Day in the Life of Client Enablement

Building sustainable success for our customers and clients remains one of our core objectives at IDP, and this certainly rings true for our Client Enablement team. Since we launched FastLane in 2021, our Client Enablement team has assisted over 60 institutions across Australia, UK and Canada by fostering positive, tailor-made onboarding experiences.

Led by Manager of Client Enablement and Digital Products, Jayanthi Kumaran, the Client Enablement team based in our IDP Digital Campus, Chennai, is responsible for the smooth onboarding of FastLane clients, as well as expanding the number of markets and courses for existing FastLane clients. The Client Engagement team engages closely with our clients and helps manage their concerns and feedback, and ensuring continued enhancement of product and client satisfaction.

We spoke with Jayanthi, as well as Senior Client Account Managers, Sujitha Ramamoorthy and Geeth Priya, to get the inside scoop on helping clients navigate the onboarding process, what FastLane updates are currently in the pipeline, and what they love most about working in international education.

1. You play an integral role in leading the FastLane Client Enablement team and supporting institutions – what steps do you take to address clients’ needs and support them in the onboarding process?

Jayanthi: The Client Enablement team has highly competent and passionate team members who play a pivotal role in making FastLane a successful service.

This involves providing exclusive, personalised client support to FastLane partners, where we introduce the FastLane service to clients, give a product walkthrough, and explain the steps required to complete the set up.

Our expertise is beyond client onboarding though. We have complete understanding of the FastLane journey with 360-degree visibility of the end-to-end process, ensuring clients are comfortable with both the product and the process.

We also seek continuous feedback from clients as part of demo, onboarding and review meetings, ensuring the client’s needs, pain points and other improvement feedback is taken to the IDP Product team. We believe this continuous product improvement based on client feedback has helped to make FastLane a success.

2. How does your team foster positive relationships with clients and go that ‘extra mile’? What else do you do to support clients?

Sujitha: Clients are our key stakeholders, and we need to ensure they are always happy, so creating positive relationships with them is very important.

Being positive and solution-driven gives clients immense confidence in our work, which helps them to get in touch with us and share their requests with ease. As experts in the product, we can cater to client-specific needs.

Each client is thoroughly researched before we start liaising with them, which allows us to respond to any queries or concerns with quick turnaround times. After every call or campaign setup, we ask for their feedback and hold regular review meetings, which are important tools in enhancing client relationships.

We keep clients at the forefront at each step, which results in great rapport and great relationships!

3. What did you learn, collectively and individually, during the pilot process of FastLane?

Jayanthi: With a pilot project, continuous learning happens every day, but our team has the right mixture of capability and expertise to bring in fresh ideas and new perspectives to the process.

It’s interesting to see how the product takes shape and as a team we do a lot of user acceptance testing to ensure there are no unforeseen challenges. Any new feature is built with end users in mind, such as students and universities. Ease of use and user experience are also major factors during this process.

The Client Enablement team interacts closely with institutions through demos and onboarding, with any feedback from the client taken to the IDP Product team for consideration.

4. What feedback are you receiving from institutions that are live on FastLane and experiencing in real-time all the benefits it has to offer?

Geeth: While being part of a revolutionary, game-changer service like FastLane is exciting, the response from our clients also makes us feel happy and motivated.

Clients who are live on FastLane appreciate the quality of applications they receive through our offer in principle service. Setting up the right academic eligibility requirements through our client portal gives them the exact student profiles, while the reduced manual screening is an added advantage.

And it doesn’t stop there; we extend our service to review how these requirements match with student profiles and provide continuous suggestions to improve.

Clients who have just started to onboard with us have said we've set our standards high, and that they would love to have their system built the same way!

The Client Enablement team has been fundamental in collating the relevant entry requirements. We are appreciated for our quick turnarounds, the depth of product understanding and the kind of customer service we give them.

FastLane has taken the student recruitment journey to the next level. It is much easier for students now to check their eligibility at the click of a button. Products associated with FastLane, like our Conversion Plus nurturing campaigns, have also started to boom, thus giving a whole new experience to our students.

5. Can you share any exciting FastLane updates or projects that are in the pipeline?

Jayanthi: There are several new features coming up on FastLane, and I am particularly looking forward to the Undergraduate (UG) FastLane launch which is expected in March 2023. UG is in its pilot phase, so we are currently gathering information on our clients’ requirements during the demos. This feedback helps our product team to identify the market fit and make product decisions.

We already have multiple client partners who have shown interest in UG and are currently onboarding. From a student perspective, we have seen amazing responses for Postgraduate FastLane, and I am expecting the same level of interest for Undergraduate courses.

6. What do you enjoy most about working at IDP?

Jayanthi: IDP has an amazing work culture, and I am proud to be associated with IDP India which has officially been certified as a Great Place to Work.

I particularly enjoy working with diversified teams in APAC, UK and Canada as part of my day-to-day. I also closely interact with commercial, engineering and operations teams which help give me a better understanding of how to align the expectations of the various teams.

IDP provides a collaborative learning environment which helps me to upskill and to reach greater heights. Teamwork, collaboration at all levels, and an innovative work culture also encourage me to take on more challenges, which in turn helps me to brainstorm and come up with new ideas. I feel valued and supported, and I have a sense of belonging working at IDP.

7. What gives you meaning working in the International Education sector?

Jayanthi: International education means connecting people from different cultures, learning different perspectives, and exchanging global ideas. Our sector plays an important role in globalisation and helps students prepare for an interconnected world, or a ‘world without borders’.

The Client Enablement team understands how FastLane can help students realise their study abroad dreams and broaden their learning experience. We have a clear goal and understand how entry requirement data set up in the back-end helps students get university offers within minutes. Quality of data is key to making accurate offer in principle decisions. We have a sense of purpose and find great joy and fulfilment working in the international education sector.

If you would like more information about our Client Enablement Team or would like to reach out to a member of their team, please contact us today.