I've just called to say I support you: Strategies for improving call pick up rates

I've just called to say I support you: Strategies for improving call pick up rates

The Student Success Advising team at the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) outreach to first year students to offer academic, pastoral and administrative support. Faced with low phone call pick up rates, the team responded to growing scepticism around phone scams and robocalls by implementing targeted strategies to foster trust and increase call engagement.
The literature highlights that transparent caller identification and targeted outreach enhance trust and response rates. For example, Edwards et al. (2020) and Ridolfo et al. (2013) demonstrated that building trust through the utilisation of recognisable caller identifiers and valid numbers improved answer rates. Similarly, advanced notifications, interviewer training and targeted call times maximised telephone survey response rates (O’Toole et al., 2008) and a single follow-up call more than doubled web-based survey completion rates (Neal et al., 2020). Moreover, peer to peer phone call interventions were found to foster trust and openness and enhance student engagement and progression outcomes (Gilani et al., 2022).
Drawing on these insights, the team adopted a mixed methods approach combining recognisable caller identifiers, pre-call notifications, interviewer training, targeted call timing, and peer to peer support. This resulted in a call pick up and survey completion rate of 32% in 2024, well above average cold calling conversion rates of 4.8% (CloudTalk, 2025).
This innovative approach demonstrates how personal engagement, trust building, and technological strategies can be integrated to enhance student engagement, confidence and connection. As communication technologies continue to evolve, UniSQ’s mixed methods approach demonstrates best practice in student outreach and call engagement.

Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions.