Measuring Success: Customer Service ROI with 3 Key Metrics for School Leaders

“Customer service” is a bullet point on nearly every K-12 strategic plan in the country. But how are school districts really measuring their customer service delivery? And is it having an impact on what really matters, like student achievement, the nationwide staff shortages, or culture and climate? 

The fact is: intentionally transforming customer service delivery districtwide will yield distinct improvements in every facet of a district’s operations.

Decades of research prove the connection between a positive school climate and higher levels of student achievement. And we all know increased family engagement leads to better results in the classroom — but last year 30% of parents reported not knowing where to go when they have a question or concern about their child’s school. 

There’s a connection between the core elements of customer service delivery, like communications access and quick, accurate response times, and positive districtwide culture and academic outcomes. 

Here are three customer service metrics every school district should be tracking and analyzing.

1. Customer experience score 

After you speak with a representative at your insurance or credit card company, you probably receive an email asking for feedback. By asking customers to rate their interactions, companies are able to track metrics around service delivered by individuals, departments, and the organization as a whole. 

Your school district can do the same.

Using an instant response survey to measure customer satisfaction (Cx) can help school districts determine what they’re doing well and exactly where they need to improve. Many of K12 Insight’s partner districts see increases in their Cx score after making data-driven changes using metrics from Let’s Talk.  

2. Average response time 

In the Amazon era, people have high expectations for customer service and response time is one of the biggest factors. In our recent National Report on the Impact of Parent Satisfaction on School Districts, we found 70% of parents expect a response from their child’s district in 24 hours or less. 

But without a customer service platform that monitors and analyzes incoming inquiries, the average districtwide response time is nothing more than an educated guess.  

3. Average number of inquiries (and their topics)

How many questions do you think your school district gets every day? Is it more than usual during the back-to-school season or less in the weeks leading up to winter break? 

Measuring the number of inbound inquiries each day, week, month, and school year helps district leadership respond to community needs more effectively and optimize staffing levels. And, by analyzing the trending topics of those inquiries, you can reframe districtwide communications to ensure you’re getting the right information to the right people (at the right time).   

Could a robust back-to-school FAQ landing page each August reduce the influx of inbound inquiries? If 50% of questions leading up to winter break are repeats (like: “When does winter break start?”), they could be answered by an AI-powered chatbot, saving staff time.

Without the data, it can be difficult to know what time-saving measures could transform your districtwide workflows.

Remember: a successful customer service plan can be measured using metrics like the ones above, but it can also be evaluated by the feelings and experiences — the culture — surrounding your district. 

A healthy organization with excellent customer service will see fewer complaints during the public comments section of board meetings, fewer crises erupting on social media or online, more families staying with the district from kindergarten through graduation, and improved teaching and learning.

Ready to start the journey to delivering superior customer service, register for a free, no-obligation workshop with one of K12 Insight’s experts. These workshops are available to anyone on your team, can be in-person or virtual, and are entirely free-of-charge. Here’s the link to sign up.