WHY HIRE AN "it" IMS CONSULTANT?

Consulting is a tremendously valuable option when organizations need specific expertise, value-added advice, and new/proven third-party strategies to ensure success. An excellent consultant can have a huge impact on an organization in many tangible ways. An objective voice is often needed to dissect issues and bring balanced, fresh ideas to the table that will be not only be useful at the time of the consult, but will prove to be an investment that lasts over a long period of time.

We believe that consulting is about active listening, knowing that all clients have very unique and different needs, and doing whatever it takes to assist with creating great solutions to management challenges. We take our company core values very seriously!

Bottom line – increased revenues, increased monies raised, increased enrolments, and increased opportunity to engage, equip and empower more students!

iIMS HAS A PASSION FOR PRIVATE EDUCATION

 

Leadership Coaching

iIMS takes a very relational and personal coaching stance when helping leaders accomplish goals, solve problems, develop strategic objectives and grow their organizations. Our approach is very eclectic and focuses on professional development, leadership skills, relationship management training, interpersonal communication, organizational development, and change management.  iIMS offers the following types of coaching:

  • Remedial Coaching - When leaders are having significant problems in their day-to-day ability to get the job done, remedial coaching can assist with productivity and focus.
  • Developmental Coaching  - When leaders have the fundamental knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes to be successful, but for various reasons (perhaps excessive colleague conflict or poor communication skills) are not effectively using them, developmental coaching is often the perfect solution.
  • Enhancement Coaching  - When leaders not only have the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes to be successful but are using them effectively on only an intermittent basis, enhancement coaching can help propel the individual to the next level. This type of coaching does address occasional performance issues, but the primary focus is on helping these leaders achieve even greater goals and plans. It is high performance people who can best use and benefit from iIMS enhancement coaching.

 

Assessment & Enhancement​​​

A wide variety of assessment tools are used to examine schools with respect to key areas of advancement that could be causing undue stress on the overall operation. iIMS offers schools a wide variety of assessments drawing from tools such as “360 Leadership Assessments”, “Heath Assessment Tool for Schools”, “The School Assessment Tool”, “The OECD School Review Process”, “The NAIS Independent School Quality Assessment Tool” and iIMS’s Advancement Assessment Tool.  Following the assessment process, a complete school-specific enhancement report is delivered as well as coaching for the execution of this new way forward.

 

Fundraising 

All non-profits require funding for their organizations – iIMS provides best-practice expertise in all areas of fundraising.

  • Major Gift Fundraising is both an art and a science. Support by individuals, families, and foundations make up the majority of giving to philanthropic organizations, and major gifts from individuals can account for up to 90% of annual donations to non-profit organizations-often from as little as 5% of annual donors. iIMS assists with the major challenges when raising major gifts; identifying major gift prospects (the science of major gift fundraising), and asking for a gift (the art of major gift fundraising). Successful non-profits must have a sophisticated major gift donor program and iIMS has expertise to facilitate this process.
  • Capital Campaign Fundraising is the most cost-effective, intense and high-stakes form of raising money and are often major growth-builders in the life of a non-profit organization. iIMS facilitates all aspects of capital campaigning and assists in establishing goals, creating timetables, understanding feasibility, major donor acquisition, cultivation and solicitation, and ensuring accountability. When done correctly, capital campaigns can be one of the most empowering "events" in the life of an organization and inevitably inspires growth and cultural enthusiasm.​
  • Fundraising Support Programs help to ensure that schools are developing new donors, assisting with important aspects of school’s operational needs, and taking the school’s future into consideration.  iIMS assists in the development and execution of major fundraising events (galas, sports tournaments, and community fairs for example); gift-in-kind fundraising programs; planned giving programs; and “school-directed” programs.

 

Enrolment Management 

iIMS offers schools a three-pronged approach to best-practise enrolment management.  Programs are first evaluated, then synthesize, followed by the implementation of growth strategies. Areas of focus within the enrolment management focus area include student recruitment, inquiry management, marketing strategies, admissions policies & procedures, branding, social media development, website management, and integrated recruitment/admissions software programs.

 

Site Growth & Development

iIMS helps schools to ensure that their physical school spaces and capacity are commensurate with their growth projections.  The facilitation of visioning, budget management, needs assessments, funding, and expansion management assist schools in their growth development. iIMS assists with document development, relationship management with third party institutions (such as banks, foundations and funding organizations), and board decision-making as schools move from conceptual designs to raising the funds to the actual build.

 

Internationalization 


iIMS assists schools, of all levels, to develop internationalization strategies.  Phases include preparation and discovery, training and proficiency, inquiry and admissions management, marketing and Internet/social media development, recruitment fieldwork, planning for a diversified portfolio of recruitment and retention strategies, on-campus programming, cultural proficiency, and orientation for international students.  We also provide help with MOUs, peer school partnerships, troubleshooting, engagement auditing and advisement on international programs of all types. 

Student Programming, Residential programming and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) Programs are cornerstones of any international university or secondary school. iIMS offers complete program development and ongoing program management including budget design, curriculum design, faculty hiring & training, policy and procedure design, fee structure design, pedagogical and methodological training, intensive and short-term ESL program development, and residence & homestay programming.

 

Strategic Planning 

Strategic planning should reflect the unique issues and characteristics of each school community. This is a process through which schools identify needs and challenges, set goals for improvement, and make decisions about how/when these goals will be achieved. iIMS provides experienced and thorough auditing and recommendation execution that will assist schools to move forward in dynamic manners. The Strategic process includes:

  • An investigation into various aspects of what makes up a successful school - vision/mission, core beliefs, school culture, governance, teacher effectiveness, recruitment, marketing & admissions, programming, fundraising, branding, financial viability, and facility.
  • A general recommendation plan coming out of the audit/investigation findings.
  • A comprehensive strategic plan to implement specific goals, timelines, personnel leadership and action plans - Assistance with the execution of creative and value-added goals/action plans as needed.

iIMS takes a project management approach when facilitating a strategic planning process. Our goal is to listen and gather pertinent information first, assess needs from the gathered data, move forward with strategic planning, vet and define solutions with school leadership, and provide effective and serviceable solutions for school improvement.

 

 Governance

IMS assists schools in all areas of governance, including by-law development, policies & procedures, protocols, membership, and board-administration relationships.  Board governance is one of the most important and influential components of a healthy independent school.  iIMS facilitates best-practise strategies to help school leadership effectively govern.