By Mandy Green
3 minute read
Managing staff is one of the most critical factors in achieving your enrollment goals. Just like recruiting students, building a strong admissions team means bringing in people who align with your office’s values and mission – and then managing them in a way that brings out their best work.
Once your team is in place, here are five ways you can help them succeed and work together more effectively:
- Get to Know Them Individually
In admissions, relationships are everything – not just with prospective students, but within your own office. Take the time to understand your staff members as individuals. Where are they from? What are their interests, backgrounds, strengths, and values? What’s their approach to handling pressure, and what motivates them?
You don’t need to schedule marathon heart-to-hearts. Instead, slowly build relationships through everyday interactions. When people feel genuinely seen and valued, they’re more engaged and more productive. Stronger relationships lead to better collaboration, better communication, and better results.
- Ask More Questions Than You Tell
A staff that feels heard is a staff that performs better. Instead of only giving instructions or feedback, actively involve your team in solving problems and setting strategies. When a challenge comes up – a dip in applications, a new marketing initiative, an event that needs fresh ideas – ask for their input.
Make it a habit to ask for opinions before offering your own solutions. This builds engagement, encourages ownership, and can lead to innovative ideas you wouldn’t have thought of alone.
- Manage Expectations by Making Roles Clear
A clear understanding of roles is non-negotiable if you want a high-performing admissions team. Everyone should know exactly what their responsibilities are, how their work ties into the larger enrollment goals, and what standards of professionalism are expected.
Once those expectations are set, trust your team to deliver. Micromanagement slows everything down. Clear roles + trust = faster, better results.
- Keep Communication Ongoing and Clear
Poor communication is the enemy of productivity. In admissions, deadlines are tight and details matter. You need open, consistent, and clear channels of communication.
Whether it’s regular team meetings, quick check-ins, group emails, or project management tools – find what works for your office and stick to it. Prioritize honesty and transparency, especially when challenges arise. Clear communication eliminates confusion, builds trust, and keeps projects moving forward.
- Challenge Them
Don’t just assign tasks you don’t want to do. Give your staff opportunities to lead initiatives, improve processes, or create new outreach strategies. For example, ask a team member to revamp an admitted student event or lead the charge on a new digital recruitment campaign.
Challenging your staff with real opportunities builds their skills, increases engagement, and strengthens the overall performance of your office.
Bottom Line:
Managing your admissions staff isn’t just about delegating tasks. It’s about understanding what drives each person, creating clear expectations, maintaining strong communication, and giving them opportunities to stretch and shine.
When your staff feels trusted, valued, and challenged, they’ll take greater ownership of their work – and that’s how you hit your enrollment numbers together.