Petroc College

The Challenge

• Outdated CRM System: The old CRM was not user-friendly, and didn’t integrate with wider college systems.
• Messy Data: Thousands of incorrect and duplicate records made data management difficult.
• Tracking Issues: Difficulty in tracking enquiries and leads, leading to lost communication and customer frustration.
• Reporting Limitations: Lack of basic reporting functionality made it difficult to find key information and create reports.
• Pipeline Visibility: No easy way to share progress within the college.
• Recording Interactions: Difficulty in documenting interactions with employers, especially for Local Skills Improvement Plans.

The Solution

Petroc chose Active and D365 Education because the solution met all their requirements, providing a centralised system that everyone could use effectively. “It came down to personal rapport with the team, and what the system could do, now and in the future,” explains Paul Whiting, Programme Manager at the College.

Results

• Clean Data: Active helped clean and import data into D365, reducing over 25,000 partial records to 3,500 accurate ones.
• Tracking Enquiries: D365 Education now allows the team to see the entire history of enquiries, improving customer satisfaction and business rapport.
• Reporting: Active developed bespoke drop-down menus and reporting dashboards, making it easier to build contact lists and find key information.
• Pipeline Tracking: D365 Education created bespoke lead and opportunity views, enabling full pipeline visibility for college executives.
• Recording Interactions: D365 Education introduced a new interactions form to record and collate discussions with employers efficiently.

By implementing D365 Education, Petroc College has significantly improved its operational efficiency and employer engagement processes, demonstrating the transformative power of a well-implemented CRM system.

Collaboration

Active facilitated collaboration with other FE colleges also implementing D365 Education. This sharing of ideas was invaluable. “We knew the system could be adapted for us, but we didn’t really know what was possible! The system evolved from what we initially saw, and it’s still evolving to meet our needs. That’s the beauty of it,” says Paul. Petroc now has a steering group with other colleges to regularly share ideas.

Future Plans

Petroc plans to expand the use of D365 Education:

• Events Marketing: Integrating with Eventbrite to manage bookings and track event leads.
• Automating Enrolment: Linking templates and sign-up documentation to streamline the apprenticeship recruitment process.