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Top 3 Ways to Communicate With Parents

Effective Parent Communication Tips That Works

 

Parents are so busy today and we must find effective ways of communicating with them. Have you ever reminded a parent that a child needed supplies such as: wipes, extra clothes or diapers and the next day the parent arrived without the supplies? I know….it drives you crazy!

Now remember, parents are very busy and they will forget those verbal reminders. This is why it is vital that we communicate with parents in a manner that will help them to remember supplies and remember important events.

There are many ways to communicate with parents including: daily notes, bulletin boards, phone calls, face-to-face conversations, emails, website, social media, newsletters and so many other ways. However, I have found that there are 3 ways to effectively communicate with parents and they are as follows:

Text Messages

Several months ago there were many snow days in St. Louis and I was forced to close the center several days. Many of the parents requested that I send them a text message in the event of an emergency closing. I thought this was a great idea.

Cell Phones are a great way to send parents very important reminders and I think  that parents will really appreciate you for it. I do not suggest that you remind parents to pay tuition, because they may get offended. Keep your text messages fun and friendly!

Parent Mailboxes

 

* Photo of my parent mailbox

Having a mailbox for each individual family is a great way to assure that important notes are sent home daily, along with school work. I borrowed this idea from the Creative Curriculum when I was operating as a home daycare  in 2002 and I still utilize mailboxes today to communicate with parents.

When the parents arrive and pick-up their children, the first thing that they do is check their child’s mailbox. I also find that parents will ask me or the teachers questions about the information that is placed in the mailbox. If you do not already have a parent mailbox, you can pick-up a mailbox from your local office supply store.

Door Signs

Your front Door is a great place to post very important reminders. My tuition is due on monday and every week I post a reminder on the door that reads: ” Welcome back….If you have not already paid your tuition for this week, please note that tuition is due upon the arrival of your child.”

When I check my payment mailbox, 95% of the parents drop their tuition in the box upon arrival. The week’s that I forget to post a reminder on the door, many of the parents forget to pay tuition and they accrue a late fee on Tuesday morning.

One week after sending home a newsletter about an upcoming event;  I will  post  a festive sign on the door that includes info about the upcoming event. Moreover, I find that many parents seem to remember the event when they see a sign for 7 days prior to the event.

Feel free to share your thoughts about the parent communication tips listed in this blog post.  Do you plan to implement any of the above tips?

Category:

Administration, Family Connections, parent communication

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How to Deal with Difficult Employees

 

I’ve  had my share of dealing with difficult employees and I honestly believe that I went through those situations to share this blog post with you today.

Dealing with Difficult employees is very common in the work place. In fact, when I network with other childcare business owners, most of the complaints are about staff issues. The top complaints that I hear from employers include:

  • Tardiness
  • Gossiping
  • absenteeism
  • Bad Attitudes

If you are dealing with any of the above situations with an employee, just know that there is a solution.  Again, I have experienced all of the above and I want to share my story with you.

In 2005, I was dealing with an employees with a very bad attitude. In fact, her attitude was so bad that the other employees were complaining about her to me. The employee would even complain to parents about the center and was gossiping with other staff members.

That one employee was  destroying the moral in my center. Because of my lack of experience in that area, I did not confront her right away and this caused the problem to get out of control.

I took a one week vacation that year and I bought a book, written by John Maxwell titled: “Winning with People.” That book gave me so much understanding on why this employee was behaving in that manner. The employee was hurting within and in most cases when someone is hurting, they tend to hurt others around them.

I decided to get to know this employee including; getting to know about what was going on at home. Once she discovered that I cared, she opened up to me and she became one of my best employees. In fact, in my absence she made a great team leader and a role model for the other staff members. Moreover, when I would hire new employees…I would pair them up with her for 2-days for training.

In summary, my night mare with that employee turned into a positive situation when I decided to seek understanding, get to know the employee and let her know that I cared.

If you find yourself dealing with a difficult employee, here are some steps that you can take to help you to deal with the situation:

  • Document the behavior
  • Hold a meeting with the employee
  • Ask questions to get understanding
  • Let the employee know that your goal is to help them as much as you can
  • Express your expectations and make them clear
  • Review your policy on the issue at hand (if applicable)
  • Review what you have discussed in the meeting
  • Create a corrective action plan, hold the employee accountable and set a follow-up meeting date

To Your Success,

Shiketa Morgan

For more employee management tips, join my Center Owner eclub.

 

Category:

Administration, Employee Management, Leadership

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