October 24, 2022

Robots & Pencils Announces Launch of Student Apps to Simplify and Elevate Learner Success

Robots & Pencils

Led by newly appointed Head of Product Ryan Gialames, the student-centric mobile, web, and Slack apps powered by Salesforce focus on powering the learner journey and providing students with full wrap-around support

CLEVELAND, October 25, 2022 — Today, Robots & Pencils, a digital product company focused on transforming businesses with mobile, web, and frontier technologies, announced the release of its new education product, Student Apps. Concurrently, the company has appointed Ryan Gialames as Head of Product, Edtech, to lead and execute the ongoing strategy and design of Student Apps.

Student Apps provides students with a seamless, customized experience that supports each learner’s unique journey. Powered by Salesforce, Student Apps integrates backend systems, including student information systems and learning management system platforms, under a user-centered front end. This multi-app platform is a breakthrough in the educational technology field as its unique method of consolidating all student data eliminates the data silos that normally impede the ability of staff to support students.

“Student Apps is designed to meet the needs for institutions focused on providing full support to learners who would like to optimize their existing technological investments, unlock the power of Salesforce and Slack for education, build a journey unique to each learner through automation, connect learners to their community, and deliver innovative programs,” said Tracey Zimmerman, President and CEO of Robots & Pencils. “Our goal is to break current barriers and create new and innovative solutions that meet the needs of our clients in the current digital landscape.”

Student Apps has already had a successful trial run with Arizona State University. In 2019, ASU and Robots & Pencils partnered to find a way to streamline ASU’s technology in order to better communicate with students. Robots & Pencils created a Slack bot, now available as part of the Student Apps suite, that helps with the onboarding process and cuts down the amount of manual labor required to get students enrolled and engaged with the institution, driving better student outcomes.

“Universities often “ship the org chart”, with each department vying for the learner’s time and attention. Combine this with a landscape of disparate edtech technologies and the student experience suffers. Student Apps solve this problem, providing a set of tools to help learners manage the important tasks and milestones that will support their success and connecting them to those who can help, including staff and peers. ” said Gialames. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with a forward-thinking company like Robots & Pencils to help universities and professional learning providers solve pressing matters and build the optimal learner experience.”

Effective immediately, Gialames has stepped into the role of Head of Product for the company’s education technology. In this role, he will be responsible for launching edtech products, such as Student Apps, and bringing them to market while also driving the future innovation of these products. Most recently Gialames served as the Sr. Director, UX/UI at Western Governors University. Previously, he served as the Director in Product Design at Robots and Pencils where he led product strategy and design across all education clients including Arizona State University, University of Texas, Texas Oncourse, and Trilogy Education which was acquired by 2U. Prior to joining Robots & Pencils, Gialames was the Senior Director of Product Strategy and UX at the Carnegie Mellon University backed edtech startup, Acatar, and was Manager of Online Student Experience at Education Management Corporation.

Student Apps is now available in the Salesforce Appexchange. The platform has an annual license fee and implementation service fees, and can be configured to suit the needs of the institution.

This rollout follows additional growth across industries for Robots & Pencils, who announced an investment from Salesforce Ventures and the company’s partnership with LunaYou, a women-centered maternal wellbeing program created to address the maternity crisis earlier this year.

To learn more about Robots & Pencils, please visit www.robotsandpencils.com

October 15, 2022

How a Customized Platform Built on Salesforce Made a World of Difference For This Financial Institution

Robots & Pencils

A private portfolio lender, Level Capital needed to create an improved loan management system to support ongoing nationwide growth. The answer to their pain points came in the form of Robots & Pencils, a digital transformation agency that excels in designing and building Salesforce solutions to improve businesses.

Introducing Level Capital

Level Capital is a private portfolio lender that provides loans to builders and investors for construction on new homes.

Their loan programs are designed to address the specific needs, challenges and business objectives of small to medium sized builders and real estate investors.

Why Level Capital Turned to Robots & Pencils

Innovation in the financial sector can be complex so it’s crucial to pick a digital partner who understands the strict guidelines and security requirements that financial institutions have to embrace.

To process, manage and report on an increasing number of loan applications, Level Capital needed a more streamlined and reliable approach. Level Capital decided to rebuild the entire platform they used for running their business and Robots & Pencils knew that Salesforce was the perfect solution.

The Digital Solution

Robots & Pencils designed and configured a solution to improve how Level Capital processes and monitors loan applications via a customized and robust system that relies on Salesforce. By integrating third-party tools and custom code, the new system and workflow allows Level Capital to better:

Manage loan applications
Access and analyze more loan data
Report on loan applications
Monitor credit approvals
Stay on top of budgets
Scale loan management
Provide stronger data security
And more!

Today Salesforce is a huge part of Level Capital’s business. From the second a builder submits an application and becomes a lead in the system, all the way to a loan being approved, funded, and eventually paid off, everything is done within the Salesforce ecosystem that Robots & Pencils helped to build.

“R&P’s team brought Level’s vision of modernizing our business via a platform built on top of Salesforce from vision to reality. They are partners in every sense of the word,” said Lyra Waggoner, EVP, Software Strategy at Level Capital.

The Finished Product

Now that Level Capital has digitally transformed their way of doing things, they are able to stay efficient, communicate effectively with customers and employees, manage and monitor financial processes, and scale loan management. Their new platform is also much more flexible and easy to build on for future improvements, so that Level Capital can quickly get new products out to market.

Clients and employees are delighted with Level Capital’s innovation and their new way of doing things.

Want to talk to us about transforming your workflows with Salesforce? Reach out to us anytime!

September 29, 2022

3 Stages of Learning a New Technology

Robots & Pencils

This article describes my strategy for learning new technology, refined over the decade or so that I’ve been working in tech. As with any advice based on one developer’s experience, you may find that it’s obvious or that it doesn’t apply to you, but I hope it’s useful as a guide, a checklist, or even just a starting point for reflecting on your own learning process.

When I talk about learning a technology, I mean something pretty concrete. I would apply this approach to:

programming languages
data stores
libraries and frameworks
tools (git, Docker, Regex, etc.)
platforms (Linux, AWS Lambda, Google AppEngine etc.)

I wouldn’t apply it to:

methodologies (TDD, agile, effective writing, etc.)
high-level concepts (parsing, ML, IoT, serverless, etc.)
low-level details (virtual memory, garbage collection, etc.)

A 3-Part Strategy for Learning New Technology

Here’s an overview of my strategy: when I’ve got a new technology to learn, I think about going through three broad phases:

Consuming documentation
A learning project
Application

Phase 1: Consuming documentation

My first stop when approaching any new technology is documentation, especially intro docs or tutorials. I do love a technology that comes with good documentation! This phase might also include courses, blog posts, or other third party material.

Beyond actually learning the technology, in this phase I’m looking for:

Points of comparison: Is this technology similar to something I already know?
Unique features: What are the ways this technology is different or surprising? Where might I apply it instead of something I already know?
Integration points: What kind of projects could I use this technology for? Will it let me leverage things I already know, or does it require me to discard my usual toolbox?

The objective is obviously not to learn everything there is to know, but to create connections to my existing knowledge so that I can start using the technology and find my way to answers in the future.

Some examples of great material for this phase:

Phase 2: A learning project

Once I read the introductory documentation, I try a little project using the new technology. I aim for something small but not trivial. I want something where I can safely apply the skills I’ve just (supposedly) learned but also something that will challenge me and expose any gaps in my understanding.

Note that this isn’t learning on the job or building tools to scratch your own itch (though those are important skills in their own right). It’s a project that’s conceived, planned, and executed with learning as a primary goal.

I try to find a project that:

Highlights the new technology: I won’t learn much about a new database if I’m struggling to get my front-end code just right. If I want to try out that auto-documentation feature, I should make something that I’d want to document.
Is just beyond what’s comfortable: Getting frustrated with advanced features isn’t productive, but neither is retreading material from the tutorial.
Doesn’t have too much instrumental value: If I set out to build something, I might overlook a new technology’s failings if I want the thing badly enough.
I can put some polish on: The point is to learn a technology well; it’s good to have some time to polish, review, or get feedback.
Above all, I want a project that’s small: A tight scope helps me keep focus and leaves me free to fail fast if the project isn’t working.

The objective is to discover all the things that the new technology’s documentation didn’t address:

How difficult is it to install/build/operate?
Can I integrate it with my existing tools (languages, editors, source control, packaging and deployment, etc.)?
Does it still feel elegant and useful when I’m using it on an original problem (and not a carefully chosen example)?
Did I actually learn it well enough to turn an idea into a reality?
Am I confident that I’m using this tool correctly? Idiomatically? Sustainably?

My experience has been that these kinds of questions aren’t always addressed very well in documentation or are addressed more with hype than with facts. If, after putting in a genuine effort, I can’t get a new technology to work for me, it’s an indication that the tech might be immature. Alternatively, my understanding might be flawed or the technology might not be a good fit for what I’m after.

Some examples of projects that I’ve done in this space:

I also find it helpful to write up a little experience report when I’m finished. This helps me capture and clarify my impressions of the new technology and have something to share with others.

Phase 3: Application

Once I’ve done my learning project, I’ve hopefully got a good sense of where a new technology fits and whether or not I want to keep working with it. At this point, it stops being a target for deliberate learning. If I’m trying to further develop my expertise, I look for:

Opportunities to use it professionally: Perhaps I have a work project where the new tech is a good fit or is already a going concern.
Side projects: This can be bigger and more instrumental than a learning project while still being a safe place to experiment.
Complementary technologies: Sometimes it might be appropriate to start this process over with a related technology. (For example, you might learn Elixir then Phoenix, or Rust then WASM).

Naturally, I’m always looking for opportunities to go deep on a technology (heck, I’m still learning things about Python after nearly 10 years!) but I’ve found that further expertise comes much easier with study and experience than it does from studying alone.

This post was contributed by Nat Knight, one of the principal developers who supports our clients and projects at Robots & Pencils.

September 9, 2022

How Salesforce Automation Changed Sprinklr’s Way of Doing Things

Robots & Pencils

As businesses grow, it’s common to face new challenges and experience a need for doing things a new way. At Robots & Pencils, we usually step in when a company is experiencing growing pains and create digital solutions to accelerate our clients’ processes. We also love sharing what we learn along the way, which has inspired this post.

It’s no secret that the overwhelming majority of companies use Salesforce not only to aid in their sales process and for CRM, but many are using the platform to run many or all of their critical business processes post-sales. We have worked with many clients to first identify the most impactful opportunities, and then to design, configure and customize Salesforce and other systems as needed to drive business impact while also improving visibility to data and drive actionable insights. Sprinklr is one of the great companies who trusted us with optimizing their Salesforce implementation, and the results were astounding.

Meet Sprinklr

Sprinklr is the most comprehensive platform on the market when it comes to CXM (customer experience management).

Thousands of the world’s largest enterprises use Sprinklr every day to engage consumers online. The ability to leverage insights leads to better collaboration within organizations, creates a unified view of customers and ultimately creates better experiences for consumers.

Sprinklr mixes modernity into all of their offerings and has a great blog where you can glean strategies to apply to your business.

A Complicated CPQ

Sprinklr relies on Salesforce’s CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) platform. However, as Sprinklr grew, the CPQ instance became increasingly complicated and was affecting their workflow. The setup was putting the sales team at risk for generating improper quotes.

The Sprinklr team was manually fixing CPQ inaccuracies which was time consuming and frustrating. They wanted to be able to rely on Salesforce for their workflow. These hangups became problematic in many ways including how to make future technical enhancements.

Sprinklr needed a new way of doing things.

The Far Better Way

Robots & Pencils met with Sprinklr to first understand their existing tools, processes, and requirements. After analyzing their existing Salesforce implementation, we began to simplify and eliminate unnecessary CPQ fields and customizations. Our work ensured that all of the information needed by the sales team and clients would be automatically populated on Sprinklr’s order forms. R&PWe also made changes to Sprinkr’s CPQ instance to ensure accurate pricing and discount calculations.

With more efficiency and accuracy, the Sprinklr team is now able to provide more accuracy when it comes to quotes. Their team is able to fully rely on Salesforce’s CPQ platform again.

The Robots & Pencils team created a workflow for Sprinklr that embraces:

Faster order form creation
More useful views and automation
Accurate CPQ calculations
Prominently displayed customer discounts
Easy to understand multi-year deal prices
Clearly shown payment schedules

Key Takeaways

Here at Robots & Pencils, we work a lot with what we call “the frustrated innovator.” We help our clients’ brands implement digital transformation strategies so they have that companies have a far better way of doing things. Our work with Sprinklr using Salesforce is just one example of the solutions we can implement work we do. We pride ourselves in delivering technology that delivers a competitive advantage for all of our clients.

The biggest takeaway from this example is that companies who have a solution implemented but aren’t getting the impact expected or are still using a lot of manual workarounds don’t have to settle for complicated workflows. There are experts out there who can help with user-centered design, technology and business process improvementes like Robots & Pencils to unlock the business value technology can have when done well whether it’s us or another digital agency.

May 2, 2022

5 Tactics for Supporting Non-Traditional Learners

Robots & Pencils

A one size fits all approach no longer works for today’s learners pursuing higher education. Students are coming from a breadth of backgrounds and experience. They’re juggling demands involving finances, jobs, family members, and other personal issues. Each person has different needs, goals, and prior knowledge to be accounted for. Often, these individuals care less about degree titles and more about learning specific, in-demand skills that will get them where they want to go.

As experienced edtech designers and developers, the team at Robots & Pencils has helped to design and build a variety of accessible, inclusive, and customizable learning experiences that support learners of all types. Here are a few of the tactics we believe are most effective in preparing non-traditional learners for academic and professional success.

1. Build platforms that offer flexibility in how and where students learn.

Institutions need to offer students the flexibility and options to find what works for them, while recognizing that these needs may change not just month to month, but week to week and day to day. Educators must meet students where they are in the moment with integrated digital, in-person, and hybrid learning experiences. And digital means more than logging into a classroom via a browser. It requires best-of-breed, consumer-grade web and mobile tools and an understanding that students need access to educational resources across devices and support across multiple communication channels.

2. Create pathways that accommodate unique and evolving needs.

Learning pathways must accommodate each individual’s needs and acquired knowledge. This requires designing programs so that students can enter learning pathways at different points, progress at their own pace, and even easily switch to an alternate path with a different outcome. For each learning outcome, institutions should provide multiple learning methods and materials, as what works for one learner won’t necessarily work for another, and an individual’s needs may change based on how or where they’re accessing the material. Students should also have options to pursue not just degrees but things like stackable microcredentials, certificates and industry trainings that align with their immediate and future goals. For many organizations, achieving these goals requires not just developing new platforms but also reimagining the way you design and structure your academic content and offerings.

3. Focus on outcomes and key skills learned.

Learners are focusing on specific skills and outcomes. You should too. Competency-based education remains a powerful way to tie educational content and progress directly to desired skills. In a competency-based program or course, you can continuously assess skill development and empower students to control the speed at which they move toward desired competencies. However you design your educational pathways, your learning platform should clearly show learners where they are on their journey at all times, including the knowledge and skills they’ve mastered so far, what’s left to learn, and the final outcome of their work.

4. Show how educational outcomes align to industry needs.

Clearly tying educational outcomes to industry demands (including specific roles and job skills) can convince learners that the time and effort put into their education will be worth it. It also motivates learners to keep moving toward their end goal. Equally as important is that your outcomes, including your degrees, badges, certifications, are easy to understand and meaningful to hiring managers, helping your graduates get jobs. With the ever increasing skills gap faced by industry, it is past time for educational institutions to build closer relationships with businesses, including seeking input and feedback on educational offerings. Doing so will benefit everyone involved–from the employers, to your students, to your entire institution.

5. Ensure learners own their learning progress and skills data.

Say a learner has an upcoming job interview or a meeting with their boss about a promotion, and wants to share what they’ve accomplished so far. Is that possible right now? Are you making it harder than it needs to be? Students should have easy, instant access to academic progress and transcript data, so that they can share the information of their choosing whenever the need arises. That means letting learners authorize other institutions, career coaches, or employers to access all or part of their data.

Likewise, today’s learners can earn credentials from many places, including professional organizations and employer courses, that could apply toward your educational requirements. The ability to easily share accomplishments and progress should flow both ways.

Want to talk more about edtech and educational strategy? You’ve found your people!
The Robots & Pencils team combines robust professional backgrounds in higher ed with a proven track record of delivering results to top-tier school systems and education service providers. We’ve helped over 200 clients–including 2U, The University of Texas, Columbia University, and Arizona State University — to develop innovative digital products and experiences utilizing mobile, web, Salesforce, Slack, and more.

Learn more about our work in education or get in touch with us today.

April 26, 2022

Robots & Pencils Announces New Investment to Further Develop Slack’s Ecosystem

Robots & Pencils

A long-standing partner of Slack, Robots & Pencils brings a myriad of knowledge on how organizations can best utilize Slack as well as offers unique solutions to challenges they may face.

CLEVELAND — April 26, 2022 — Robots & Pencils, a digital innovation and solutions firm focused on transforming businesses with mobile, web, and frontier technologies and strategies, announced today an investment from Salesforce Ventures. The investment comes as Slack, which was acquired by Salesforce in 2021, continues to bolster connections and partnerships with pioneering technology startups that help organizations maximize the combined Slack and Salesforce platform.

After many organizations made the necessary shift to remote work at the onset of the pandemic, Robots & Pencils has continued to grow at an accelerated pace as it helps clients transition from stop-gap solutions to building out thoughtful, holistic digital transformation projects. Over the last year, the company has grown its Salesforce and Slack consulting business by 70%, while key executive hires in the Consumer & Retail Goods and Financial Services sectors have helped bolster company growth by 40% overall. The investment will enable Robots & Pencils to accelerate growth of its unique capabilities in developing complex, integrated Salesforce and Slack solutions.

“It has been a fun and transformative journey working with both Slack and Salesforce, partnering closely to develop scalable and innovative solutions to drive impact across a wide array of industries,” said Tracey Zimmerman, CEO and President of Robots & Pencils. “This investment from Salesforce Ventures is a testament to our team’s early adoption and unique expertise with both platforms, and we look forward to the next phase in our partnership.”

With deep working knowledge of how to optimize both platforms, Robots & Pencils is uniquely positioned to help companies accelerate digital transformation, drive collaboration, and improve operational efficiency with custom Salesforce and Slack solutions. Robots & Pencils has a rich history and deep expertise with Slack, recognizing its potential as a transformative workplace tool early on and signing on as the company’s first official services partner in 2016.

In 2018, Slack acquired Missions, a powerful no-code solution developed by Robots & Pencils to make it easier for teams to automate processes and tasks in the platform. Today Missions is available to all Slack users and is integrated in the core Slack platform as Workflow Builder. As a Salesforce Consulting Partner and Salesforce.org Registered Higher Ed Partner, Robots & Pencils has been designing and developing scalable and innovative Salesforce solutions across industries since 2014. Led by Daniel Peter, a seven-time Salesforce MVP with over 30 certifications, the Robots & Pencils team has developed custom solutions that allow companies like University of Texas, 2U and Sprinklr to push the boundaries of what’s possible with Salesforce.

“We are always looking to work with forward-thinking companies that are changing the ways companies think about work, collaboration and the ability to bring the digital HQ to life for our joint customers,’’ said Yolanda Wong, VP of Partner Investments at Salesforce. “We are excited to invest in Robots and Pencils as they expand their Slack solutions across industry. As early champions of the Slack platform they have established a strong perspective on how to help organizations leverage Slack as an agent of change and we look forward to seeing the ongoing innovation they bring to market.”

In January 2022, Robots & Pencils hired Todd Sbarro as chief operating officer to help scale the organization’s strategic growth initiatives across the Consumer & Retail Goods, Financial Services, and Education verticals. The company has created several new leadership roles over the years, strengthening its team to over 200 talented professionals across North America specializing in UX, Design, Mobile, Salesforce, Web, and more.

In the summer of 2022, Robots & Pencils will be launching “Operating Smarter with Salesforce and Slack,” a webinar series where the company’s in-house experts will break down how the platforms can be leveraged in a hybrid work setting. To learn more, please visit: https://info.robotsandpencils.com/slack-sf-series

About Robots & Pencils

Established in 2009, Robots & Pencils is a digital innovation firm founded on the then-contrarian view that mobile would be more transformative than the Internet. Today, in an age of unprecedented technology acceleration, Robots & Pencils helps companies maintain a competitive advantage by developing new digital strategies and products focused on education, financial services, and retail & consumer goods. For more information, please visit robotsandpencils.com.

November 12, 2021

5 Reasons Why Your Digital Transformation Strategy is Underperforming

Robots & Pencils

Future-minded businesses are rapidly devising new digital experiences, but too often their digital transformation strategy is underperforming. Are you one of them?

It’s not enough to decide you want to digitally transform and start picking new technologies. You need a strategy and the support of your team members to gain the digital transformation results that you read about.

When functioning properly, digital transformation can bring about higher levels of employee satisfaction, customer engagement, business innovation, sales, workflow efficiency, and more!

Be mindful of not rushing your digital transformation process. It’s a big undertaking and involves a lot of time. So being prepared and realistic is the biggest piece of advice we can give you. However, even with time and a documented strategy — your digital transformation strategies may be underperforming. In fact, you should constantly be auditing your strategy to see how well it’s working. As you assess your results, consider the following 5 reasons why your strategy might not be as effective as possible and revamp it accordingly.

Common Causes of Underperforming Digital Transformation Results

1. Lack Of Internal Participation

Many professionals think digital transformation means adopting new technologies, but that’s only part of it. Digital transformation also requires a formulated strategy and employee adoption of both the technology and strategy.

In fact, resistance from employees to digital transformation is the number one reason that these efforts fail. 70% of companies report that employee resistance accounts for the underperforming of their digital transformation strategies.

2. Not Utilizing the Right Technology Stack

No matter what your goal is with digital transformation, strategically using technology can help any business of any size to grow and transform. Regardless of your industry, you’ll quickly find that you can’t make headway digitally unless you use technologies like:

Cloud computing
Mobile apps
Automation tools
Data analytics

Another thing to note about digital transformation and technology is that you shouldn’t add a new tool just because it’s new and flashy. Be sure that it fits in with your overall strategy and that the money you invest in it will lead to revenue growth.

3. Choosing the Wrong Partners

Deciding on digital transformation is not enough. Afterall, 78% of brands who initiate digital transformation fail. That’s why you may want to consider an agency partner to build, guide and implement your strategy.

When choosing a digital transformation partner, check out their past work, ask for references, and take them up on a free consultation. Basically do your research so that you don’t become one of the 78% of brands who attempt digital transformation but fail.

4. Neglecting to Map Out Your Strategy

It’s easy to get ahead of yourself and dive into a new digital transformation strategy before you’ve really thought everything through. However, this type of work requires a strong foundation in order not to crumble later. So before you start purchasing technologies and training your employees, map out your entire strategy. This should include things like:

Do a business and user needs assessment
Research industry trends
Analyze what your competitors are doing
Define goals
Assess budget
Make a plan for getting employees onboard and trained

Digital transformation isn’t just about the future, it’s also rooted in the past. To succeed, it’s essential that you use data from your past initiatives to inform your future strategy.

5. Misunderstanding the Business Need or Opportunity

If you thought your digital transformation strategy would increase productivity but the needle hasn’t moved, maybe you’ve been focused on the wrong thing.

With the right digital transformation strategy, you should see an increase in productivity when it comes to customer communications, sales and internal communication.

If that’s not what you’re seeing, it might be time to revisit the thinking and plan behind your strategy. Doing more in-depth business and user research can help you to better understand the opportunity at hand or the real cause of the problem you want to solve. Before you roll out a digital transformation strategy across the company, it’s also imperative that you get feedback and test your ideas with the people who will be impacted.

Could your digital transformation strategy be stronger? Do you need help building out your digital roadmap or conducting user research? Learn about our expertise to see how we can help, and contact us at hello@robotsandpencils.com for a free consultation!

July 2, 2021

How ASU Achieved a Harmonious Student Experience With Slack Integrations

Robots & Pencils

Arizona State University (ASU) is always looking for a way to better engage students.

“It’s our mission to help Sun Devils feel more connected to each other and the diversity of opportunities around them,” says CIO, Lev Gonick. “Slack has been a connective tissue across ASU, enabling deeper discussions and greater productivity in both formal and informal spaces.”

They have gone all in with Slack as their digital campus solution and this blog post is here to tell you all about it so that you have key takeaways to apply to your own institution.

A Brief Background on ASU

ASU has multiple campuses, along with thousands of online students who are located all over the country and the world. ASU has been recognized by US News & World Report as the country’s most innovative school and prides itself on graduating more than 27,000 thinkers and innovators each year.

Since so many of their students are enrolled digitally, ASU is constantly looking for better ways to engage their students online. Engagement is especially important during enrollment and the onboarding of new students.

Knowing that innovation is the backbone of success, ASU knew they needed a technical solution to step in and improve how they communicate with students.

ASU’s Previous Student/Success Coach Process

ASU aimed to streamline their process for admitting and enrolling students as well as keeping them engaged and successful throughout their school year.

They have a student network where they set new students up for success and also provide a way for students to network with each other. ASU really wanted to build a sense of community at their universities.

A lot of work went into keeping students engaged especially because ASU’s students are all over the country, not just in Arizona. Networking and engagement relies more on digital workflows than a lot of other schools.

The previous platform relied on Facebook authentication, but Facebook is dwindling in usage for the college demographic so this became problematic.

Why ASU Decided to Work With Robots & Pencils

ASU and Robots & Pencils started the initiative in 2019 after getting fed up with the complicated way of communicating with their students.

To avoid relying on Facebook or other social networks, ASU wanted to find a way to use their own single sign on technology to communicate with students.

In February of 2020, after some beta testing, ASU’s new program launched, utilizing Slack as the communication hub and cutting down on all of the digital clutter from their old workflows.

Robots & Pencils not only was willing to create a tailored solution for ASU but they also helped re-imagine their workflows. Companies find that they need a healthy balance of technical and creative so Robots & Pencils often creates solutions but doesn’t stop there — we also help with the visual and planning aspects of implementing something new.

Slack wasn’t designed to be a social network or a student portal, so ASU needed a partner like Robots & Pencils to customize Slack and tailor it to their needs in order to create a space that was useful and accessible to their students.

The Digital Solution

Robots & Pencils implemented a streamlined way for ASU to connect students with other students and stay engaged throughout their college career.

Broken down by channels in Slack, Robots & Pencils helped ASU create spaces for students characterized by student type, campus and college groups.

In June of 2020, Robots & Pencils implemented a Slack bot that helped with the onboarding process and cut down the amount of manual labor that was going on to get students signed up and engaged in the portal. It also automatically puts students into the right channels and simplifies moderation within the community.

The Slack bot keeps onboarding organized and automated so it has resulted in a lot of time savings for ASU staff and eliminated frustrations for the students. The bot also allows ASU employees to message students based on student type, major, and other traits so the communication process has gotten a lot easier. Student Success Coaches can even quickly look up information about each student so that they provide learners with better, more personalized support.

How Slack Integrations Transformed ASU’s Student Success

Once ASU transitioned to Slack in 2019, they were able to streamline their student engagement and instead of using 4 tools, they consolidated everything into Slack.

Once the new Slack processes were created, ASU saw the amount of active students in their portal jump from 8,000 a year to 15,000 a year, showing that students have been responding well to these new workflows.

What Does This Example of Digital Transformation Mean for My Brand?

As this example shows, there is always a better way to do things when you have the right technology partner. If you think parts of your process are too time consuming or you rely on too much manual labor, there is definitely a solution out there for you.

Slack doesn’t have to be just for internal communications; when structured properly, it can be a communication hub if you’re willing to think outside the box.

What areas of your external and internal workflows could be improved? We’d love to have a great chat with you about it in the comments below!

Robots & Pencils Announces Launch of Student Apps to Simplify and Elevate Learner Success

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Phase 1: Consuming documentation

Phase 2: A learning project

Phase 3: Application

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2. Create pathways that accommodate unique and evolving needs.

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5. Ensure learners own their learning progress and skills data.

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Common Causes of Underperforming Digital Transformation Results

1. Lack Of Internal Participation

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