Give an example of a time when you have had to implement a new process or procedure to solve a business issue. What was the outcome of this?
It is important to prepare for this question before any interview. In fact, it is one of the most popular questions asked in interviews because managers want to hire employees who know how to recognize inefficiency or a related business issue and do the work to improve it. To prepare, think of a few scenarios in which you made a helpful change around the office. Your contribution doesn't have to be huge because even a small shift in efficiency can have a big impact over time. Consider changes you may have made such as:
- scheduling
- request processing
- the order in which something is done
- meeting times
- information flow
- information access
- communication, reporting, or other updates
- team interaction issues
Describe the situation that led to you identifying an opportunity for improvement or being tasked with the implementation of a new procedure. Next, briefly discuss the actions you took to plan for the change and implement it. Finally, describe the results of the new procedure as well as anything you learned that you can bring to the hiring university.
"We had an issue with a large amount of students coming into our office during certain times of the day. The busiest times happened first thing in the morning, when classes changed, and during lunch. The result was long lines and impatient students needing service before their next class began. We worked on a first-come, first-served basis and I felt like there was a more effective way to control the traffic, reduce the stress on our department, and help more students get what they needed in a timely manner.
I suggested to the manager of our office that we work with the IT department to establish an online appointment booking system. I felt we could reduce the flow during busy times if we dedicated a few of our office members to handling booked appointments and encouraged students to plan ahead. She agreed and I worked with our IT department to develop the appointment booking forms and scheduling process.
It took time to boost awareness of the new system and work out a few process issues internally, but the system was a huge success overall. We were able to maintain a more steady flow of request processing and everyone in the office was less stressed as a result."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
It was a practice of our office to print documents for students when they came. Unfortunately, the University decided to terminate that service, and there was another procedure that students had to use for printing. When they came as usual, I had to explain that the process and procedure had changed. I gave them the new process to follow. They were not happy, as it inconvenienced them, but they usually understood the reasons.
Rachelle's Feedback
This answer is a good start; however, it could use more detail to keep the interviewer engaged. This feedback comes back to using the STAR framework while also including more action-based and measurable statements. For instance, how did you approach expressing the changes? What was the overall impact of your communication strategy?
Anonymous Answer
In my previous position, I noticed that as a team, we had a backlog of attendance and absence inquiries filling up the inbox. This was during the start of the pandemic when the virus was starting to spread widely, meaning that students were out sick, causing the inbox to fill up. To reduce the number of inquiries that came in, I decided to create a separate inbox for Covid-19 absences and a spreadsheet to log the student's name, ID, and the date they reported the absence so that we could update their record and give the information to the Engagement Center. This enabled us to organize the inbox and manage the absences more efficiently whilst maintaining a positive student experience, which is important to the reputation of the University.
Stephanie's Feedback
It sounds like you used active problem-solving skills to create this new system, which was critically needed. To strengthen the impact of your response, I suggest including an additional sentence or two focusing on the outcome of this system. Specifically, how has this system improved the student experience? (If you're able to provide a specific statistic, such as an increase in student satisfaction, that would help to make your response more compelling.)
Unlock all 35 University Administrator questions
Unlock expert responses for complex higher education leadership interviews.
Get Started