6 Need-To-Know Steps for Advertising Your Career Services Technology

As students head back to school, they’re looking to hit the ground running on a new, valuable academic year. A great career services professional, like yourself, has spent the summer thinking of ways to make your department better and serve students in a more efficient way. 

When businesses look for ways to update their services and infrastructure, they frequently turn toward technology. Software is always one of the first and most valuable ways to upgrade a business. The same could be said for a career services department. 

If you want to upgrade your department’s efficiency in order to create more ROI for students, you need to consider upgrading your career services technology. But how do you maximize the benefits of this new technology? Simple, you encourage anyone and everyone to buy in and actually use the software to the fullest extent.

Here are some tips to help you: 

Step #1: List the Benefits 

Make sure you create a concrete list of the software’s benefits. That list is not just for you. It’s useful for everyone. From your perspective, it should serve as a north star that reminds you exactly why you decided to invest in this software. 

For everyone else, it’s a list of the most compelling reasons your learners should adopt the software. This adoption process may take weeks, months, or even years. It can be easy to forget what this new technology is supposed to do. You can also forget what it’s replacing and what problems it’s solving. 

Document these points to stay focused on the implementation of the software. You also expand on this list and create a small flyer or downloadable as an advertisement for the software and your department. 

Step #2: Get the Word Out 

Now, it’s time to start utilizing these benefits to win people over. In all your interactions with students, faculty, and administration, drive the benefits home. You need to continuously champion this software by making it clear how this new technology will help. 

Everyone’s looking for ways to make their lives easier, and you need to sell that aspect of your software. You’ve done the research and bought this software to address holes you’ve identified in your department. These holes affected everyone at your institution. Now you can pitch the software from the same perspective. 

“You were struggling with X. Here’s how you can use this to help”

Keeping the benefits in conversation will keep the software fresh in the minds of everyone at your institution. 

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Step #3: Go Up the Totem Pole

Another way to increase the adoption of your new technology is to approach it from a top-down perspective. Go up to the administration level and convince them of the need for new, fresh, useful software. 

Also, make it clear to them that the software is more valuable when it’s being used across the board. They have the authority and leverage to encourage implementation at every level of the institution. Explain how the new software will impact intuitional goals and departmental edicts. 

Securing this buy-in from administrators will create a synergy between your department-level efforts and the efforts of other staff and stakeholders. 

Step #4: Keep it On Track 

You probably know this new technology better than anyone else at your institution, but the vendor knows it even better than you. You’ll need to maintain a close relationship with them after purchase. 

Through that relationship, you can gain auxiliary resources that will help you leverage the software. For example, you could ask for case studies of other institutions that have used the software to various ends. 

Step #5: Look for Updates

Sign up for any and every potential source of an update for the software. Again, you’ve already paid for it so you should extract every piece of value out of it. 

Typically, software companies will line up webinars and tutorials as an add-on when you buy. Then, you’ll see more resources come out over time. If you’re on their email list, you won’t have to worry about constantly bringing the subject up with your vendor. Be ready to take advantage of any new features or capabilities. 

Step #6: Remember the Purpose 

Health, safety, and mental health are very important to us all. You’re using this software to align with these issues and decrease stress on your institution. Furthermore, you’re trying to support your students in the best way possible. 

In conversations with administrators and other stakeholders, highlight features that decrease stress on the institution. These can be remote access and meetings, simplicity of use, and other aspects of mental health impact. 

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Make the Most of Your Investment

You’ve invested heavily in the infrastructure of your department because you want to help as many students as efficiently as possible. The value of this investment is dependent on how good you are at encouraging adoption. 

You are the spearhead and you should be the champion of this new career services technology. You researched it, you understand it, and now you’re going to convince everyone of its value. 

Acquiring the new software is just the beginning, now you’ve got to focus on efficient implementation and sufficient adoption.

If you'd like to know more about making the most of your career services technology, please download our Ebook. For more information on revamping your career services offerings, please visit pathwayu.com!