“Operation Open Communication”

What words or feelings come to mind when someone says “Parent Communication”?

Apprehension, angst, concern, cold sweat, dread, jitters, misgiving, suspense, uncertainty, worried, quiet, shy, uncertain?

Assurance, calmness, composure, ease, nonchalance, peace, positive, secure, self-assured, sure, absolute, confident?

What would cause the difference in the way we feel or think about communicating with our parents? It all comes down to the relationship we have with each individual parent. That relationship starts the moment you make first contact, whether it is over the phone or in person…that first impression is the foundation for your relationship with that parent. Continuous fostering of that relationship is what helps build the bonds of trust and allows communication to flow easily in both directions.

Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while.

Kin Hubbard

It is true that the art of good conversation is not something that all people have mastered. Knowing how to make “small” talk or have “casual” conversation takes practice and commitment to developing this skill...so, knowing what is going on in the lives of our families whether at school or away from school makes sense when it comes to good communication. Remembering that part of communicating effectively is listening to what others are saying!

An essential element in helping to develop positive relationships with your parents is being available to them; having the knowledge that my Director is available is comforting to parents and opens the door to good communication.

We are kicking off “Operation Open Communication” companywide! Operation Open Communication will envelop all areas of communication in the school; during this phase of the rollout for “Operation Open Communication” we will focus on Four Main avenues of communication:

  • Management with Parents
  • Management with Staff
  • Staff with Parents
  • Staff with other Staff

There will be a second phase of “Operation Open Communication” that will focus on other areas of communication that affect the operation of the school; look for phase two coming this fall!

Making a Connection: Management with Parents

Director and Assistant Director’s will be available every day in the lobby for drop off and pick up times. This may mean some adjustments to the management schedule and some good open communication between the Director and AD will ensure the successful implementation and continued long term success of this program.

Basic Facts about Communication between Management and Parents

Coordination of Management Schedules:

  • Understanding the management structure in your school (see Appendix A)
  • Understanding the Management Schedule (see Appendix B)
  • Director Schedule – work both open and close shifts in the same week
  • Assistant Director Schedule – work opposite schedule of the Director
  • Third in Charge – coordinate their schedule to compliment and assist in the Director/AD roles (per the management structure guidelines)

Time Management Best Practices in Place:

  • Analyzing and scheduling all tasks that are to be done daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly
  • Delegating tasks appropriately with good follow up systems in place (see Appendix C)
  • Understanding timing during the day as to when/how to accomplish tasks

Communication Tactics and Understanding the Purpose:

  • Schedule should allow you to not be solely responsible for other duties during greeting and departure times; your focus should be on the parents
  • Stand in front of the desk or in the lobby to be open and available to greet parents in the morning
  • Stand in front of the desk or in the lobby to be open and available to talk to parents during departure in the evening
  • If you have big drop off/pick up any other time of the day; you should be available at those times as well
  • Morning Greeting time should be utilized as casual conversation time…Saying Good Morning to everyone who walks through the door and calling them by name
  • Evening Departure time should be utilized to share personal stories with parents as appropriate…”Mary, I was in Joey’s classroom today and listened to him read an entire story, it was amazing”
  • Parents will feel more open to discussing any issues or successes with you; you should be prepared for parents to ask for a personal conference with you and understand when to meet right away or when it is appropriate to schedule that conference

Beyond the Greeting and Departure

  • Random conversations with parents to just see how things are going...this can be either in person or over the phone. Director would approach a parent and just ask “How are things going”...allow the parents to openly and honestly answer the question. Director should react appropriately, offer feedback, answer questions, or just tell them how wonderful it is that things are going so well, and reiterate that the Director is always available to talk.
  • School Planning Board in your office with class by class lesson plans so you can share with parents during visit, a random conversation, or a formal meeting. This allows you to have a finger on the pulse of what is going on in your school.
  • Email communication is a good source of sharing general news with a particular classroom, with the whole school, or with a single family. Email should be used to communicate positively. Pictures, newsletters, reminders of upcoming events. Emails should be sent out daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly based on the information that is being shared.
  • Good News Phone Calls should be made to parents to share something nice, positive, good, exciting...maybe a milestone was achieved, the child went potty on the toilet for the first time, read a book...these are things parents love to hear! So don’t be afraid to share with them on a regular basis.

All of these measures will help to build a positive relationship with the parents and help to ensure a long and happy partnership at your school. Additionally, if there is ever any not so amazing news that you have to share with a parent or there is an incident that you must talk to the parent about; having that solid, positive relationship helps to smooth the way for an easier conversation while delivering the news.

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Practical tips to increase customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention

  • ELIMINATE THE NEGATIVES. Make a conscious effort to minimize the use of negative words and phrases in your service interactions. Customers do not appreciate words like: can’t, won’t, don’t, not, no, and sorry. You need to look for every opportunity to say: can, will, do, yes, you bet, and absolutely.
  • LISTEN TO YOURSELF. Periodically tape-record your side of customer service phone calls. (Set the microphone close to your phone so you’ll pick up your voice, but the customer won’t be heard or recorded.) Play the tapes and analyze your performance. Hear yourself as the customer heard you. What did you do poorly that you need to correct? What did you do well that you need to continue doing? Consider asking a few coworkers to listen to the tape and give you feedback.
  • Little Things: Southwest Airlines insists on capitalizing the word “customer” wherever it is used – in ads, brochures, the annual report, etc. The practice may seem picayune, but what better way to flag employees and the public that the Customer matters

Making a Connection: Management with Staff

Good, open, direct, honest, daily communication with each and every staff member by both the Director and the Assistant Director helps to build the relationships between the management and the staff. There should never be an “Us and Them” mentality in a school.The management team needs to establish the boundaries for communication; and modeling the appropriate way to communicate is the start to fostering the skills in our staff that will allow them to communicate effectively with management.

Basic Facts about Communication between Management and Staff

Daily Routines for Open Communication:

  • Always say good morning upon arrival and ask how they are
  • Schedule is posted in a common area for all to see and updated as necessary
  • Always communicate immediately any changes to schedules; especially breaks
  • Visit the classrooms often throughout the day to know how things are going in a classroom and let the staff know you are available. Having informal conversations in the classroom helps to build the bond between the manager and the staff members
  • Always say good-bye when leaving and...
  • Always tell them “Thank You” for a job well done, just being who they are

Beyond the Daily Routine for Open Communication:

  • New Student Card – giving the teacher a new student card with pertinent information prior to the child starting allows the teacher to prepare for the new student and ensures success for both the teacher and the students (see Appendix D)
  • Utilize nap time as an opportunity to train your staff
  • Time off Request communication is essential to keeping a positive relationship between management and staff. All time off requests will be processed within 24 hours of receipt and the approval or denial of the request discussed in the office with the staff member. Clear communication of the Time off Request policy should be done at the next staff meeting so everyone understands the policy and procedure clearly moving forward. The Time off Request form is provided (see attachment) as well as the Time off Request Policy (see employee handbook)
  • Random, informal conversations with the staff member in your office will help facilitate good open communication. These conversations should be done with all staff members and on a regular basis. The conversations will also help to ease the pressure of having to call a staff member in at any time to have a conversation that is in regards to performance. The office is now a place of business and viewed with respect.

Getting to Know your Staff:

  • You interviewed them, hired them, continue to mentor them...but do you really know who they are? Part of building the relationship with staff members is communication...but there is another part that will help with the communication as you build that relationship and that is taking a vested interest in who they are as a person.
  • Ask Yourself The Question...How do I thank or reward my Staff (see Appendix E)

Making a Connection: Staff with Parents

Our staff plays a vital role in the bond that children and parents feel with your school. Staff communicates with parents on a daily basis and sometimes shares either too much information or not the right information. We need to empower our staff to communicate effectively with parents and know when, how and what to share with the parents.

Basic Facts about Communication between Staff and Parents

Training Staff to Effectively Communicate:

  • Communicate with staff when, how and what you would like them to share with the parents. The best time to do this is during new staff orientation. Staff should only communicate with the parents about their own child and events taking place in the school/classroom that pertain to their child. Staff would communicate with parents in the morning at drop off time and in the evening at pick up time
  • Communicate with staff on what is not appropriate to share with parents: school personnel issues, changes in policies (that are not student related), negative remarks about the school or company, information regarding pay, information about other students/families
  • Parent Teacher Conference training should be conducted with each staff member to ensure that staff are fully comfortable presenting the information to the parents, and they understand what the expectation is in regards to the information shared with the parents and in what time frame (Training Module coming soon)

Daily, Weekly, Monthly Written Communication:

  • Classroom daily schedule posted on a parent board both inside and outside of the classroom door. Schedule is typed, grammatically correct, and followed on a daily basis
  • Classroom Lesson Plan posted on a parent board both inside and outside of the classroom door. Lesson plan is typed, grammatically correct, and followed on a daily basis
  • Infant Daily Reports, Toddler Talents, Two’s News, My Days filled out completely for each individual child; no photo copies made of one report and handed out to each parent as their child’s “individual” report. Reports are to be accurate, grammatically correct, include all diaper changing, feeding, and activity information as required. Reports should be used to communicate any supply needs or upcoming event reminders as necessary.
  • White Board communication can be used in the preschool and schoolage programs to communicate what was done daily in the classroom.
  • Handouts/Weekly Newsletters should be made available to parents to include new songs introduced (with words and melody), concepts being studied, and general information regarding your programming and events to help the parents understand what is going on in the classroom.

One of the most important elements to staff communication with parents is that the staff is happy. Happy staff do not feel the need to gripe to parents when they are upset with a decision that is made; or a policy that they do not agree with; good communication between you and your staff ensures that they are well informed, and can remain happy even through the most difficult times.

Making a Connection: Staff with other Staff

Whether during a transition time or just general communication you will find that as the leader in your school you need to help facilitate communication between staff members to ensure that relationships are fostered, communication is effective and that ultimately good communication with parents is the result of the communication between staff.

Basic Facts about Communication between Staff and other Staff

Staff Transition Communication:

  • Staff members who are transitioning in to a classroom will receive from the outgoing staff member a clear understanding of the roster, what they are working on in the class, what the expectation is of that teacher as they are filling in for break, lunch, end of day as well as any feedback on students day that needs to be shared with the parents, such as an ouch or incident report
  • A “Pass Down” book will be maintained in the classroom for teachers to write notes as needed throughout the day to aide in the transition to the new staff member

Staff General Communication:

  • Staff will communicate in a positive manner with each other; treat each other with respect on a daily basis
  • Staff will communicate any issues with management and allow the management team to address those issues in the proper way
  • Staff will not address another staff member in a derogatory way; or handle issues on their own that do not pertain to the general operation of their classroom

Staff Training on Communication:

  • During orientation of new staff it will be stated what the expectations are in regards to staff transitions and general staff communication
  • Ongoing counseling from the Director with staff as needed to help facilitate positive staff communication and support problem solving and good communication skills.
  • See Appendix G for Communication Guidance

Appendix A: Management Structure

Small Schools may have a Director and a Part Time Assistant Director who also fills in other key positions in the school (cook, driver, breaker, etc…). In this case, it is important that your staff has a good knowledge of the expectations of them during the course of the day and that a good schedule is in place to allow the Director and/or Assistant Director the ability to be available at Greeting/Departure times.

Mid-Size schools may have a Director and Assistant Director who work full management shifts. Again, in this case, it is important the staff has a good understanding of the expectations during greeting/departure times as the manager is sure to be alone during these important times. A good solid schedule is key to success.

Large Schools have a Director, Assistant Director and a third in charge who is scheduled to assist in the office during the busiest times of day. In this case, scheduling and staff understanding are still key; however there is an additional management team member to work into the mix of the management schedule.

Appendix B: Management Schedule