Exciting and challenging times await customers of Northlink College. As a customer approach is the answer to many a problem in education, Northlink College has decided to explore this venture.

On 12 January 2009, Northlink College’s new Customer Information Services Centre took of in full swing. At this Customer Information Services Centre each customer will be treated like a guest!

This new invention is the first of its kind in the FET sector nationally, and to date has proven to have achieved benchmarks far beyond imagination.

The new Customer Information Services Centre deals with a variety of assignments. A customer information services manager with four call centre operators, an e-communications- and systems development administrator and two recruitment officers were implemented.

Yet only in the beginning phase and in its baby shoes, this department has, from 12 January to date received more than 7 000 phone calls that were logged on the phone system. About 4 032 programme/course related calls were dealt with by the call centre – an average of 288 phone calls per operator per day. The website had 16 334 web visits on www.northlink.co.za with 5 746 unique visitors and dealt with more than 1 100 e-mail enquiries. In the first three days after opening more than 300 e-mail enquiries were received.

This new venture, under the management of Trish van der Merwe, Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Communications, Marketing and Advancement, has an enormous task ahead.

According to Trish, the ideal of this department will be to offer a “one stop” service to customers/guests within a paperless environment. The implementation of soft phones also enables the call centre assistants to operate hands free.

One of its first developments is a PIS (Programme Information System) where all programme/course information will be forwarded to customers in an e-version. Other developments will be a MOBI version of the website, the development and management of a staff/student/customer questionnaire and survey system, a support ticketing system for enquiries, (this is where an allocation of a reference number to an enquiry will be given for easy traceability) and a ATT (application track and trace system) will be implemented. Furthermore an accurate reporting system relating to marketing functions will be implemented.

For the near future the implementation of the intranet with employee handbooks, managerial guides, operating policies and procedures (QMS), expense reports, company events, an IT support desk, a FAQ page, a staff information portal, shared calendars, staff discussion forums etc. is in progress.

Enquiries can be done telephonically in Xhosa, English and Afrikaans or, via Facebook, on-line help on www.northlink.co.za, Mxit, sms or email.