Education Providers Q4 2024 Call Centre Rankings
Introduction
ACXPA’s benchmarking initiative provides valuable insights into the performance of a selection of Australian Education Providers’ call centres, offering a detailed analysis of customer experience and accessibility.
Our comprehensive evaluation is based on over 80 metrics derived from the Australian Contact Centre Quality Standards, delivering a holistic view of the sector’s performance.
The analysis focuses on new course enquiries, simulating real-life scenarios of potential students seeking information about a new course they are considering enrolling in. These high-stakes interactions are pivotal in the fiercely competitive education sector and reveal critical opportunities for growth and improvement.
By applying realistic scenarios, our trained Australian-based mystery shoppers uncover key challenges and opportunities in these interactions, helping education providers identify gaps, refine processes, and enhance their ability to convert enquiries into students.
Importantly, ACXPA’s benchmarking initiative not only equips education providers with the tools to improve their individual performance but also serves as a vital mechanism to raise standards across the education sector, ultimately benefiting businesses and students alike.
Executive Summary – Education Providers Q4 2024
🔷 Top Performers & Education Sector Trends
✅ Best Overall CX Performer – Holmesglen Institute (68.4%)
Holmesglen Institute retained its position as the sector leader for the fourth consecutive quarter, despite a drop of 7.5% from Q3 2024.
📈 Top Accessibility Performer – TasTAFE (98.1%)
TasTAFE recorded the highest Accessibility score not just in the sector, but across all industries, delivering an outstanding access experience.
❌ Lowest Overall CX Performer – TAFE WA (53.5%)
TAFE WA ranked lowest among education providers for the second consecutive quarter, contributing to the 14.9% spread between top and bottom performers.
💡 Industry Insight:
Despite a dip in Overall CX, Education Providers remained the top-performing industry sector in Q4 2024. However, the results revealed a stark contrast: while it’s easier to reach a live agent in this sector than any other, the experience once connected was rated the worst across all industries - highlighting a critical disconnect between access and service quality.
⚠️ Biggest CX Challenges
📉 Agent Mastery Scores Fall to Record Low
The sector recorded its lowest Agent Mastery Score on record at 47.6%, with declines across four of the five core competencies.
🧠 Skill Gaps in Live Interactions
While their accessibility was the highest of all sectors, the quality of agent interactions was the lowest, with TasTAFE registering the lowest Agent Mastery score nationally at 35.4%.
🔀 Performance Spread Remains Significant
A 24.5% difference in Agent Mastery Scores between Holmesglen Institute (68.4%) and TasTAFE (35.4%) illustrates the ongoing disparity in experience delivery across the sector.
🏆 Key Wins & Opportunities
📞 Perfect Calls Answered Rate Maintained
Education Providers maintained a 100% call answer rate sector-wide for the second consecutive quarter—the only industry sector to do so.
⏱️ Record-Breaking Wait Time – TAFE WA
TAFE WA achieved the shortest average wait time of just 2 seconds in Q4 2024—equal to the fastest of any contact centre nationally.
📈 Accessibility Remains a Sector Strength
With a sector-wide Accessibility score of 90.4%, Education Providers continue to lead all industries in ease of access to a live agent.
🚧 Ongoing Challenges
📉 Agent Capability Deterioration Across the Board
Every Education Provider experienced a drop in Agent Mastery from Q3 to Q4, signalling an urgent need for training and coaching support.
🧩 Wait Times Increase Sector-Wide
All Education Providers except TAFE WA recorded longer wait times, with TAFE QLD rising sharply from 0:11 to 1:53 minutes - the longest in the sector.
🔻 Overall CX Scores Decline Across the Sector
All Education Providers saw their Overall CX Scores decrease in Q4 2024, with TasTAFE falling the most at -8.1%.
💡 Next Steps for Education Providers
🎯 Prioritise Soft Skills Development
The sharp drop in Agent Mastery highlights the need for immediate investment in soft skills training. (Explore our Training Courses >)
🔄 Maintain Simplicity in Access Channels
Continue leveraging the low-friction IVRs and short queues that drive the sector's Accessibility leadership. (View our IVR Best Practices Member Bite Video >)
📊 Use Benchmarking Data to Sustain Advantage
Harness performance insights to improve agent interactions and ensure the sector retains its leading CX position. (Explore the Education Providers Benchmarking Service >)
Key Metrics Trends – Australian Education Providers Q4 2024
The chart below provides a 12-month trend analysis of three key contact centre performance metrics:
• Overall CX – An overall measure of the customer experience delivered by Australian Education providers via their contact centre.
• Accessibility – The ease of reaching a live agent.
• Agent Mastery – The quality and effectiveness of agent interactions.
The Education sector closed Q4 2024 as the top-performing industry overall, driven by exceptional accessibility and a perfect call answer rate.
However, a sharp decline in Agent Mastery and rising wait times across most providers highlight the need for urgent investment in agent capability to sustain CX performance and support student conversion.
Scroll down for deeper insights into these trends and their impact on performance. 🚀
Call Centre CX Quadrant – Australian Education Providers Q4 2024
This Call Centre CX Quadrant illustrates how Australian Education providers compare in Accessibility (ease of reaching a live agent) and Agent Mastery (quality of customer interactions).
Achieving excellence in both is challenging – while some Education providers make it easy for customers to connect to a live agent, they may struggle with agent expertise and engagement, leading to poor-quality interactions.
Others may have highly skilled agents but create barriers to access, frustrating customers before they even reach help.
The top-right quadrant represents industry best practice, where Education providers successfully balance both fast access and high-quality service – the ultimate CX benchmark. 📊🚀
Curious How Your Education Business Stacks Up?
Access powerful insights on Accessibility, Agent Mastery, and more with our Education CX Benchmarking Framework. Over 80 metrics to uncover performance gaps and growth opportunities.
ACXPA Business Members can get a detailed intro report for just $497 ex GST!
Discover Even More Call Centre Ranking Insights
In addition to the Education Sector information we publish, you can also view Australian Call Centre Industry Benchmarking data for additional industry sectors – click the links below to learn more and view data.
Curious about the Call Centre Rankings for other industry sectors?
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