ADVERTISEMENT

The challenges of managing a school: The different customers

The truth is that there is no successful legitimate business or individual who does not go through a series of challenges and some periods of immense anxiety, especially in our environment in Nigeria, where there are so many limitations to the ease of doing business.

The primary customer for a school is (or should be) the child.
ADVERTISEMENT

Private Schools…Easy Task/ Money Maker?

I remember very specific situations when I was working in the corporate world where people made comments along the lines of “Running a school is easy, and there is so much money to be made”. Well, moving from a corporation to entrepreneurship in the field of education has revealed the peculiarities of running a business from a whole new perspective, and has made me truly appreciate the work that school owners and stakeholders in the education sector have been doing over time.

Peculiarities.

ADVERTISEMENT

The truth is that there is no successful legitimate business or individual who does not go through a series of challenges and some periods of immense anxiety, especially in our environment in Nigeria, where there are so many limitations to the ease of doing business. However, looking at the aspect of customers’ services, there is a certain uniqueness that schools have.

As school management you engage three different categories of customers: the children, the parents and the staff team. What makes the customers of a school very interesting is that these three categories mentioned are not mutually exclusive and within each category there is no such thing as priority clients as some companies may have:

These could possibly be clients who may get additional services as they request from a company and can afford to pay for. The service schools provide is very specific and is tailored to meet certain guidelines and standards, hence add-ons or any preferential treatment are rare to find.

ADVERTISEMENT

The primary customer.

While we have these three categories, the primary customer for a school is (or should be) the child. Any school, which fails to meet the educational requirements of a child, can be considered a failed entity itself for the simple reason that the purpose of establishing a school should be to educate children, and it does not fulfil this.

This my sound a little odd, and readers my think that this is obvious, but in my experience, working in this sector so far, it has become easy to recognise the various reasons for which people set up schools, and this in turn makes it easy to reveal who the school considers to be their primary customer.

Given that the children should be the primary customers of a school, where do the other two categories fall?

There is a simple cycle that brings this together: Parents pay school fees for a certain service they expect from the school for their children; teachers provide this service through curriculum development and delivery; operational staff ensure that the facility and physical environment are conducive.

ADVERTISEMENT

Children go to school and consume the services of the teachers in the environment provided and take what they learn back to their homes, providing some form of feedback or return on investment to the parents on the school fees that they have paid. With this cycle, it is clear that everyone has a role to play in the child’s development:

If parents do not pay the school fees, their children do not get the education that they need.

If teachers do not deliver the curriculum effectively, the children do not get the education that they need.

If the physical environment is not conducive enough for learning, the children do not get the education that they need.

ADVERTISEMENT

Satisfying everyone.

So while it is clear that the children should be the primary customers of a school, it is imperative that everything works together to get this right. In order for things to work from within the school, the Management must ensure that the staff team is satisfied and well equipped with the right tools it needs to carry out its work to the best of its ability. Investing in training and other forms of learning and development, as well as bringing forward other perks and incentives that would ensure that the staff team is happy would go a long way to improve their performance.

It is also very important that the staff team feels included in the school’s decisions; that they are carried along and their opinions are sought after, even if the Management does not agree with them. For as long as open communication is encouraged, staff would feel that sense of belonging and ownership, and this would be great for their morale.

When it comes to parents, apart from the satisfaction they stand to gain from their children’s performance, it is important that they too are carried along with the school’s activities and some of the decision making processes. After all, this is where their children spend a significant part of their day.

ADVERTISEMENT

However, it might get a little tricky for various reasons: naturally, some parents may take specific interest in decisions that affect their own child only; Management may be too lenient when handling the influence of parents; and the school may not have the capacity or clear structure in place for engagement with parents (Parent-Teacher Associations, conferences, etc).

Therefore the school’s management must also be careful to make objective enough judgements on matters arising from parents and take every comment as feedback, which will be used to the benefit of the primary customer, the child.

Managing a school with its peculiarities and various customers is not an easy task.  A great deal of balance and discipline is required, but the most important thing is to ensure that the primary customer, the child, is getting the most out of his or her educational experience.

Written by Oyin Egbeyemi.

Oyin Egbeyemi is an engineer-turned-consultant-turned-educationist, runner and writer.

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng

Recommended articles

Here's everything to know about being a virgin on your wedding night

Here's everything to know about being a virgin on your wedding night

7 do's and don’ts of the Holy month of Ramadan

7 do's and don’ts of the Holy month of Ramadan

Top 5 sweetest celebrity mother-child relationships that stand out for us

Top 5 sweetest celebrity mother-child relationships that stand out for us

International Women's Day: 5 Nigerian female celebrities championing women’s rights

International Women's Day: 5 Nigerian female celebrities championing women’s rights

Top 5 female directors in Nollywood

Top 5 female directors in Nollywood

6 things that will break a Muslim's fast during Ramadan

6 things that will break a Muslim's fast during Ramadan

5 benefits of fasting during Ramadan

5 benefits of fasting during Ramadan

5 reasons Easter was more fun when we were children

5 reasons Easter was more fun when we were children

Dos and don’ts of supporting Muslims during Ramadan

Dos and don’ts of supporting Muslims during Ramadan

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT