Do you use the latest technology to communicate with parents?
Successful relationships become partnerships when there is two-way communication and parents and practitioners really listen to each other and value each other’s views and support in achieving the best outcomes for each child.
Nurseries have a responsibility to keep vital child data up-to-date, but we all know that parents are notoriously bad at letting you know when things change. This creates a real risk for your business, especially if that information relates to allergy, medical or emergency contact details.
In this difficult economic climate, some parents are financially strained, and talking about invoices and fees can be an awkward experience. Nevertheless you shouldn’t have to sacrifice the sustainability of your business as a consequence. However, with a clear, robust and professional process, fees can be paid on time without creating conflict with parents.
In this article we look at the key areas that can go wrong with parent communication and provide suggestions on how to maintain healthy relationships using innovative solutions.
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Updating child data without the long-winded printed form process
Mobile phone numbers, work details, child allergies and dietary requirements… parents are forever changing them! Implementing a fast, reliable process will not only keep child records up-to-date and support child welfare, but also save you and your staff the time and worry of chasing forms.
Ironically, despite their apathy in completing child data forms, parents expect your records to be up to date at all times. The secret here is to change the onus of responsibility, giving parents the opportunity to inform you of changes 24/7, and ideally giving them access to the data you hold on file for them and their children.
Have a document available on your website for parents to freely download when they want, to inform you of any updates. To make the process better have correspondence sent via email so that you always have a record of requests on file, and you can track those that have been completed.
Alternatively you can provide parents with secure, read-only access to their child’s data online. Abacus has a unique Parent Portal feature that allows parents access to their child’s data via your website. They can see, but not make changes to, all child records, sessions booked, room movements and contact details as well as invoices and payments received.
This provides complete transparency with your customers, places the responsibility back with them to keep records up to date, and looks amazingly professional!
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Dictate a firm but fair payment process for parents
In times of financial uncertainty, it is important that parents understand the financial commitment involved in putting their child in nursery. Having worked with thousands of nurseries over the years, there are common traits in those that do not suffer from late paying parents and all of the uncertainty that it brings.
1. Don’t neglect the importance of fees. It is tempting to focus on the quality of care you offer, but the best performing nurseries never shy away from talking about fees. Make sure parents understand from day one that fees are expected on time, every time.
2. Implement a clear and robust fee payment policy and stick to it! If you make allowances for one parent, it is always passed on down the parent grapevine and others will expect the same treatment.
3. Nominate one person to be the ogre! The warm welcoming staff were a key reason parents chose your nursery, don’ task them to talk about fees. This creates an uncomfortable atmosphere and may affect their relationship. Nominate one person to be the bad guy that always corners the late payers, and allow the rest of the team to maintain the open arms approach.
4. Hold a substantial deposit for each child (usually one month’s fees). Make sure parents understand that as soon as the deposit fails to cover the outstanding debt, the child’s place is no longer available. This sounds harsh but it is the only way to truly avoid bad debt, and those settings that implement this have, by far, the least issue with bad debt.
5. Don’t accept cash! It places you at risk of fraud, has no audit trail to prove that a payment has been made and creates a temptation for staff and thieves alike!
Direct-debit is the most common method of any business for receiving regular payments , but very few nurseries can meet the financial criteria to offer this service. Why not let Fee Planner , an optional extra on Abacus, collect your fees and pay them into your bank account on a nominated day each month? Parenta will chase any non-payers (usually very few) and you can accurately predict your cash flow .
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Keep parents up-to-date the modern way!
Dizzy Ducks is a great example of how to communicate with parents via Twitter
The way we all communicate has significantly changed and parents are much happier to receive more informal updates, especially if they are current and relevant to their child. Consider creating a blog or Twitter page to build a community for your nursery that is quick to update and allows parents to actively become involved.
Twitter is easy to use and you can provide a constant stream of updates for parents, that allows them the opportunity to comment back, and should take no more than a minute or two each day to keep updated. This can even be done from your mobile phone, just like sending a text message!
Going back to our previous article on data security, getting a handle on your data has immediate benefits. With all data stored on a computer, you’re in a convenient position to email all your parents when required. Emailing regular correspondence such as invoices and setting updates saves both time and money.
You can use free emailing software, such as Mailchimp, to send your emails. Mailchimp is particularly good as it is free and allows you to create multiple groups of recipients – particularly useful if you wanted to email parents from a particular room or age group. Once an email has been sent you can check who has received, opened or even clicked on the email.
Abacus has a built-in mail merge facility which takes this functionality even further and helps you communicate with parents quickly and efficiently. Use saved templates to quickly send out emails and choose recipients based on a huge range of criteria such as permissions or if they have previously had measles!. Emailing all parents their invoice in a matter of minutes is far cheaper and quicker than posting or handing them out individually.
Would you like to see how Abacus can successfully drive your communication with parents? Book an online demonstration via the enquiry form below for more details.
