With back-to-school season in full swing, many employees are juggling their work responsibilities with the need to get their children back on a school schedule. Here’s how you can support the working parents on your team, so they can finish key tasks while also addressing their home needs.
Offer flexible hours to accommodate school schedules.
School start and end times often differ from daycare or day camp drop-off and pickup times. As school begins, parents may need to adjust their morning and afternoon schedules to ensure that their children have transportation to and from school.
By offering flexibility in start and end times for work, management teams can help parents and their children get where they need to go – and achieve the daily tasks they need to accomplish.
Make space for school-related events.
Open houses, registrations, parent-teacher conferences, science fairs, sporting events…. The list of school-related events seems endless. While not every child will participate in every event, most parents will need to attend at least a few important school meetings or events during the year.
To support flexible scheduling for school-related obligations, think about your team’s work in terms of tasks and skills, rather than hours spent. Help team members communicate with one another so they can easily find support if they need to dash up to the school. Set clear expectations about completed work. Empower your teams to arrange their schedules so tasks get done – without letting parents drop the ball when it comes to their kids.
Give your team members the benefit of your experience.
If you’re raising kids or your kids have recently finished school, you may have learned some helpful tips and tricks for parents seeking to juggle work with their children’s education. Use this wisdom to support your teams. You never know when that “one weird trick” you discovered might be just the thing your workers need to address their children’s needs without neglecting their own careers.
Looking for new ways to support your teams and expand your management skills? Talk to the team at Odell Studner today. We can help you make management easier, so you can focus on building a strong, successful team. Contact us today to learn more.
