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Dec 8 - Douglas and BBB seek partnership to give students real-world experience
After Douglas College marketing students helped the Better Business Bureau serving Mainland British Columbia (BBB) identify ways to improve service quality for its accredited businesses, the BBB is now looking to partner with the college to provide students with mentorship opportunities and work experience.
"We wanted to give an opportunity for students to get real-world experience through this research project," says Mark Fernandes, the BBB's Media and Communications Specialist. "These Douglas College students displayed professionalism throughout the project, and the end result is that their research points towards helping us better serve our accredited businesses."
The Better Business Bureau serving Mainland British Columbia was founded in 1939 and is located in Vancouver. BBB is staffed by 26 employees and services the needs of 3,400 accredited businesses across B.C. BBB offers consumers and businesses resources including business reviews and complaint resolution at mbc.bbb.org.
Last spring, Fernandes contacted Gail Tibbo, Chair of the Marketing Department at Douglas, to see if students would be interested in doing an accredited business satisfaction survey for the BBB.
"We wanted to reach out to New Westminster, as it is a growing business hub," Fernandes says. "We knew about Douglas College's marketing program, so we thought this would be a valuable opportunity."
In groups, 35 marketing students designed research plans, examined existing research, created questionnaires, conducted surveys and ran focus groups to determine how the BBB could better satisfy its accredited businesses and help businesses recognize the value of BBB accreditation.
"Part of the requirement was that students be able to translate a business problem into a research challenge," says Tibbo. "And they got really good results. They also had to make three or four recommendations, which had to be realistic and solid, and had to be different from group to group."
Fernandes says the recommendations will help the BBB further enhance the effectiveness of its communication with its accredited businesses.
"The students' research provided us with an opportunity to learn, and we look forward to continue building on this relationship with the opportunity to take part in BBB's volunteer and mentorship program," Fernandes says.
