How Zoho Streamlined Student Enrollment and

Operations for

The Client

Client Name: The Trades Institute

Location: Xenia, Ohio
Industry: Education / Workforce Training
Business Model:

  •  Provides hands-on trade education and career preparation through bootcamps, continuing education, and practical field experience
  •   Serves individuals entering or upskilling in skilled trades, including fair-chance learners, employers, and at-risk youth
  •  Operational success depends on efficiently managing student enrollment, attendance, and program data while maintaining a supportive, high-touch experience

Executive Summary

The Trades Institute, a hands-on trade education provider based in Xenia, Ohio, needed a better way to manage student intake, enrollment, and ongoing operations as their programs and student volume grew. Manual processes, fragmented systems, and inconsistent data made it difficult for staff to efficiently manage the student lifecycle or provide a smooth experience for prospective students.

By implementing a custom Zoho One solution, The Trades Institute centralized student data, automated key workflows, and created a scalable system that improved efficiency, reduced administrative burden, and enhanced the student experience across the entire enrollment journey.

The Problem or Business Need

As The Trades Institute expanded its programs and student base, existing processes became increasingly difficult to manage. Key challenges included:
Key challenges included:

Manual and inconsistent student intake across multiple entry points

High volumes of phone calls and emails from prospective students seeking updates or next steps

Incomplete or staggered applications that required repeated follow-ups from staff

Limited self-service options for students during the enrollment process

Difficulty tracking where students were in the lifecycle from interest through enrollment and attendance

Administrative overhead caused by disconnected systems and manual record keeping.

These challenges created inefficiencies for staff, reduced visibility for leadership, and made the enrollment experience more confusing for students.

Evaluation of the Problem

To fully understand the Institute’s operational needs, the consulting team conducted a structured evaluation that included:
Interviews with administrative and instructional stakeholders

Review of current intake, enrollment, and attendance processes

Creation of data architecture and workflow diagrams

Development of mockups and future-state process flows

Definition of business requirements to support both current and future programs

This evaluation made it clear that the Institute needed a unified platform capable of managing the full student lifecycle while supporting automation, reporting, and long-term growth.

The Proposed Solution

The solution was a custom Zoho One implementation designed to manage the entire student lifecycle — from initial interest through application, enrollment, attendance, and ongoing communication — while reducing manual work and improving visibility across teams.

Zoho was selected because it provided a single, integrated platform that could replace multiple disconnected tools and support forms, CRM workflows, automation, document management, and reporting.

The Implementation

The project was implemented using a phased, collaborative approach. Initial working sessions focused on defining the CRM data model, enrollment pipeline, and intake requirements. Student-facing forms were then built and integrated into the website while backend CRM modules, workflows, and automations were configured in parallel.

Regular check-ins allowed the team to validate assumptions, review progress, and incorporate feedback from both administrative and instructional stakeholders. Training sessions were conducted alongside configuration to ensure staff understood how the system worked and felt confident using it after launch.

Challenges Faced

  Designing a scalable data model that could support future programs and courses

Ensuring data accuracy across multiple student lifecycle stages

Driving user adoption and change management during the transition from manual processes

These challenges were addressed through thoughtful system design, controlled automation, and ongoing collaboration with the client team.

The Results

After implementation, The Trades Institute achieved meaningful improvements across operations and student engagement:

Improved operational efficiency, with an estimated 20–30% reduction in manual administrative work

Faster enrollment processing, reducing delays caused by incomplete applications and follow-ups

Higher data accuracy, driven by standardized forms and automated record creation

Enhanced student experience, with clearer communication and a more structured enrollment journey

Better visibility and reporting, allowing leadership to track enrollment, attendance, and program performance more easily

A scalable foundation for growth, supporting new programs without re-engineering existing systems

Overall, the solution reduced administrative burden while enabling staff to focus more on student success.

Conclusion

By implementing a tailored Zoho One solution, The Trades Institute transformed how it manages student enrollment and operations. The system delivered high user adoption, improved efficiency, and gave the client the confidence and flexibility to manage their programs effectively while preparing for future growth.

We Can Help

If your organization is looking to streamline operations, improve visibility, and create a scalable system without sacrificing user experience, we can help. Contact us to learn how a customized Zoho solution can support your goals.

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