Over the years I have supervised and trained admissions managers and these basic approaches and techniques seem to have survived two decades.
As best as an admissions supervisor can, or at least 85% of the time, "HAVE FUN." Use as much humor (non-offensive) as you can get away with. Find the funny bone in each of your staff and let them and the other departments feed on it. With start and retention goals, government and accrediting regulations, pressure from the top and outside personal pressures, all staff, including admissions, carries a lot of emotional baggage. In various studies "Humor" ranks among the most powerful of management tools and serves many functions; it can be a coping mechanism, a communication instrument, a cognitive tool, a motivator and much more." I believe it "melts the ice of anxiety, tension and frustration." So why not get back to the "fun"damentals of the people process.
I have to say that the next motivator is that supervisors and managers must be compassionate. They should have a basis tolerance and respect for admissions personnel and must be able to accept them for who they are and recognize their needs and contributions to the institution. If managers only attend to the bottom line, I believe they will ultimately fail, because admission productivity will suffer if the human needs of the staff are not met. Task management goals and training are important but people work for people./
I am sure that most executives would agree with me that the most difficult challenge today is a double edge sword -"finding admissions personnel and finding admissions managers to lead them."
I would like to share with you some qualities and characteristics that I look for in admissions personnel and their supervisors.
Admissions Personnel: The most important is that they are people-sensitive. They know how to listen, can quickly read a person's values, and understand when to press on or back off. They care!
They are worriers; their admissions problems or plans are never out of their consciousness. Some go to great lengths to mask this single mindedness, but with the best, it is always there.
They are their own worst critic and task master, in other words, a committed person and a self motivator. Some refer to this as "Work Ethic."
They have brains; otherwise they would not succeed in this complex business. "Brains" include such qualities as inquisitiveness, determination, flexibility, judgment, common sense, and, above all, logic.
They are personally admirable in someway. To be admirable means integrity, personal ethics, believability, and, do not forget, dependability.
They have empathy for the other guy. Empathy for the less fortunate, for the weak and for the uneducated.
They are sincere: they have a sincere interest in the success of their students and the success of the school.
Admissions Supervisors:
They should treat their staff the way they want their staff to treat their students.
They do not have to be charismatic but they do have to be people centered.
They should be interested in image, customer satisfaction, morale and, most important, staff retention.
They speak to the essence of the goal or mission before facts, figures, and reports.
They have a primary responsibility to listen to their staff (no strings attached opinions) and they must be consistent in mood and attitude. I like to refer to it as "Balanced Leadership."
They use humor to create a happy staff that enjoys their jobs. People who enjoy coming to work will care about quality, quantity and outcomes.
In closing, the greatest challenge in today's career college admissions environment is finding admissions leaders to motivate admissions staff to motivate prospective students to begin career education. "PEOPLE motivating PEOPLE to motivate PEOPLE!"
STUDENTS DON'T CARE HOW MUCH YOU KNOW...UNTIL THEY KNOW HOW MUCH YOU CARE!
