Students heading back to school after a holiday break means sorting out class schedules, dorm rooms, and catching up with friends. But that only takes a few days, considering that the school setup is always a beehive of activities. The next point of focus is the campus mailroom, where many anticipate basic stuff like textbooks, home care packages, dorm room decor, etc. To keep things organized and efficient, it’s important to follow certain university mailroom dos and don’ts.
With the traditional mailroom practices no longer as effective as they used to be, parents, students, and staff will appreciate the efforts made to revamp the process.
Gone are the days when manual sorting and writing package notifications by hand were the only means of accessing mails. Today, thanks to technology, the process has been made effortless and quick using software package management systems like Notifii Track. Universities are quickly switching their mailrooms from the basement to more open parts of the campus, redoing their appearance completely.
Don’t worry if you still haven’t let go of the old-school mailroom practices yet; we’ve created a detailed guide on the university mailroom dos and don’ts that will help upgrade your experience. So let’s get down to business.
Do Research on How Many Students Mainly Receive Packages
Unlike the past, where individual mailboxes were prevalent, today, many students are opting for receiving packages only. In any case, why would a relative or friend send a letter to a campus student via mailbox when they can call or send a message using a mobile device instead?
Aside from the switch from mailboxes to package rooms, you also want to assess the latest mailroom trends that are likely to transform service delivery.
Don’t Forget to Plan Ahead for Delivery Peaks
The first week of settling down and commencing classes usually experiences an increased demand for mail delivery services. Most students prefer ordering bulk items for a one-time delivery rather than hauling them in their cars. Cognizant of this fact, some schools chip in to help by renting a big truck for students to use to transfer things back to their dorms.
Don’t be the Jack of all Trades
The fact that mailrooms are usually deemed as internal services doesn’t mean all operations should be centralized. Keeping every function in-house may compromise service delivery, hence the need to outsource. While some campuses sub-contract the entire mailroom operations, others grant students an on-job experience on a part-time basis, cutting costs in the long-run.
Do Develop Ways to Enhance Efficiency
How prepared are you to handle a peak in campus package delivery? Always develop new and improved ways of sorting packages, organizing pickups, notifying recipients, plus other mailroom-related activities.
Don’t get left behind on new trends of downsizing mailbox space while availing more pickup windows, switching to ID-operated smart lockers, and implementing web-based package tracking software.
Don’t get Self-Satisfied with What’s Already Available
Sticking to what you already have in your mailroom is the first recipe for failure. No matter how pimped your mailroom looks, there’s always room for improvement.
For starters, go through what you currently have and brainstorm how you can optimize it fully. Secondly, think about what’s missing that would cause a tremendous improvement. Finally, you also want to ask for feedback from students on how to improve your service delivery. This keeps you from spending on what you don’t need or seeking unhelpful solutions.
Subscribe to Our Mailing List
Do Create Room for Enough Packages
With the number of campus mailroom packages estimated to be increasing by 15% annually, it’s paramount to create enough space to accommodate everything securely. What’s more, with drone and grocery deliveries growing in popularity every day, we can only expect mailrooms to continue getting flooded with packages.
Student housing managers should start prioritizing (offering space to) packages instead of small mail pieces. Likewise, oversized parcels should have ample room for safe storage.
Do Consider Leveraging Technology
Unlike the past decade, where everything in the mailroom was manual and time-consuming, today, access to essential services like package tracking is only a press of the button away. Mailroom technology has made campus employees’ work easier while improving students’ experiences immensely.
Important note: There’s a widespread belief that sooner or later, technology will replace the human resource. Lie! The truth is, mailrooms are more dependent on HR than computers, and they can’t rely solely on the latter. Technology’s role is just supplementing and streamlining the systems while cutting on avoidable costs and improving user experience – not replacing employees.
Don’t Make Major Systems Overhaul Mid-Semester
Staging significant changes in the middle of the semester may interfere with service delivery and affect the students depending on your mailroom. Altering the pickup procedures or mailroom technology requires adequate planning and timing, which is only available when students are off for holidays.
In any case, you can’t suspend the daily operations, work on a compressed timeline, and still conduct multiple overhauls efficiently. Aligning your plans with the university’s academic calendar is the best option as you’ll have enough time to test and review the changes before students resume using the mailroom.
Do Leverage Mailroom Package Tracking Software
Mailroom package tracking software helps automate all time-consuming tasks like taking delivery of a package, informing recipients, locating packages inside the mailroom, following up, and reporting the delivery. This reduces the time it takes for the mail recipient to pick up the package hence freeing up storage space for more loads.
When looking for the best mailroom package tracking software, settle for the one that:
- Is simple to use
- Has optimal security features
- Is accessible anytime, anywhere
- Has comprehensive end-to-end tracking capabilities
- Provides real-time updates
- Have searchable history and reports
N/B: It’s vital that your system is easy to use and to train people on since often you’ll be using different student workers, not just the same staff.
Over to You
Now that you’ve learned about the university mailroom dos and don’ts, what’s next? It’s time to implement these best practices in your package handling procedures to improve the overall mailroom experience.
Above all, leveraging the best mailroom package tracking software will streamline operation while creating new opportunities for enhanced services and functions. Notifii Track is an easy-to-use web-based package tracking software that will simplify your mailroom.
Schedule a demo today to learn more about the innovative software used by higher learning institutions like Columbia and Purdue.
Read More: