My toddler is innately curious; any parent of one has survived the ‘Battle of the whys?’. It tests the patience of most, but essentially, it’s a curious mind wondering about the things they see, hear and do.
At Monarch Institute we aim to be curious, just like a toddler, especially when it comes to all things digital. We look to the technology we use, to cross-pollinate ideas from one area of the business to another. To enhance connections and experiences.
Online learning has been a part of the modern learning landscape for some time now, but it only works successfully if it has strong digital ecosystems to support it, both for our students but also our teams. Here are some in our ecosystem that are working well for us:
Monday.com – For Project Management
We love it because it uses a visual approach to simplify processes and offers us a methodology that applies to almost any project. We’ve customised our dashboards which make it easy to delegate tasks, track progress, and integrate multiple tools. A great visual way to see how projects and workloads are tracking.
Drift – For direct access to trainers for students, course enquiries and bookings
One of our favourite platforms at Monarch Institute. We use Drift in a range of ways, but mostly to create conversations (google conversational marketing). Students can jump on and book a time that suits them to speak with their trainer. The time is chosen by the student, rather than traditionally, the other way around.
We use the Drift bot to add our personality into it, (even our jokes!). We give away eBooks, quizzes and of course make sure we engage people at the right stage of their curiosity.
Aircall – For all our remote telephony
This platform is basically a cloud-based call centre. It means our students can reach out to trainers, admin and support teams seamlessly wherever they are located. We can track calls, service levels, create call groups, route calls, and all from a central location (or home!)
Zoom – For webinars, lectures and one on one training sessions
Long before the world was working from home, Zoom was part of our regular day. We use it for webinars, lectures and one on one training sessions. As an online education facilitator, it’s an integral part of our student experience. If a student is struggling to grasp a concept or just has more questions about a topic, a Zoom classroom allows them to access trainer support every single week. More recently we’ve used Zoom for trivia banter and staff mindfulness classes.
Workplace by Facebook – For chat, polls, team calls (and dog pics)
This is how we keep the office banter and information channels open (and for a bit of fun). It’s a way to share good news, student feedback, memes or whatever it takes to keep us together and connected (dog pics included). I jump on it sometimes to share live videos and it’s a great way to do a quick poll to see what the team think about a new idea.
Quizmeisters – For FUN!
A trivia company that certainly embraced the ‘pivot’ and managed to redesign their customer offering. Our regular live trivia nights help keep the fun in our teams and a welcome relief for our students. For an experience that usually relies on people in a room for atmosphere, they’ve been able to integrate new technology to still deliver a great trivia event.
At Monarch Institute, we’re always looking for ways to improve existing experiences and keep busy thinking about possible new ones.
Creativity and curiosity to deliver experience focused digital.
Nick Chapman, CEO
