This summer, we challenged Center Directors to share how they prepared for Back to School on Yammer with #BTS2016. Winners of our #BTS2016 Yammer contest are featured below. These Center Directors set a great example this Back to School season. By using their Power Hour and the Enrollment Whiteboard, these superstar CDs engaged their staff, created a family feel, and worked toward their goal of giving five tours each week.
Bonnie Fizer’s district played with spirit week themes to encourage CDs to use their Power Hour and make following up on leads fun.
“At our first big Back to School district huddle, we set goals around tours, inquiries, and fall FTEs. We really wanted to make Power Hours a focus as a district,” said Bonnie Fizer, CD at KinderCare in Kansas City, Mo. “We knew that with all of our Power Hours combined, we could achieve our goals and have a bright future!”
Fizer knew that while she spent an hour each day following up on inquiries and securing tours, her team had her covered.
“If the team understands that this time is to focus on enrollment and retention to help grow our center, they want to help in any way,” she said. “Whether it’s answering the phone or respecting why the office door may be closed, they knew it was important for me to have that time to reach out to families who are excited to enroll.”
Fizer’s Power Hours have helped her enroll more students this Back to School season and beat her plan.
“I recently enrolled a private pay family that toured about a year ago,” she said. “Follow up is key!”
Jessica Robles, KinderCare CD in Foster City, Calif., also credits her Power Hour for a great BTS.
“The great part about the Power Hour is that it can be used in so many ways,” she said. “I found it really helpful to make my staff aware of the Power Hour so they can help out on days when it’s more challenging to hit the full hour.”
Robles was inspired by her fellow CDs using their Power Hours.
“I love looking at what other directors are doing on Yammer and bringing those ideas back to my center,” she said.
While Robles and Fizer relied on their Power Hours to help them achieve her goals, the key to KinderCare CD Taylor Camarena’s BTS success was her Enrollment Whiteboard.
“The Enrollment Whiteboard helped a lot!” she said. “Planning for Back to School can get confusing, especially if you have students that are just coming in for the fall. The Enrollment Whiteboard helped us to know exactly how many students were going to be where for the first day of school.”
Taylor Camarena’s Enrollment Whiteboard.
Camerena found the Whiteboard especially helpful to see how classroom transitions would affect numbers. Whether children were making the step from Discovery Preschool to preschool, or preschool to pre-K, the organizational tool helped Camerena keep it all straight.
“I would definitely suggest that everyone try the whiteboard at least once,” she said. “It really helps you visualize where (and when) you will have availability in each program; and the best part is that it’s all in one place! Using different colors definitely helps too!”
Learn more about Power Hours and the Enrollment Whiteboard on the Experience Everything or Back to School website!
