HESC Colleague NewsletterOctober 1, 2006  

Satisfaction Survey to Drive Customer Service Strength

Kathy Crowder

At HESC, we take our pledge never to take our customers for granted – to ask, to listen and to respond – very seriously.


So seriously, in fact, that in early 2006 we hired a market research company, Fact Finders Inc., to find out how well we have been delivering on this commitment.

We asked Fact Finders to provide a reliable and valid measure of our customers’ experiences with and attitudes toward HESC. In addition, we asked Fact Finders to compile suggestions elicited from the sample population of ways we could improve our customer service.

With these goals established, Fact Finders surveyed groups of HESC’s primary and non-primary customers.

To assess where HESC’s performance grew stronger or needed improvement, our analysis of the results of the Fact Finders survey included a comparison with those of a similar 2003 survey. Some of our findings include:

  • Consistent with the 2003 findings, customer service is of great importance to financial aid administrators, and a critical factor in selecting a guarantor. Electronic processing capability is also very important.
  • More than half of the financial aid administrators surveyed said they feel HESC customer service has improved over the past year; most note marked improvements in the Web, in transaction processing, and in our student information materials.
  • Some descriptives we loved hearing …
  • Customer Service – Responsive, accessible, accommodating
  • Collaborative – Working together, proactive
  • Committed – Committed to improving and learning.
  • There are also opportunities for improvement:
  • Customers want HESC to improve its call center effectiveness by hiring additional call center representatives who are well-trained and empowered to handle all of your questions and issues.
  • Customers want us to continue to improve our electronic systems and technology.

We are happy with the wealth of information gleaned from the 2006 survey – and the analysis and planning has only just begun. In fact, the numerous suggestions and comments are still being evaluated.

Looking ahead, HESC hopes to continue this research, to establish dashboard metrics that will help us check our progress and, when necessary, to change our products and services to meet the greatest needs of our customers.