3iS launches a digital transformation for operational agility and the customer experience

Since the first projection of the Lumière brothers' cinematograph in 1895, France has played a major role in the world of cinema and in the audiovisual industry. Today, the International Institute of Image and Sound (3iS), a network of private institutions recognized by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, continues this tradition by training the creators of tomorrow across the creative professions.

"At the beginning, we were a film school in Paris with 200 students. Today, we have expanded to include sound, animation, entertainment and events, and more recently acting, on five campuses in France. We'll welcome 3,000 students next year," said Anthony De Faria, Director of Operations at 3iS.

Rooted in this artistic cultural legacy while evolving to meet the needs of companies in rapidly changing creative sectors, 3iS was ready to embrace innovation, not only in its course offerings, but also as part of their internal operations processes and the student experience. So the 3iS team turned to the cloud.

Education plays a key role in a in a rapidly changing world, particularly in the higher education sector, where institutions are looking for new operational approaches and innovative ways to deliver educational services and engage students.1

Education must move with the times, both in terms of what is taught and how institutions operate. Institutions like 3iS must look for ways to streamline administrative work, provide an engaging customer journey, and keep up-to-date with trends that influence their programs if they are to achieve new levels of operational efficiency. It's an environment where real-time data is crucial.

"Our processes were very siloed between campuses - each one was operating more or less in its own way. We needed to create a single source of data in order to have it all in a single view," explained De Faria. "Not to mention, we know that prospective students are very tech savvy and are used to all things digital. We had to give them the experience they expect when connecting with them. First impressions matter."

For the 3iS team, there was no question that transforming the technology they used would need to go hand-in-hand with an operational one.

"This transformation has affected everyone in terms of digitalization and simplification of tasks, but it has also greatly affected the way our teams operate," said De Faria.

1  European Parliamentary Research Service, The Future of Tertiary Education in Europe➚]

Unleashing the power of your data is one of four best practices that the 3iS team shared from their work with the cloud. Read them all, and then use them to build your to-do list for your next digital transformation project.

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De Faria and team launched an admissions and operations management platform with the assistance of Uprizon (a Salesforce integration partner). A tool that supports 3iS teams in the day-to-day managing of their communities, this integrated platform helps them to:

• Transform end-to-end all processes from prospecting to intake
• Achieve operational efficiencies through workflow automation
• Break down silos by sharing information across teams and campuses
• Automate dashboards and provide data-driven insights
• Streamline and personalize the student experience

Here's how the different processes work:

Prospective students connect with 3iS on their website by completing an online form➚ built on Sales Cloud, which automatically creates a prospect profile and initiates a follow up by the Advancement Department. After confirming that the prospective student is ready to formally apply, the application is sent directly via Service Cloud to Admissions. "The application process is automated. Now we use the chat function instead of sending emails. Students make their appointments online, they complete their applications online, they pay online. It simplifies the process for them," said De Faria.

As for 3iS' administrative teams, the platform helps streamline tasks with automated workflows. "We can see which candidates have completed their applications, process them accordingly, then schedule the exams and inform the juries directly, and in some cases automatically, in the tool," explained De Faria.

As applications contain sensitive data, the platform allows 3iS to control access rights so that an employee only has access to the information required to complete a task.

A collaborative vision based on data

With processes streamlined across all campuses, student data is centralized on the platform using Marketing Cloud where it is accessible to all teams. This provides them with a complete student history, facilitating more personalized student interactions and the ability to create customized communication paths adapted to their interests. "We engage with students throughout the course of their education, which lasts between three to five years. People want that customized interaction - they expect it," said De Faria.

Automated reports and dashboards provide data on demand, filtered as needed by the 3iS team. "For example, it allows me to see very quickly which business units have had good growth as a result of a specific sales activity. And afterwards, my admissions colleague can see which candidates have filled out the applications and then schedule meetings with them," explained De Faria.

The team also uses dashboards to better understand the impact of their promotional and operational activities, helping them to make strategic decisions in real time while taking a long-term view. "We're able to make forward-looking estimates to help us with program development in terms of course offerings, space requirements, etc. And we can forecast the year six months ahead because we know that the numbers are reliable," shared De Faria.

Reduced processing times, a personalized user experience, data sharing with fine-grained filtering and reporting capabilities: "We are able to adapt the platform as needed," confirmed De Faria.

The 3iS team has already seen a difference in the experience for both internal and external users, as shared by De Faria:

1. Reduced application processing time, from submission to registration: "Today it's possible that someone who applies in the morning, if we're able to conduct their interview that day, can be enrolled by the evening. It used to take 10 days before we had just the application."
2. Automation allows employees to invest in higher value-added projects: "We can not only speed up processes and reduce the blockage risks, but we can also free up time to focus on supporting students and on higher value-added projects."
3. Reliable data is helping 3iS to create a more effective marketing strategy: "We can take action quickly because we can trust the numbers. We can manage our activity in a much more surgical manner and with much greater precision. We can develop a marketing program and define a sales roadmap six months in advance."
4. Increased employee satisfaction: "We have been able to redefine roles that were previously very administrative and to put those employees on more interesting projects. This has made jobs more meaningful, and we've been successful in limiting employee turnover."

• 10,000+ leads acquired
• 10 day reduction in application processing time
• 2 month acceleration in the recruitment process
• 30%+ conversion of prospective students to candidates
• 6 month advance in increased visibility of financial results

The next step in digital transformation for 3iS will be the deployment of Advertising Studio, which De Faria believes will be a real benefit - especially for students. "We'll be able to segment student audiences even more finely so as to not overexpose them to communications that aren't relevant to them and to design communication plans that will allow us to give them content that truly is.”

De Faria believes that embracing digital is essential for higher education to be able to meet the skills needs of tomorrow's world. "As art schools, communication schools and even business schools, we prepare students to imagine the world of tomorrow and what the future will bring. And that's what our transformation enables us to do," concludes Anthony De Faria.