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A process that creates a streamlined approach to onboarding new students – something we go through frequently as music-independent teachers.
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Items Mentioned and Other Related Content
Blog post: One Registration not to Be Missed
Blog post: Recital Preparation Timeline and Checklist
Blog post: File Fever: Organizing Student Files
Blog post: Sync Student Birthdays to Your Calendar With My Music Staff
Blog post: Creating Legacy with Student Photo Boards
Podcast episode #001 – Organizing Student Materials
Podcast episode #033 – Utilizing Student Binders
Transcript
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but summer is 3/4 of the way through, and the start of our school term is just around the corner! I’m Amy Chaplin, a piano teacher with a proclivity for organization. Today, in episode 129, I am going to help you build a streamlined process for something we go through frequently as independent teachers – onboarding new students. The simple checklist I’m going to share with you today will help save you time and a bit of sanity for sure.
Before we talk shop, just a bug in your ear that this is an ad-free podcast thanks to the support of teachers like you on Patreon. Join as a silent partner for $4, or get a few extras from me for just a few dollars more at PianoPantry.com/patreon. A special direct thank-you to Kate, Lisa, and Diana for your ongoing support – it doesn’t go unnoticed!
Also, just a reminder that I’ll be running the summer intensive version of my online digital organization coaching series on August 5, 6, and 7th from 10am to 1pm Eastern time. In this three-day workshop, we’ll work through a process of cleanup and reorganization of six key areas of your daily digital work space, including devices, computers, document files, media, online content, and email. Start your year off right by visiting PianoPantry.com/digital for more details and to register. Sign up before July 25 to get $20 off.
Onboarding new students can be a lot more work than one might think. If you’ve been doing this for a while, you know what I mean.
To clarify, this process has two parts. The first part is communicating with and managing prospective student inquiries and first meetings, and the second part is kicking things into gear and locking the student into your studio setup once the “go” button is hit.
There are a lot of moving parts here – especially when the decision is made to start lessons – so today’s topic is on building a procedures checklist – something I also recommend for recital planning.
The point of a Policies and Procedures Manual and Checklist is to follow a step-by-step guide when you’re going through the same processes repeatedly. It’s a way of helping you not miss a step and can also create a more streamlined approach by placing items in the best executable order. This is even more critical if you have a team running your business as part of a multi-teacher studio.
Looking back at my studio documents, I created my registration procedures checklist in July 2011—just as I was first opening my studio doors—so I’ve been doing this for a long time. It has gone through many iterations and is thus a living, breathing document. Confession time, though – while writing this episode, I realized I’m guilty of not updating mine in recent years simply because my studio has only been taking on one student a year for several years now.
This onboarding document has been an absolute lifesaver in the past, though, when I was taking on multiple students a year and even throughout the year. I liked to print the checklist and write the student’s name at the top so I could work through each item without losing track.
I considered creating a free download for this. However, the more I thought about it (and after seeing my document that needs updating), I realized it’s not a cut-and-dry picture for anyone, as we all run our businesses with different tools and processes. What I will share though is items I’ve had on my own list over the years that I think are good broad examples of the types of items you may want to include.
You definitely want to have a checklist of items for onboarding students once the decision is made to start lessons. Whether or not you want to have a checklist for communicating with prospective students is up to you. I think that part of the process doesn’t have as many moving parts as setting students up, so I just do it out of experience, as it’s mostly email communication.
When I am ready to meet with a prospective student about an opening, I tell them I’d like to meet in person so we can get to know each other and make sure both of us feel like it’s the right fit. I also tell them I prefer to talk through things in person rather than just handing them a document.
For the record, I don’t like calling these meetings interviews because I’ve never really turned away a student. If you prefer for your process to feel like an application process, then do what works for you. After a general get-to-know-you time and a little fun at the piano with the student, I verbally go over what being in my studio looks like. Don’t use this as a time to read off your entire policies sheet – just hit the important big-picture highlights verbally.
As for WHEN to give the policies sheet, I usually send a digital version before setting up a meeting and again when sending details on final registration. Sometimes, I also print off a hard copy and send it home with them, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I would rather parents pay attention to what I’m doing with the student than sit and read through a policies document during our meeting.
Here’s where it might get difficult. My personal opinion is that no matter how confident you feel about taking on this student and no matter how excited you think they are to sign up, thank them for meeting with you and ask them to go home and talk things through. Tell them you will follow up in the next day or two. This gives YOU a chance to take a step back and ask yourself if you really want to work with that student. Even more importantly, it creates space for THEM not to feel put on the spot if they actually don’t want to proceed.
The next day, I send an email saying how nice it was to meet them and that if they’re interested in proceeding, I am looking forward to welcoming them into my studio. Again, I include a digital copy of the studio policies and a link to my digital registration form. Be sure to request a date deadline within the week so you can get the ball rolling.
My digital form has a section for policy acceptance. They check a box that indicates they received the policies and agree to adhere to them. My form builder – Tally – has a digital signature block. When I used to use Google Forms, I just used a basic text box and said by typing their name they were acknowledging their understanding of and acceptance of the policies.
OK – so that covers a bit on the initial contact. Let’s move on to the part where you’re getting the student set up in your studio and talk about that more detailed procedures checklist.
Your checklist should have two parts. The first half is about Student Details and Communication, and the second half is about Student Materials and Files. I find keeping these sections separate helps segment mentally the types of items you’re working through.
So, on your document, create two headings. Let’s start with the student details and communication section. Here are some examples of items I’ve had on my checklist over the years that I think would be useful.
First – As I mentioned earlier, after your meeting, email parents final onboarding information and the formal online registration form. I would wait until the form is actually received and registration finalized before spending time doing all the other things just in case they would change their mind.
By the way – there’s one question that I strongly recommend including on your registration form. I don’t want to spend time here on it, but there is a link in the show notes to a blog post on the Piano Pantry website that covers that topic if you’re interested.
Two—Add their details to your Google or iCloud Contacts and add them to a Studio contact group. In Google, it’s called labels. This allows you to add all your Studio families to one email at once without having to manually add each name. All I do is start typing Studio 88, and it will auto-populate all the names on that list.
Three – Add student birthdays to your calendar. If you use a student management software, that’s built-in. Since I don’t use that software anymore, I create a calendar in my Google Calendar just for birthdays and add student birthdays there. Set them as recurring so they show up every year.
Four- Add their name and address to the address labels document for birthday cards.
Five—If you do studio shirts, put the students’ t-shirt sizes on a spreadsheet so there’s a compiled list when it comes time to order for all new students.
Six – Connect with them on social media and invite them to like the studio’s Facebook page if they haven’t already.
Lastly—Schedule a series of onboarding emails. In my initial registration email, besides requesting the registration form be filled out, I let them know that they will be receiving small snippets of information about once a week for the first 4-6 weeks. I try to deliver information in small bits so it’s more easily digestible. The emails I include in my onboarding series are:
- Practice App Setup – immediately following the first lesson.
- Connecting with the Studio on social media – within the first week.
- Information on Piano Tuning – two weeks into the lesson.
- Parental Roles in Practice – three weeks into the lesson – which includes brief statements on what’s appropriate in each stage and age of learning. So ages 4-6 — Parents SUPERVISE; ages 7-11 — Parents REMIND; ages 12-18 — students are independent but still need to be checked on
- Tips for building practice habits – four weeks into lessons
- Fun Facts about their teacher – five to six weeks into lessons – maybe even two months. This is a fun way to connect more personally with families. Think of it as a “did you know” list. Share a few professional details – things like your level of education and groups you might be involved in and then a few fun personal details – like your favorite coffee drink, hobbies, and fun facts.
OK, so that’s the first part of your onboarding checklist—anything related to communication and student information.
The second half of your onboarding setup is all about the actual lesson process. Things like:
- Adding the student into your lesson planning area, whether that’s a spreadsheet or creating accounts in online practice apps or other online tools – like Sproutbeat
- Setting aside or ordering books
- Setting up their 3-ring binder and any other lesson materials, like handing file folders for stashing stuff. I like to use a label printer to print name labels for the binder and books – especially if it’s a family with multiple students taking lessons. I also use a label printer to print names on hanging file folders.
- If you do a student photo board, you might want to add “take student photo” to your checklist as well.
I’m telling you, having a checklist for this type of stuff is what can save our sanity. For the same reason that we recommend students pencil in fingerings for consistency, so they don’t have to use the mental energy to think about tricky spots over and over again – so we need to free our mind of things it doesn’t need to remember on its own.
It’s such a freeing process to take the time to sit down and hash out exactly what you need to do when onboarding a student so the next time you do it you don’t have to try and remember every little item.
A lot of the things I’ve talked about for you to have on your checklist have blog posts that cover that very topic. For example, I have a video on using Canva to create student photo boards, a podcast episode on utilizing 3-ring binders, a video tutorial on building a master lesson planning spreadsheet, several on organizing student files, how to use My Music Staff to feed student birthdays from the software into your personal Google Calendar, and so many more.
All of those supporting materials are linked inside the show notes at PianoPantry.com/podcast/episode129.
There you have it, friends. Take a deep breath, enjoy the rest of your summer, and use some of this time to prepare for the year ahead.
Again, don’t forget that one way you can prepare is through the online digital organization coaching series coming up August 5, 6, 7.
You can find full transcripts as well as links to lots of supporting materials I talked about today at PianoPantry.com/podcast/episode129.
Next week I’ll be having a chat with a teacher friend about freezer meal prep – another thing that you might want to consider as you prepare for the year ahead!
This weekend I’m headed to the Music Teacher Turboboost event with Nicola Cantan in Cincinnatti, Ohio to present a session on studio evolutions, so I’ll look forward to connecting with some of you there!
