Why Education Support Staff Are Stopping Work

Dedication

You, your team, and everyone ‘wearing the uniform’ of your school work hard to find and keep ‘customers’ – whether that be the school staff, students, parents, or the wider community. Your school invests money, and your team of ESS invest their skills and their time to entice, engage and exceed customer expectations. In return, those customers give your school their money and/or their time.

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