Communication is Key

As the new season approaches (or has already started for some), we're taking the time to fine-tune and update the systems we use to share information with our studio families and staff. Over the past couple of years, we've focused on improving these systems and have introduced a few new ideas to help bridge the communication gap. We were doing a pretty good job already, but there are always those parents who just don’t read the emails—hard to believe, right?

I’m sure many of you have your own effective methods in place, but sometimes a fresh approach or a new delivery method can engage those families who "glance" at information without really absorbing it. Like many of you, we do newsletters. We no longer print and hand them out to every student; instead, we post a few copies around the studio and share them on our socials.

We keep our newsletters concise and only send them at key times: in the fall to welcome everyone, just before Christmas break, in January to kick off the new year, and in April, where we send out two newsletters due to the amount of information. To keep them readable, we avoid long texts—no one reads those anymore. Bullet points and graphics seem to work best. Now that we have a newsletter template, it’s just a matter of updating graphics, dates, and info—no need to reinvent the wheel every time. One of our admin staff handles this, and it gets proofed three times.

Inside our main entryway, we have two large dry-erase calendars, each about 4’x3’. The top calendar always displays the

current month, while the bottom one shows the next month. We list all important dates, such as camps, holiday closures, and events, and color-code them for easy reference. The goal is to keep parents and students informed as they come and go or wait around. Our front desk staff is responsible for updating the calendars each month.

In our staff room, we have a huge full-year dry-erase calendar on the wall—it's at least 6’x4’. This calendar has everything staff need to know, all color-coded: first day of lessons, costume measurement weeks, holidays, competitions, recital dates, rehearsal dates, mini camps, and even summer camps for 2025. We've all had that teacher who says, “I didn’t know when

this was or that was,” so this helps prevent that issue from the start. If a staff member knows they'll be absent for a major studio event, they can give us plenty of notice—hopefully.

Similar to the full-year calendar in our staff room, we also maintain a Google Calendar that outlines the entire season from September to August. All our staff, including teachers and admin, are added to it, making it easy for them to sync events to their own devices. This also helps our Social Media Director plan her posts for the year and allows me to schedule ads for marketing. Within the Google Calendar, we've utilized the "My Calendar" section to create color-coded assigned calendars for different areas: front desk, marketing, coaching programs, competitive team conflicts (to plan rehearsals), and studio operations. These assigned calendars can be toggled on or off, depending on what you need to focus on.

Then as one last ditch attempt on our communication quest we do a printed version of the full season calendar.  Color coded of course.  So for the parents that like to post it to their fridge they have a printable version.  We also post this

calendar in our Studio Facebook Member Group and in our Studio Band App.  This way parents always have the calendar on their device.

In addition to the various ways studio families and staff can find information, we also hold Zoom meetings. Typically, we have an Ops Meeting every week, which includes our admin staff, owners, and social media director. These meetings usually last 15-30 minutes but have proven invaluable in keeping everyone on the same page. They also allow us to address any issues promptly rather than discovering them weeks or months later.

At the start of each season, we kick things off with a full staff meeting. We provide snacks, a small gift to start the year, and go over any new programs, ideas in the works, and always invite staff feedback and suggestions. Once the season begins, it’s nearly impossible to have in-person staff meetings due to everyone’s different schedules, so we switch to monthly check-ins via Zoom. These meetings focus on how classes are going, student issues, upcoming events, and staff challenges. The feedback from staff has been very positive.

For those unable to attend a Zoom meeting, we always record the session and post it in our Staff Band group or Studio Operations Band group. We started paying our staff for attending meetings a few years ago to show that we value their time as an investment in our business. The more aligned our teachers and admin are with the owners, the better the overall business functions.

I hope sharing our systems might spark a fresh idea for you. Having your entire season planned out from beginning to end can be a huge help in every aspect of running your business. No more double-booking staff or studio rooms, and no more events sneaking up on you. If you haven’t tried planning the full season at once, give it a try. Once you sit down and start, it flows. Then, share it with your staff—they may have input or corrections.

Please feel free to share any great communication ideas or systems that work for you.