[Non-Obvious] Intake Questionnaire Info
As a new IEC, I relied heavily on intake questionnaires to prepare for prospective client meetings. Because I had already worked in independent school college counseling, I knew that a consultation would be much more valuable to a family if I conducted research in advance.
In order to do this effectively, I needed to be prepared with background information on each student's academic and extracurricular record, college preferences, and future goals. Like most IECs, I also requested a transcript, standardized testing record, and high school profile, and I still ask for all of this information today.
Back then, when the prospective clients became actual clients, I never thought to follow up and collect other needed information beyond what I already had from the consultation. It occurred to me one day that I was probably creating a potential liability for myself - or at the very least, I wasn't being thorough.
What would happen if a student with a medical condition had an emergency? Who would I call if my typical parent contact wasn't reachable?
Better yet: did I even know if these kids had medical conditions in the first place? Yes, some of them told me, but what about the ones that didn't? What about cultural or religious needs that impacted their ability to work together, such as the boy who couldn't concentrate because he was hungry during Ramadan? It's important to be aware of anything that could impact a student during our time together, and I didn't really know these things because I didn't ask.
On a more practical note, I also began to realize that some families preferred constant communication, and other parents were busy and only wanted to be contacted on an as-needed basis in emergency situations. Some wanted both parents on the meeting recaps, and others just wanted one (or none). It was hard to keep everything straight, and most of the time I was really just guessing if I'm being honest. This became even more complicated when I started hiring employees who were also responsible for reaching out to client families. They couldn't read my mind!
Now, we send "Getting to Know You" questionnaires immediately after parents sign their contracts and pay their invoices. We send two versions: the parent version has questions that deal with issues relating to health, communication preferences, emergency contact information, family issues in the home, scheduling choices, observations about student motivation, and so forth. The student version is a little lighter and contains a personality test, as well as fun questions about preferences and pet peeves.
After both parties complete their questionnaires, my assistant logs most of the information into each student's main Asana task so that it is readily available to anyone on our team that works with the student. Other information, such as birthdays, goes into a different part of Asana with its own reminder system. We want to make sure that we acknowledge each student's special day!
Download a list of information that you might consider including on these kinds of new client intake questionnaires here
(This assumes that you already have all of the relevant background relating to your consulting work)
By August 1, you will be able to purchase templates of questionnaires I use with my own client families here