Improving the student experience.
We advise on ways to improve quality of life and the student experience, directly affecting student retention, and contributing to wellbeing.
We will demonstrate how adding value to services and working smarter can deliver better services as well as improved commercial performance.
Our programmes are bespoke to the individual needs of your university. Each tailored piece of research is designed around agreed targets and budgets.
We review all, or specific, commercial service areas such as catering and accommodation. Our client receives a report outlining the strengths and weaknesses of the current offering, together with recommendations for future delivery to optimize financial performance and a great experience for users of the services
Through a comprehensive series of individual and group interviews we establish the expectations of the university’s senior management towards commercial services, whilst gaining an understanding of the Estates Strategy. A range of meetings follows with management, staff and students, tailored to secure a deep understanding of the attitudes and expectations of users towards their services. A set of recommendations is provided to help guide the university’s commercial team to achieve future success
This programme offers a deeper insight into the needs and expectations of all stakeholders and service users, using a series of interviews to gain a comprehensive understanding of the requirements for catering or accommodation, or other student facing services. The subsequent report will assist in driving long term planning whilst providing a clear vision of the present services. For maximum effect the programme should be repeated towards the end of the Academic year and again in the following year
Weston Taylor was created in 2016 by Peter Taylor, who has over twenty years of experience in the Higher Eduction sector. Having created the Universities Division for Sodexo, Peter developed many initiatives devised to improve the quality of life for students, including the highly regarded Sodexo University Lifestyle Survey.
In 2012 Peter developed Student Living by Sodexo, which moved further into providing a comprehensive range of student services, and demanded enhanced understanding of social and welfare considerations.
The learnings from both operational experience, and from creating student satisfaction programmes ensures that we have a clear understanding of the needs of both the individual institution and the students they serve.
...I would readily recommend Weston Taylor, and we have been very happy with their positive approach to supporting our quest to add value to our catering services offered to students, staff and visitors at Falmouth University.
...Weston Taylor’s ability to engage with a range of stakeholders, from customers to senior leaders was a significant strength in building confidence in the recommendations that were developed as a result. The final report gave practical solutions that have assisted the University in developing its future plans which have gained buy in at all levels of the organisation.
We believe there are a number of significant factors that set Weston Taylor apart in our field of work:
Our programmes are bespoke to the individual needs of your university. Each tailored piece of research is designed around agreed targets and budgets.
Get free advice nowWe offer fixed price packages based on a day rate. This allows clients to decide on the extent and scope of the work, whilst also being provided with a guaranteed cost. Using a day rate method allows for additional work to be undertaken if desired. Each programme takes between nine and fifteen days to complete.
The question content, as well as the size of samples to be interviewed is agreed with our clients. As well as some generic questions, we include specific subjects that have particular relevance to individual institutions.
The questions are agreed with our nominated client team before being put to individuals and groups. If required, the questions can be modified or added to in order to ensure all relevant views are collected.
All the information, including the detail of the questions, is owned by the client, and will not be shared with other institutions or used generically, unless with the express permission of the client.