Issue 1 2019

CEO MONTHLY / ISSUE 1 2019 15 The Industry Must Embrace Digital Innovation To Boost Accessibility For Students and help ensure there are no barriers for schools in delivering services or for students in accessing tuition. Schools often rely upon the outsourced support of teachers from a music service, and so having an effective system for managing external staff is especially important. A single, user-friendly system will not only simplify scheduling, resource and finance management but also enable accurate and secure handling of sensitive data. Digital innovation is also necessary for music services to be more self-sufficient and less reliant upon government funding for their operations. Since the majority of music students’ tuition is handled by their parents, the industry should consider how it can make its tuition management solutions as supportive and user-friendly as possible for parents. According to the National Music Plan, parents’ money represents over half of music services’ overall income, a figure which has likely risen since initial publication. It is the parent who is the customer and in the digital age, savvy customers want easy-to-use self-service systems. The industry must meet expectation with a management solution to improve the quality of customer experience and thereby increase student retention. Busy parents appreciate the convenience and flexibility of tracking lesson schedules and making payments online, all from one location, providing greater clarity and easier communication with tutors. Music education and the possibilities it opens is a joy which no student should be denied. Yet for the continuation of music services for all in the UK, digital transformation is needed to support stretched staff, streamline business processes and enhance overall communication for parents and tutors. The latest customer- centric technologies in tuition management solutions will help increase the value of music education and ensure it does not disappear altogether from the UK.