Treating Parents as Our Customers
Paul D. Houston
We are often told that we should act more like a business. Setting aside the obvious problem that children are not widgets, you still are left with the chore of sorting out who the customers are.
One of the greatest problems of American education is a confusion over who we serve. Some would argue that the children are the customers. They sit in the seat each day receiving instruction. Others believe the community, big business, colleges or even the military are the customer since they hire or place the student.
I believe the parent is the customer. Customers are the people who can choose to take their business elsewhere. Students are captive to the process and the broader community must live with the product regardless. Students should be considered the workers since it is their productivity that really counts. The broader community, business and the rest are the shareholders. They own stock in the operation. These distinctions become very important when you understand that shareholders have very different expectations and values than customers. Shareholders want return on investment. Customers want value and service.
Parental Savvy
With this in mind, AASA recently conducted a major poll of public school parents--our customers. And what we found out was fascinating.
First, we found that parents really get it. They have a very sophisticated understanding of their children's schools and what their children need.
Far too often educators, policymakers and the critics have underestimated parents and their knowledge of what makes a good school or how good their own child's school is. Our study showed us we underestimate them at our own peril. Parents can be and should be the school system leader's greatest ally. They want what is best for their children--so should you.
Our study gives us much to celebrate and some things to be concerned about. It provides a clear set of issues for the savvy school leader.
First the good news. Parents of public school children generally are very pleased with their child's education. They feel, overall, schools are doing pretty well. They see some things we could be doing better, but the general mood is positive and upbeat. They like the idea of public school choice, but a majority believe they already have choice and they don't see choice as something that would lead to big improvements in their school.
That tells us that years of rhetoric and millions of dollars have not created as much traction on the voucher issue as proponents would have liked. In fact, three out of four never have considered pulling their children out of public schools. They are very supportive of the values that underpin public education and see public schools as the place where common American values are taught and caught. However, that also tells us that one in four has had concerns and should cause us to wonder what we should be doing better.
The study offers clues. For example, the biggest issue for parents is student safety and they feel that disruptive students should be excluded from regular classrooms. But they also want to see that these students receive an education in alternative programs. They understand that learning cannot happen in an environment that is unsafe or disrupted. But they also understand that a society that tosses its problems on the street is a society that will pay a much higher price later on.
Parents want to have meaningful involvement in their children's education. And to the extent that they feel involved, they are more positive.
One way of making this happen is to provide parent centers and academies in schools. Parents who feel a strong sense of influence over their children's education are the ones least likely to have thought of removing their children from public school or supporting vouchers.
Good Business for All
While parents understand what many policymakers have not grasped--that tests are useful tools for assessing how well things are going--they don't think they are the goal. The most important thing for them is to see their children excited about learning. And they don't want to see the curriculum narrowed only to prepare kids for tests because they know that life is much more than a test. They think we are doing exactly that.
The highest value for parents is to have children who are safe and who are excited about their learning. If that happens they believe the tests will take care of themselves.
Despite the negative publicity schools get, good news resonates more powerfully with parents than does bad news. And the most trusted source of information for them is their own child.
Any good public relations program you have must start with the children. A good start would involve teachers asking children every afternoon to recap what they did in school today and then to ask them what they did that was most exciting. Children who can go home excited about what they did in school are worth more than gold.
Parents want smaller classes, particularly in the lower grades, a good teacher in their classroom who lights their children's fire, good principals who involve parents in the learning enterprise and up-to-date textbooks.
Superintendents who can design systems to produce these things have job security for life. And that would be good business for everyone.
Paul Houston is AASA executive director
American Association of School Administrators
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Strengthen School Culture Using a Customer Service Audit
By Nicholas I. Clement
Traveled recently? Were you astounded by how fast you obtained the keys to your rental car? Did your mouth water when you smelled that fresh cookie the hotel clerk was wrapping for your check-in welcome?
Chances are if you were astounded, it was not by chance.
In today’s choice-driven economy, the profitability of the customer for life motivates businesses to promote themselves as “world class” and “extraordinary” in their service guarantees. These companies translate their corporate values into results through comprehensive training programs for their staffs and continuous appraisal systems.
As school leaders, we also should want to astound our customers with quality service. Although schools may not be in the same highly competitive environment as five car rental companies side by side in an airport corridor, it is difficult to argue the benefits of creating customer-friendly schools.
At this point, you may be glancing at your district’s mission statement, reaffirming your belief that customer service is a core value. You also might be struggling with the idea of making improved customer service a higher priority than high-stakes testing, teacher contract negotiations and passing the next bond election.
Then ask yourself this: Could a customer service audit promote and strengthen your district's client-centered culture and have a positive impact on these important outcomes?
Credible Data
A customer service audit is an objective review of all aspects of how an organization serves both internal and external customers. As with the more common financial audit, the effective customer service audit relies on a collection of credible data from multiple sources.
In our school district, we use site visits, client focus groups, surveys and “mystery” phone calls as proven techniques for completing a school district customer service audit.
• Site visits and inspection. If a stay in a hotel astounded you, the physical environment was a major reason. If your room smells foul, it doesn’t matter how fast room service is. You probably will not come back and most likely will not stay at another hotel in that chain.
The first component of the audit involves a physical inspection of the school campus. Ideally, this is done as a surprise visit in order to promote data validity. The auditor walks everywhere and documents how his or her senses react with the environment. Key inspections include bathrooms, campus grounds and front offices, areas where first impressions become lasting perceptions.
• Focus groups with parents and students. Another service-sector strategy involves focus-group interviews. Companies invite small groups of customers to meet with managers and share their insights and opinions regarding the service providers.
To collect feedback from the parent and student perspective, the auditor conducts school customer focus groups to gather qualitative data. The auditor asks open-ended questions: What are the strengths of the school regarding customer service? How could your school provide better customer service?
• Staff survey. Gathering customer service data from staff becomes more challenging due to the interdependent relationship between various professional groups. A focus group with customers and their support personnel (teachers and custodians) does not always yield the honest and open sharing of perceptions needed for a valid audit.
To gather this data, a confidential survey is administered allowing staff to numerically rank and comment on the quality of district services, such as human resources and technology support.
• Mystery phone calls. As a customer, you often form your perception about a company based on one data source, the tone of the phone voice of the service representative. Customers in need of assistance already bring a degree of stress to the call, which can be escalated or diffused by the manner in which the employee responds to the problem or query. Although technology has made additional avenues for customer communication in schools, person-to-person contact via the phone remains a preferred means for parents.
Phone-skill customer service data is collected through “mystery phone calls.” The audit team, posing as customers, calls a school site or district office and rates the call on predetermined criteria (number of rings, greeting tone, response to request, etc.).
After the Audit
A customer service audit often results in districts being able to identify and address hidden problems that have a major impact on internal and external customer perceptions. Our school district uses customer service audit data to:
• Improve the appearance of school marquees. The audit illustrated the impact these signs have on the thousands of drivers who pass by the schools daily.
• Provide front-line support personnel with customer service training with a focus on phone protocols. Data indicated that phones were not answered with consistent greetings and that customers were often lost in “voice jail” after being transferred.
• Streamline the technology work-order process. Written surveys illustrated problems with the time lag between when work orders were submitted and the actual work was completed.
This audit has helped the district place a high priority on asking and answering the question: Did we astound you today?
Nicholas Clement is assistant superintendent for administrative services, Flowing Wells School District, 1556 W. Prince Road, Tucson, AZ 85705. E-mail: clementn@flowingwells.k12.az.us
American Association of School Administrators
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Mention Customer Service … and Then Run
By Ellan Toothman
As public school leaders, you are asked to watch bottom lines, enhance performance, make cost-benefit decisions, benchmark successes, identify core values and competencies and measure systems through feedback loops — all while providing impeccable customer service.
Many of these concepts are new for educators, but it is the language that always has been used by IBM, Disney and McDonald’s. The school leaders who embrace, design and implement customer-driven systems will be the ones who thrive in the future.
Over the years, shifting priorities have made education leaders roll their eyes at the latest improvement method de jour. Educators realize that authentic success lies beyond linear accountability methods, which focus only on test scores. Real change involves every level of the school district.
No Child Left Behind asks the education industry to shift priorities once again to focus on performance and results, leaving the process up to the individual schools. While this could be viewed as an exciting challenge, it has left many educators frustrated. A strong customer service campaign is necessary to align NCLB initiatives to educators’ goals, and it will ultimately position the school district to continually market the value of schools to the community.
The growing popularity of public school alternatives is also forcing educators to become more customer focused. This change isn’t without discomfort. In recent years, from working with educational organizations, I have commonly observed change meet resistance. As one educator recently exclaimed, “Customer service? Not me! This isn’t McDonald’s!”
But educators can no longer deny the benefits of studying industries that have successfully served the masses. And it is up to school system leaders to persuade others in their systems that providing outstanding customer service is in everyone’s best interest.
Exceptional Service
I propose four reasons today’s school leaders must embrace exceptional customer service and help their staff to do the same.
It restores confidence and enhances credibility.
When the public’s confidence in the stock market wanes, so does its performance. Similarly, we need to regain the public’s trust in education to improve its performance — something that will happen when we show a commitment to customer service. As an added benefit, when we make customer service training a priority, administrators, educators and support staff will regain a sense of control in their work, boosting their own confidence in themselves and the system.
It enables you to exceed expectations.
Beyond publishing test score performance, school leaders must find ways to get the word out that schools are doing great things. Some school districts are hiring marketing consultants, but this is an expensive, short-term, Band-Aid fix.
Investing in high-impact training for your entire staff and developing consistent methods of operation that create powerful moments of customer satisfaction will have significant long-term benefits. Each employee must become an ambassador, representing the quality service and value provided by your schools.
It allows you to demonstrate expertise.
Real experts understand the value of paying attention to detail. I have been privileged to interact with employees from hundreds of companies, and it is clear to me that low achievers and underachieving organizations have one thing in common: a belief in how easy things are supposed to be and how little effort should result in huge benefits.
It doesn’t work that way!
While educators have applied great effort in general, they now need to engage in strategic efforts to help others see their expertise in leading effective schools and school systems. The way the telephone is answered, the time lapse between a call and a call back, the tone projected, the sincerity of the response, the lack of response — all are opportunities to shine or blow it.
On the first day of the school year a parent told me that during the orientation for parents, she felt the principal “talked down to the parents like children!” That principal blew an opportunity to shine.
This growing dissatisfaction only makes work more difficult for everyone. That is why the solution — exceptional customer service — involves everyone.
It allows you to be the future of education.
Schools that embrace customer service will not only survive but will thrive in the future. You will be ahead of the game in the education industry if you listen and respond to the voice of the market (industry trends), the voice of the customer (the public) and the voice of the employees (educators and support staff). Listening closely, you will hear the language of business being spoken with the high expectations of business results being demanded just as they are in the private sector — yes, like McDonald’s!
Difficult issues in education won’t go away. They move around like mercury; chasing them is a waste of resources. But establishing customer-driven schools will allow you and the other members of your school system to deal more effectively with these issues, and give you the opportunity to shine even through the difficult times.
Ellan Toothman is president of Ellan Toothman & Associates, 166 W. Wayne St., Waynesburg, PA 15370. E-mail: ellan@alltel.net
American Association of School Administrators
Parents as School's Customers
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