Kensington and Chelsea College
Date: 30th August 2006
Kensington and ChelseaCollege is a centre for excellence within the heart of London providing courses for adults aged 16 and over. Established in 1993 it provides courses for up to 16,000 students, all of whom have to be enrolled within a period of just under 2 weeks.
The Situation
Processing 16,000 student applications, spread throughout the academic year, would certainly be a challenge in itself. Take this processing time and condense it to within 3 two week periods throughout the year and the challenge evolves into a challenging strain.
The Kensington and ChelseaCollege has seen attendance levels steadily elevate since its inauguration in 1993. Throughout this time the system in place to process the high volume of applications had been problematical.
Students enrolling would have to engage in a multi-process queuing environment which meant there were numerous stages to the enrolment procedure. One location would deal with enquiries; another area would deal with the enrolment itself and another would deal with fees, all adding to the complexity and anxiety of those students enrolling (all of whom had to visit each location to finalise their registration).
Despite the hard efforts made on behalf of college employees to make the registration process as comfortable as possible, the streamlining of the queuing process became virtually impossible. With such a high volume of student numbers coupled with a complex queuing regime it was inevitable that confusion and frustration would flourish for the duration of the 2 week registration periods.
“The Situation was very difficult,” notes Mrs. Sara Gabrielle, Administrations Manager at the college, “People would not wait within an organised line and over a short space of time visitors would gradually form into a disorganised bundle.”
Due to the confusion the visitors would be unable to ascertain as to who was next in line to be seen, leading to a tense queuing environment, where frustration roamed free.
As Mrs. Gabrielle explains, “There were so many complaints. The shoving and pushing, arguments and frustrations were reaching its peak as visitors were constantly on edge at losing their place within the queues, they would remain standing for hours if necessary adding to the ongoing cycle of frustration.”
The high volume of visiting students eventually culminated in concerns regarding health and safety issues. The tipping point had come and it was a time for a queuing system.
Why Lonsto?
Lonsto (International) Limited® were the first queue management organisation to be established within the UK and with this has come a wealth of experience. Our expertise over our 36 years of operation has lead to the successful utilisation of solving the most complex of client queuing scenarios; Kensington and Chelsea College were no exception as Mrs Gabrielle explains,
“At first, steps were taken to research Queue Management Systems (Q.M.S)™ on the Internet. Not being the most computer friendly person in the world it would have been extremely beneficial if there was an example of a Queue Management System (Q.M.S)™ in operation. To be able to see its application within a college setting would enable greater understanding/benefits of the product in relation to the Kensington and ChelseaCollege.”
She continues, “A couple of systems from competitors were initially found but on that day a phone call was made from Lonsto® and thus the relationship was formed.
The Lonsto® sales department were very approachable. They came across as being very nice and were not too formal. It was clearly evident that it was not a Tin-Pot company and that they knew exactly what they were doing and how they were doing it.”
Implementation
Due to the queuing process there were certain requirements with regards to the positioning of the ticket dispenser and display within the departments of Kensington and Chelsea College. The old system would lead to people taking a ticket upon immediate arrival at the college which was up to four stages too early in the process.
Consequentially the dispenser and display was placed in a position not clearly visible to visitors who had just arrived. Two floor walkers (male and female) were there to co-ordinate the visitors and assist in the smooth running of the overall queuing experience.
“The Lonsto® technicians that came to install the system were very good and it was clear that they knew what they were doing. There were no issues with them and they got on with the job well,” explains Mrs. Gabrielle,
“There were no time constraints and the system was up and running in under 30 minutes, it took no time at all!”
Once enrolled students could now take a ticket and relax in the comfort of knowing that their place in the queue was safe and secure until they were called forward for their face to face interviews.
As another display panel had been positioned in the cafe to substantiate student confidence even further, students could now relax in the café, instead of the ‘disorganised bundle’ that had existed before in the main waiting area.
The planning, consultation and installation of Lonsto’s® queuing system had been completed, the time had come to see how well would it work.
Going Live
Upon going live there were substantial immediate benefits to the overall queuing environment. As Mrs. Gabrielle remarks, “The college employees as well as the students absolutely loved the new system straight away. From the start, front end efficiency at the college had elevated significantly with productivity times increased coupled with the lowering of student complaints.”
There was a sudden disappearance in the large grouping of people in the waiting area with significant transformations to the queuing experience. Once the other stages of the queuing processes had been completed visitors could now take a ticket and could relax with the confidence of knowing that they would be seen to in what they now saw as Mrs. Gabrielle describes “a fair system.”
With 16,000 students to enrol at confined times of the year and due to the numerous stages in the queue flow the room for error seemed to be limited.
Lonsto’s® Queue Management System (Q.M.S)™ with its fast and effective implementation had extraordinarily positive results from the start.
Immediate Benefits
It was clearly evident that after the elevation of student numbers over the past decade and the problems caused due to the disorganisation at enrolment sessions that a queuing system was required.
A year on, and after its implementation, Lonsto’s® systems are an indispensable part of enrolment at the multi departmental Kensington and ChelseaCollege. The campuses at Hortensia Road and Wornington Cresent have reaped the benefits that Lonsto’s® Queue Management technology has generated.
Describing Lonsto’s systems since there implementation Mrs. Gabrielle notes,
“The systems are great. The eradication of the mass groupings that formed in the reception area was a great relief. 12 months on and there is no longer the shoving and pushing that once existed. With no more frustrations which inevitably lead to arguments now gone the environment is just so much better for the students and the staff.”
With the centre receiving much attention for its ESOLcourses (English for Speakers of Other Languages) it proved an even greater benefit to those who found it hard to understand English, they could clearly see when their number was displayed during enrolment within a system that previously was difficult to comprehend.
The small reception areas which were undesirable for mass student numbers waiting could also now be altered due to the flexibility that Lonsto’s® Queuing Systems provided.
This flexibility was demonstrated when, as well as a display panel in the main waiting area, one had also been positioned within the café that was just down the corridor.
This transformed the waiting experience as students wishing to enrol could now relax with a coffee or some food, secure in the knowledge of where their number was in the queue.
Gone were the days, prior to the implementation of Lonsto’s® Queuing System, where the students had to push and shove to ascertain their position within the queue.
“One of our greatest wishes,” notes Mrs. Gabrielle “was to disperse the large number of students that were all congregating within the same area. The café, which sells an array of food and drink, is now the unofficial waiting area and our students are now much more content to wait, however long it may be.”
To convert the café into a proxy waiting areas also lead to increased sales which were an added by-product of the renovated queuing environment.
Adjacent to the new ‘café waiting area’ computer terminals were positioned to give visiting students the opportunity to explore the college’s Intranet while they were waiting. Supplementing the café the Intranet gave students the ability to find out further details about the courses they were registering for. Fee’s, term dates and course descriptions could all be analysed to help prepare the student for any questions they may have had for the members of staff they were about to see.
“Enrolment is now a much calmer place than it used to be“, explains Mrs. Gabrielle The college employees love the system and so to do the students that are coming to visit us. The fair and equitable system has made everyone appreciate and enjoy their enrolment experience.”
With Lonsto’s® Queue Management System™ Kensington & Chelsea College improved:
- An organised and efficient queue flow
- A comfortable and relaxing queuing environment
- Customer Satisfaction
- Clarity to those who have difficulties understanding English
- Reduction in visitor complaints and confrontational outbursts
- Employee satisfaction
- Increased sales within the café area
- Greater awareness of college courses due to Intranet access for waiting visitors.
An animated case study is also available on our new Interactive CD accompanied by our 1st Edition Newsletter 'The Cover Story'. So don't wait around and sign up today for a new queuing experince!
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