We are living in an era dominated and defined by Whatsapp. The instant messaging tool has become a one-stop solution for all sorts of quick and efficient conversations and has effectively penetrated every aspect of our daily lives. In the context of schools, however, the widespread, unregulated, and instantaneous nature of Whatsapp chat has created unprecedented issues and problems.
The Problem
One of the most frequent questions that we get from school owners and principals is regarding how they can get their teachers and parents away from Whatsapp. Their concern is not merely theoretical. Their fear is very real and justified because the unregulated nature of Whatsapp conversations gives the entire control of these exchanges in the hands of the two interacting parties, that is, the parents and the teachers and/or school staff. It is next to impossible for the school management to monitor or regulate these interactions. As a result, if any disagreement happens, the school management neither has the full picture nor a chance to de-escalate the situation before it goes out of hand. Under such circumstances, minor incidents and otherwise manageable tiffs may directly impact the school’s reputation, and may even lead to the school losing a loyal parent who might move to another school because of such an incident.
Also Read: Why It Is Important For Schools To Keep Parents Aligned With Their Children’s Planes of Development
The Deep Dive
Given the growing concern around the usage of Whatsapp, we at Schoolpad, decided to dig deeper into the issue. In doing so, we came across multiple incidents where conversations ranging from sharing academic updates and resources to handling parents’ grievances were almost entirely being carried out on WhatsApp. In such cases, when parents approached the management with complaints about certain events where staff members assured them of their support or resolution of a problem but didn’t adhere to their commitments, the management was clueless because a lot of these commitments were made at a personal level, over an informal medium like Whatsapp. In several cases, the situation was made even worse when the school management couldn’t even access or validate the problematic conversations as they were deleted, or the teachers who were part of these conversations were no longer a part of the school.
The Reason
Before we embarked on our attempt to find a solution, it was critical that we understand the actual cause behind the problem. What makes Whatsapp the preferred medium for both teachers and parents? Why is it so difficult to get them away from this channel of communication despite obvious pitfalls?
The answer was obvious. The simplicity and accessibility of Whatsapp make it super convenient for both the parents and the teachers. At a very basic level, it allows the teachers to send any kind of information quickly and easily to the parents and in turn, the parents can easily read the information and acknowledge it. Because it is quick and easy, it is also one of the most powerful habit-forming tools which are extremely difficult if not entirely impossible to eliminate.
The trick is not to get rid of Whatsapp. The right approach is to categorize different kinds of information being shared on the basis of its priority and importance, come up with protocols to easily conduct the exchange of information and the associated tasks, and thoroughly educate parents and teachers on the protocols that need to be followed for different kinds of information exchange.
The Solution – Break It Down
Categorizing information requires an easy but effective system. The information that gets exchanged with parents can be broadly broken down into the following categories:
1 Parent’s Requirements:
This includes information like bus change requests, request for change in the child’s information, request for some academic resources, etc. Basically, this is the category of requests that have an associated action to follow up against a requirement shared by parents. Such requests and communication must be recorded by the school and hence should come only through an organized, official channel that can keep the parents automatically informed about the status of the request and who is working on it.
2 Feedback and Grievances:
This includes classroom issues, feedback about the classes being conducted or concepts being taught, teacher’s feedback, a complaint about another child or a classroom incident, misplaced items, etc. This kind of communication is also critical and should generally come through an official channel that has multiple people from the higher school authority looped in, who can monitor, regulate and intervene as and when required. This is a healthy practice that can directly affect the development of the school and can have a significant impact on the parent’s experience vis-a-vis their expectations from the school.
3 Personal messages:
The communication under this category includes wishes, greetings, and minor clarifications about the classes being conducted including information like material required in the class, timings, etc. Unlike the previous two categories, where the information needs to stay safe in perpetuity and easily accessible to the management, this information is a part of personal or instant communication that can remain between the parent and the teacher and can be exchanged through instant communication tools like WhatsApp.
Channelizing and filtering various kinds of information through pre-determined categories and their fixed protocols allows the schools to maintain a healthy, non-problematic ecosystem of communication with the parents. It is essential that not only is the information duly categorized and protocols properly defined, but also the parents and the teachers are properly educated and trained to abide by them to ensure there is no miscommunication or confusion. Much like Whatsapp, protocols are also subject to habits, and school management must strive to ensure that both parents and teachers understand the importance of these protocols and make them a part of their habits and routine.
A good school management software can go a long way in helping the schools set up strong communication protocols, ensure that they are properly enforced and provide alternate official communication channels that are easy and accessible. Good software and well-defined processes would allow the school management to ensure that there are no communication gaps between the school and parents, and the management has the required clarity at all times to resolve any issue arising out of inadvertent miscommunication, thus building a reliable and trustworthy school-experience for the parents.
Want to know more about how Schoolpad can help you build better processes and protocols to manage your school’s channel of communication? Want to understand how Schoolpad can help you give a boost to your school’s growth? Please write to us at connect@schoolpad.in. You can also click on the request a demo link and one of our coaches will get in touch with you.
