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Applicant Non Arrivals

Applicant non-arrivals or “no shows” are a headache for college managers and a source of frustration for staff involved in the recruitment process.  Critically they represent a significant cost.

Even if your recruitment numbers are solid this year, finding out why some people didn’t turn up will help make your marketing and recruitment processes more effective and efficient.

Some colleges carry out this research themselves and you may be interested to see our 10 Steps Guide to Monitoring No-Shows which is in our Video Gallery along with some other contributions from RCU staff on research issues all colleges have to tackle, such as employer surveys, staff surveys, key stakeholder surveys and gathering information on early leavers.

If you would like to discuss the help we at RCU can offer, simply use this enquiries link to get in touch.

Videos

10 Step Guide - No-Shows

10 Steps Guide to Monitoring No-Shows

Frequently Asked Questions

How can research help me?

Above all, it can help by providing an evidence-base for decision-making. Beyond that it can identify customer insight, market trends, new opportunities, ways of operating your business more effectively and efficiently - so it can help you to save money, too.

How long does it take to do a research project?

It varies. Some projects can be set up and completed within a couple of weeks, others will take longer to set up and may also need to run over a longer period of time, for example.

I see you're based in Preston - is your market mainly North West?

Our base is in the North West, but our client base is all around the UK.

What does "RCU" stand for?

Originally, it stood for Responsive College Unit. In the mid 1980's there was an initiative to make colleges more responsive to their local communities. That is where we started. Since then we've continued to do work in the education sector but have widened our client base and our range of services considerably since those early days.

What sort of budget do you need for a research project?

The obvious but rather vague-sounding answer is 'that depends'. However, we will talk to you about what you need and the most cost-effective way of getting a result. We'd be happy to talk to you and then to give you a quote for the approaches we agree are the best for you in your situation. Contact us at enquiries@rcu.co.uk

Will the outcomes of the research be of any use to me?

Yes and if, at any stage, we believe the question we have agreed cannot be answered o the process is not going to deliver the result expected, we will talk to you about what to do next. That happens at the earliest opportunity as your project manager will be in regular contact with you.