can focus on making their business more convenient for their customers, they can regain customer trust.
Making it easier for customers to schedule appointments and avoid lines will help brick-and-mortar retailers cut into e-commerce sales. Appointment scheduling software like QLess allows customers to schedule appointments whenever they want, without the need for phone calls or website visits. With the QLess queuing system, they can wait in line for their appointments or purchases from their homes. Regaining consumer confidence will take some time, especially when concerns over the pandemic are still common, but providing as convenient as possible an experience will help retailers compete against e-commerce for the finite amount of consumer interest.
While the rise of e-commerce and the shift towards digitalization have cut into retail's in-person sales, the biggest reason for the need to regain consumers' confidence is the fallout from the pandemic. COVID-19 is a highly contagious virus that is airborne and that has made people extremely uncomfortable doing some of the in-person tasks they would've done without a second thought before. While cases have slowed down around the world, buyers are still tentative. Retail sales dropped dramatically in the early months of the pandemic, according to a report from Deloitte, "Retail sales dropped 20% from February to April 2020, with clothing and accessory stores dropping 89% and department stores dropping 45%." Businesses were shuttered, and millions of workers were furloughed or laid off which represented a drastic change spurred by massive lockdowns and consumer fears; however, it also was the exacerbation of long-term trends.
Customers crave convenience, and retailers had to do what they could to provide convenient offerings even amid a digital revolution and a pandemic, many chose to offer services like Buy Online, Pick-Up In Store, or BOPIS, but despite this, concerns still ran rampant. Even now, many consumers are hesitant to return to normal, the pandemic has exacerbated intense feelings of anxiety in the general population. According to a report by the Center for Disease Control, "In 2019, 8.1% of adults aged 18 and over in the United States had anxiety disorder symptoms. In March 2022, that number was at 27.3%."
Whether it is due to concerns about the pandemic or mental health issues, many are simply more comfortable ordering clothes and products from home than visiting a store in person. This is a massive obstacle to the retail industry that they will have to overcome, and it won't be easy. Across the world, the pandemic has completely altered the behaviors and preferences of consumers, and retailers must adjust.
The solution to the increasing desire of customers to avoid crowds is accommodating them, while this doesn't hold true for everyone, many people feel stressed out by large crowds. Many people will walk into a store, see there is a long line and that it is filled with people, and walk out. Losing out on prospective customers hurts, especially in a retail environment like the current one. Creating a socially distanced store can help avoid this, for many retailers, the concept of a socially distanced store is fluid. Many will have arrows leading customers up and down aisles or markers in lines six feet apart, others will rely more on curbside pickup or only let in a certain number of customers at a time. The difference is dependent on the stores, but with QLess, stores can implement a whole different kind of socially distanced retail experience.
With the queue management system for retail, the need for in-person lines is drastically reduced, lines are a significant source of congestion in stores ranging from department stores to specialized shops. Having queue management software can give businesses more freedom to eliminate inconvenient physical lines reducing concerns and risks of COVID spread, but it will also improve the customer experience. QLess empowers retail stores to have virtual queues that customers can check into from their phones, they can check into different queues for returns, pickups, or purchases, they can monitor wait times, communicate with staff, and ensure they will receive service, all without standing in the store. Staff can mix and manage the lines with physical lineups and arrange lineups based on employees and more.
These features are deeply customizable and offer stores the ability to drastically reduce congestion and in-person interaction. Part of retail is the face-to-face experience, and retailers can still integrate that and provide a high level of customer service, but they can now also offer a more socially distanced environment that suits the current COVID-conscious consumer’s needs.
Align with Consumers’ Technology Preferences
The future of retail lies in technology. E-commerce isn't likely to stop its stratospheric growth, but regardless of e-commerce, retailers have to find a way to implement technology into their store experience because the modern consumer relies upon technology and wants it integrated into just about everything they do.
Tech plays a major role in our decision-making processes, technology is integrated with nearly everything we do and most consumers like it that way. Even the in-store shopping experience will have a focus on technology. According to Think With Google, "82% of consumers consult their phones while in a store deciding what product to buy."
That is because the average consumer that companies are targeting spends so much time using technology. "85% of Americans now own a smartphone," according to the Pew Research Center. "The average American spends seven hours and four minutes looking at a screen every day," according to Comparitech. Consumers are inundated with technology every day, altering what they want from businesses.
To regain consumer confidence that has been lost, retailers need to align with consumers' technology preferences. QLess fits in perfectly with the established habits of the modern consumer. The QLess wait in line app is smartphone accessible and allows customers to schedule appointments and check in and out of lineups, they can communicate with staff, coordinate their retail experience, and skip a physical wait, all from their phone.
While appealing to older demographics is still important for businesses, the cohort most dependent on technology is the younger generations like millennials and Gen Z which make up over 139 million people in the United States, according to Statista, and they are a vital group for businesses to reach. If brick-and-mortar retailers are to thrive long-term, they must establish a way to give these young consumers confidence in the retail environment. Gen Z and millennials are digital natives, meaning they were raised on a steady diet of the internet, smartphones, and laptops. Gen Z especially stands out as an incredibly technology-oriented generation. According to Norton, "This generation spends 50 minutes more on their smartphone every day than other generations, and 40% consider public Wi-Fi more important than bathrooms."
To appeal to these demographics, businesses will have to embrace digital transformation. A report from HubSpot found that, "Only 38% of Gen Z prefers in-store shopping to online shopping." This is a huge obstacle to overcome, as this age group will soon mature into one of the economy's biggest spenders. Providing a more technology-integrated experience that cuts through some inconveniences of in-person shopping will bring younger consumers back on board. Customer journey management software like QLess gives retailers a virtual tool to offer younger demographics that will make them stand out, simplified line management and appointment scheduling will reduce two significant retail inconveniences and restore faith in the retail environment.
Customers go in-person shopping because they want to browse, look around, try things out, and have an experience. What stops them from committing to this is how easy online shopping is. They sacrifice the more experiential brick-and-mortar store for the quicker one-click checkouts and no line. By streamlining the difficult parts of in-store shopping, you can bring customers back in-store.
Streamlining the retail experience is a pathway towards offering a better one which requires a high level of understanding of how your operation is performing in several areas. Knowing where your retail operation is strong and where it may be falling short will help you refine the customer journey, business intelligence is a big part of this.
Business intelligence is a strategy driven by data and analytics that uses numerical insights into an operation to refine performance, getting high-quality and reliable data into your retail business will allow you to offer better customer experiences, and QLess can provide you with this.
QLess has business intelligence features that allow retailers to explore what is working and what isn't about their customer journey process. With the QLess data, you can see everything from the median wait time, median transaction time, forecasted waiting time, appointment no-shows, how many customers are currently in-line, and much more. You can also break your data into different segments to understand how certain kinds of lines are performing, employee impact, and how lines move at different times of the day.
Having this data at your disposal will allow you to reconfigure aspects of your operation coming up short. If you see certain hours of the day your business is overwhelmed and has extensive wait times, you can make the necessary tweaks. With easy-to-understand graphs and charts and filters for data segmentation, the QLess business intelligence features allow retailers to make impact changes for a better customer journey.
Re-establishing the retail environment as a pivotal part of the customer journey is challenging. Right now, there are a lot of customers that don't see spending time in a shop as a necessity. Many others are uncomfortable with the idea of stepping into a physical store. Overcoming that will require a long wait until COVID concerns die down or an overhaul of the retail experience to be as consumer-friendly and exciting as possible. Most retailers should prefer the latter. Using technology to redefine the customer experience will allow retailers to make themselves essential again, there are aspects of in-store shopping that e-commerce can’t replicate, and if stores can make the customer experience exciting and fun, they can get customers to overcome their reliance on online shopping or tentativeness to be in-person.
Focusing on safety while also implementing exciting new in-store, technology-driven features will allow businesses to appease a wide base of buyers. Using stores as a multi-channel fulfillment center and customer-driven shopping experience will allow businesses to get the best of e-commerce and brick-and-mortar.
Having a brick-and-mortar store helps businesses not just drive in-person shopping but also e-commerce. According to the previously mentioned McKinsey report, "Opening a new location drives traffic to a retailer's website by an increase of 37%." Brick-and-mortar shops aren't necessarily competing with their e-commerce branches, they are competing with consumers' online shopping habits in general. Having a store that complements the e-commerce branch can improve the customer experience.
Stores can have areas for BOPIS fulfillment and areas similarly dedicated to complementing online commerce, they can house less inventory in-store and focus primarily on customer service and brand education, two areas lacking in e-commerce. Offering a blended digital-in-store experience intended to accommodate in-person shopping and complement the e-commerce branch can give customers a brand new exciting retail shopping offering. QLess will go a long way towards making this possible, it can be a virtual management software where customers and staff can organize the shopping experience. Different lines and areas can be virtually separated, customers can schedule different appointments, and a new model of experience-driven retail can be born.
The retail industry is currently facing major changes on the horizon. The move toward online shopping had been happening for many years, but the pandemic exacerbated things. Now, many buyers are unwilling to make consistent in-person shopping trips for safety and convenience reasons. While things have picked up since the pandemic's peak, it is still evident that retail needs to evolve or risk falling behind.
So how do you make consumers that are hesitant to return to brick-and-mortar stores change their habits? It may require retailers to undergo significant changes themselves. Focusing on providing a high-quality customer experience and making stores as safe and de-congested as possible could go a long way toward convincing consumers that the best place to make their purchases is at stores themselves.
QLess is a technology solution that offers retailers the chance to implement software capable of expediting a digital transformation that improves safety and convenience. With the QLess virtual queue management features, retailers can drastically reduce the need for in-person lines. Customers can check into lines from wherever they are, monitor wait times, and enter the store when it is their turn to be served.
This will help stores become less crowded and accommodate people concerned about the pandemic. It will also remove the exasperating feeling of being stuck in line. QLess also offers appointment scheduling and business intelligence features to allow for a more streamlined and accessible retail operation.
Convincing consumers to change their spending habits and re-focus their shopping to retail stores will require technological innovation and a material change in the customer experience. Right now, people value safety and convenience above all else. QLess helps make in-person retailers a safer, less crowded space and removes the need for in-person waits. It can help make any brick-and-mortar store a more convenient, accessible, and socially distanced space that accommodates consumer preferences.
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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.
