While challenges are inevitable, they should not be seen as insurmountable obstacles. With dedication, perseverance, and the right strategies, you can overcome adversity and emerge stronger and more resilient. 

Here are some tips for staying focused and motivated in the face of challenges: 

1. Embrace the Challenge as an Opportunity for Growth:

View challenges not as roadblocks but as stepping stones towards personal and professional growth. Every challenge allows you to learn new skills, develop problem-solving abilities, and enhance resilience. Embrace the challenge as a chance to expand your knowledge and become a more effective school business manager or education support staff. 

2. Maintain a Positive Mindset:

A positive mindset is essential for overcoming challenges. When faced with adversity, focus on the positive aspects of the situation and believe in your ability to find solutions. Surround yourself with supportive individuals who share your positive outlook and can uplift you during difficult times. 

3. Set Realistic Goals and Celebrate Achievements:

Breaking down large challenges into smaller, achievable goals can make them less daunting and more manageable. Set realistic goals for yourself and celebrate your accomplishments along the way. These small victories will boost your motivation and keep you moving forward. 

4. Seek Guidance and Support:

Don’t hesitate to seek guidance and support from colleagues, mentors, or professional organisations. Sharing your challenges with others can provide valuable insights and perspectives. Additionally, seeking support from experienced individuals can help you navigate complex issues and develop effective strategies. 

5. Practice Self-Care:

Taking care of your physical and mental well-being is crucial for maintaining resilience and motivation. Regularly exercise eat a balanced diet, and get enough sleep. Prioritise activities that bring you joy and relaxation, such as hobbies, spending time with loved ones, or pursuing personal interests. 

6. Never Give Up on Your Dreams:

Remember the passion and dedication that drew you to your profession in the first place. Hold onto your dreams and aspirations, and never give up on the belief that you can positively impact the lives of students and the school’s overall success. 

Overcoming challenges is not just about surviving adversity; it’s about thriving in the face of obstacles. By embracing dedication, perseverance, and positive strategies, you can transform challenges into opportunities for growth and become an even more valuable asset to your school community. Remember, you are not alone in this journey. A network of colleagues, mentors, and supporters is ready to assist you in overcoming challenges and achieving your dreams. 

The post Overcoming Challenges with Dedication: Never Give Up on Your Dreams appeared first on Just For Schools.

When we get this merry-go-round of money and time right, it’s great… but we can’t stop there.

As team leaders or School Business Managers, we have to review what we do, look for ways to improve, and keep doing and reviewing because customer expectations will change – and if you’re not watching, so can the dedication of your ESS.

• ESS who feel under-appreciated for their dedication to the goal of exceeding customer expectations can become a hand brake on the merry-go-round. 
• ESS who are not recognized for their ability to keep going round and round can stop turning.
• ESS who don’t get time to stop and re-focus can get dizzy and fall off the merry-go-round.

How do you know if anyone on your team is about to stop?

Use the below checklist to gauge if your team is spinning out of control or is in control of creating a remarkable experience for your customers at your school:

• The noise of the workplace includes laughter and sounds of a team having fun
• Staff receive more compliments than complaints from customers
• Staff talk with empathy about their customers’ challenges
• Staff come to you with ideas on how to improve the customer experience
• You measure and share service outcomes
• There is a focus on maintaining a mentally and physically healthy work environment
• The team celebrates success – at least weekly
• You trust your team and are proud of them
• Customers refer friends and family to your school

Want to know how to create an ESS team that meets the above items?

Contact us to find out how we can provide you and your team with the best professional development tailored to your needs.

By Cate Schreck

 Author of The A – Z of Service Excellence

The post Why Education Support Staff Are Stopping Work appeared first on Just For Schools.

According to www.urbandictionary.com: An introvert is a person who is energised by spending time alone. Often found in their homes, libraries, quiet parks or other secluded places, introverts like to think and be alone. Contrary to popular belief, not all introverts are shy. Some may have great social lives and love talking to their friends, but just need some time to be alone to “recharge” afterwards. 

Some of your Education Support Staff and customers at your school will be introverted, and December can leave them feeling anxious and drained of energy. Why?

It’s socialising season! The invitations start rolling in for lunches, drinks, BBQ’s and parties and whilst many people love the group festivities, an introvert who receives an invitation to socialise, may wish you hadn’t bothered.

If you’re an introvert, you will understand the mixed emotions that bubble up when invited to socialise. It’s wonderful to be recognised and thanked for your work and be rewarded for your efforts, but the idea of a social event makes you tired just thinking about it.

You want to say no, but you fear you will offend or be considered rude. A work event on its own may be fine, but in December, you have invitations coming from friends and family too. Christmas lunch on its own can be enough to send a dedicated introvert under the table while extroverted Uncle Barry dances on it.

Here are my five ideas to help you engage and thank your introverted ESS (and customers) this year.

1. Build a personal profile.

Consider each employee’s personal likes/dislikes, i.e. sports clubs or individual sports people they follow, books they like to read, artists or music they enjoy, events they attend, charities they support or games they love to play. (This information will also help you to determine if they are introverted or extroverted.) Aim to find out one piece of information a month, and by the end of the year, you should be able to provide them with a gift they will really appreciate. Start now for next year.

2. Give rather than receive.

Could you and your team volunteer or donate funds to a charity instead of paying for a staff function? This type of “gift” could mean so much more than free food and drinks. Invite staff for input to select who, what, when, where, why and how they support.

3. Make it optional.

Help an introvert feel comfortable saying no by offering a social activity with an optional non-social activity. “Would you prefer to attend a social gathering at the end of the year or receive a movie voucher/book/gift voucher or time off to volunteer?” Introverts may be happy to get together but show more interest in a quieter location that allows them to talk without yelling and sit in smaller groups.

4. Include Name Tags.

Part of the difficulty an introvert experiences in social situations is small talk, particularly with co-workers or customers they don’t know very well. Name tags are a great way to help. Pop a number on the name tags too. The number can represent that person’s years of service, number of pets, number of children, or simply their favourite number. Guessing or asking what the number represents helps start conversations.

5. Ask for suggestions.

Survey your staff to find out what they really want to receive as a reward or thank you for their work or to celebrate a successful year. You may be surprised at the responses, and the information makes choosing a breeze; you know what is guaranteed to delight.

Whatever you choose, remember that, like your customers, your ESS want to feel valued and appreciated.

We do this best by listening, asking questions, and remembering; excellence is many small things done well, and it is not a one-size-fits-everyone process. 

The team at Just For Schools wishes you all a very safe and happy festive season.

By Cate Schreck

 Author of The A – Z of Service Excellence

The post How to Thank Introverted ESS This Festive Season appeared first on Just For Schools.

You ESS are part of this group. They are relied upon to be there, be positive, be polite and be professional – all day, every day with every customer internally and externally from your school – the good, the difficult and the demanding.

Let’s not mess around – what your Education Support Staff need NOW are these 5 things;

1. My book “The A – Z of Service Excellence – the essential guide to becoming a customer service professional”

2. Permission to make mistakes

3. Encouragement to keep going

4. Recognition of effort

5. Celebration of success

Education Support Staff are very special people who should be highly valued at your school but sometimes, they get left out of the recognition and reward process. ESS who feel supported, who are regularly thanked and who can keep developing their skills lead to a more productive team who have lower levels of stress.

To clarify further, here are 7 attributes of service skilled ESS:

1. They have high-level people skills.

2. They adapt their communication style to meet the needs of those they interact with.

3. They willingly help other staff.

4. School customers and co-workers compliment them on their attitudes and behaviours.

5. They handle customer complaints with ease.

6. They can be relied upon to represent your school professionally.

7. They come to you with solutions to problems.

If you want to not only hire, but inspire your Education Support Staff to be customer service professionals, then grab a copy of my book “The A – Z of Service Excellence”.

Tips: Make my book part of your induction pack and/or review a different Chapter at team meetings.

Download the first Chapter for free.

By Cate Schreck

The post What Your Education Support Staff Need NOW appeared first on Just For Schools.

The performance of the staff is not just about their knowledge or ability to get things done, it’s how they communicate and how they behave. And those two things done poorly can override all the other aspects and leave customers feeling that the school doesn’t deserve their time, their money, nor their respect.

Just For Schools provide the training and the support that develop Educational Support Staff (ESS) into confident and professional communicators who provide consistently excellent service. We specialise in human behaviours at work, and we have programs that make it easy for schools to plan for their ESS to gain remarkable reputations.

But, before you get too ‘giddy’ with your plan for success, I need to bring you back to earth for just a minute. Every plan for success has to have a plan to manage the impact of that success.

Every successful person knows that success does have a downside – for example:

• Successful entertainers will tell you that loss of privacy is the downside of success.

• Successful sports people find media commitments eat into their training time.

• Successful chefs have to keep coming up with new dishes.

• Successful writers will still have to accept bad reviews.

• Successful doctors will be busy and have to keep learning.

Successful ESS show up every day as positive team members, great communicators, and self-aware individuals…BUT, these wonderful attributes can bring challenges just like the list above.

The following list outlines some of these challenges, and I’ve provided tips to share with your Educational Support Staff so that they can handle success:

•    Providing consistently excellent levels of face to face and telephone communication can be tiring: make and take time out to reflect, reward, relax and recharge.

•    Customers will ask for staff with great service skills and some will even wait to talk to them: help everyone on the team become customer service professionals, so the weight of expectation doesn’t fall on you or only a few.

•  Staff with excellent people skills are going to be busy listening to compliments: improve your time management skills.

•   Staff with excellent people skills will also be considered an expert in….everything! You will need to know how to delegate or refer and you must keep your process, product/service knowledge up to date.

• New staff will need help: practise patience and remember you also had to train to be successful.

•    You may be given new opportunities both in and out of work: be clear on your own career and personal goals.

•    Other staff may take advantage of you: practise saying no professionally.

• Difficult customer and co-worker interactions will still exist: You will need a ‘toolbox’ of skills and knowledge to maintian empathy and develop excellent communication skills.

•    You may be nominated for awards: Consider developing your public speaking and/or presentation skills.

• When you are a customer of any business, you will be disappointed when you are not served by a customer service professional: tell them about this book.

And above all else, remind your ESS to aim high, but remember – getting to the top is just the start, staying there is the art of success.

We help schools gain and maintain remarkable reputations through consistency, and it all starts in The Zone.

By Cate Schreck – Director of Just For Schools

The post The Downside of Successful Educational Support Staff appeared first on Just For Schools.