During the Fall 2017 semester, students in Dr. Brian Richardson's Communication and Consulting class accomplished consulting projects with two Denton-based organizations. Students from the class were divided into two project groups of five students each.

Both groups met many times with their clients throughout the semester and were praised by their clients for their efforts.

One group, which included Becca Boneau, Amnee Elkhalid, Eluno Molokwu, Amanda Sileo, and Jordan Winget, worked with the City of Denton's customer service department. This group worked closely with the city's customer service managers and representatives in assessing their call center training program.

Communication Studies graduate students pose for a picture with members of the City of Denton's customer service team.

According to Tiffany Thomson, Customer Service Manager for City of Denton, "The experience of working with the UNT consulting students was exceptional. The eagerness to roll up their sleeves and attack real world challenges and opportunities with our training program was refreshing. The caliber of insight and recommendations that came out in the end proved to be a true synergistic process that provided a win-win scenario for both the students and City. We hope to work with UNT in this unique capacity again."

The second group, composed of Taylor Bell, Jayme Carrico, Mary Collins, Stephanie Hernandez, and Jesse Snider, partnered with SAFRAN Electrical & Power, a world leader in the design and production of aeronautical electrical systems. These student-consultants worked with the company's human resource team on the rollout of an employee excellence program.

Dr. Richardson and Communication Studies graduate students pose with Phoebe Hampton (center) of SAFRAN.

The students interacted primarily with Phoebe Hampton, SAFRAN'S Director of Human Resources. "The student group made remarkable progress in a short timeframe. Their ability to be collaborative, self-directing and innovative contributed to the success of our project," said Hampton.

Dr. Richardson said the students effectively took on the role of organizational consultants. "Both groups really took ownership over their respective projects and delivered substantive deliverables to their clients. Most importantly, they saw that their knowledge of communication provided a value-added benefit to these organizations."