About this free workshop:
This workshop is designed with education institutions - especially in higher and further education - in mind.
As large and complex organisations with sizeable communities and many moving parts, we often have a remit that focuses on something specific: a channel, a platform, an audience, or a service. We do our jobs well when the thing that we are responsible for performs well.
However, our audiences don’t see our internal divisions, role descriptions or responsibilities. Instead they experience our organisations as a single entity, interacting with and through multiple touch-points.
Something as simple as visiting our campus might involve touch-points that are “owned” by multiple teams: the web team, the publications and print team, the brand team, the estates office, the security team, the reception desk and customer service team… and so on. All so that they can make just one action: a visit to campus. And that doesn’t even begin to capture the other services outside of our control that also form part of that experience, such as public transportation providers, or cellphone services.
Experience design is the process of intentionally and holistically understanding and designing whole experiences that our audiences have with our organisations. The goal is to create consistency, quality, alignment and efficiency. Ultimately, our aim is to create experiences that delight our audiences, meet their needs and make them memorable for all the right reasons.
But our internal structures often get in the way. Our silos are often strong. And this can lead to a blame or avoidance culture.
This workshop will help you on your journey towards making the case for broad experience design within your organisation, and get started with developing your vision and bringing others on board.
What we will cover:
What we mean by experience design
Why an holistic approach to experience design is necessary
The role that experience design plays in developing your strategies for marketing, communications and content
The importance of shared purpose and objectives
The challenges and barriers to overcome
The importance of organisational culture and how it seeps out into audience experiences
How to use experience design to bridge organisational silos
Getting others on board and expanding experience design beyond your own team and remit.
Your facilitator
Your session will be facilitated by Tracy Playle, CEO and Chief Content Strategist at Pickle Jar Communications Ltd and the author of The Connected Campus: Creating a content strategy to drive engagement with your university (2020).
For almost two decades Tracy has worked in higher education communications, marketing, digital engagement and content strategy. Initially working in-house with the University of Warwick, Tracy founded her consultancy almost 14 years ago and has since worked with around 250 education institutions in more than 30 countries to help them evolve their approach to content strategy, delivery and management.
Tracy is a CASE Crystal Apple award winner, a former chair of the CIPR’s Education and Skills Sector Group, and the founder of ContentEd and Utterly Content.
She is also an international speaker and a highly qualified coach, having trained and been part of the leader teams with the Accomplishment Coaching New York Intensive coach training programme (2019-21).
Alongside her consultancy work, Tracy also runs a private coaching practice (www.tracyplayle.com).
Cost:
This workshop is free to attend for up to two people from any organisation.
We ask that no more than two people from the same organisation attend. If you would like more than two people to experience this workshop, we can deliver this just for your team(s) at a time to suit you for a cost of £999 (+ VAT if applicable). Contact us to discuss delivering this in-house for you and your colleagues.
Who should attend:
This workshop is specifically for anyone who has a role to play in creating and impacting experiences that our audiences have within education institutions. Our focus will be more weighed towards communications and marketing, but the education (classroom or otherwise) experience is equally part of the holistic approach. People who work in the following areas may wish to attend this session:
Organisational leadership and management
Marketing and brand management
Student recruitment and admissions
Student support
Communications and PR
Human resources and employee engagement
Content strategy and content management
Web and digital marketing
Development and alumni relations
Teaching and learning support
We also recommend exploring:
Online training through the ContentEd school
Bespoke training, workshops and coaching from Pickle Jar Communications.
In association with ContentEd.
Sign up to attend this workshop for free
(Limited to two people per organisation - see costs above)