Managing Enrollment Through Your Waitlist

Do not let the title of this post scare you, I promise this will be almost painless. A struggle that many many child care centers are having currently is how to manage enrollment and how to use your waitlist effectively.

Back in the Day!

Now when I first became a director some 15 years ago, I was handed the largest 3 ring binder I had ever seen and was told this is our waitlist. I'm sorry what?

It was separated by class and easily had 200 plus tour inquiry and interest forms in it. Some with scribbled notes on the bottom and back of the paper, some over a year old and ones that I knew had already enrolled. How in the world is anyone suppose to manage that?

THE TASK AT HAND

My job was to go through the binder, pull out the ones that had multiple calls with no answer, already enrolled, or are out of age for our building. The amount of families that had not had calls made to them were staggering. They simply got lost in the binder of no return. But we were told over and over again to get those FTE's. The amount of time spent organizing, trying to read chicken scratch, and seeing the lost potential coming out of the binder was just exhausting. And expensive.

Where Do We Go From Here

But that is how it was just done! Sure some of you may use excel sheets, word documents, spiral bound notebooks, or some other form if electronic management. But what does all that do for you when you have 4 different systems you are using to manage your center? Not a whole lot aside from holding the information for you.

The Name of The Game

Enrollment is what keeps us in business, Point blank. If we do not have the tools to help us manage enrollment, how can we be successful. If we don't have enrollment we cannot keep our staff. And let's face it, none of us can afford to lose staff right now, we may not be able to find staff when we need them again. But that is a whole other post for another day.

The Big Question

Back to the topic at hand. How can we effectively manage our enrollment with our waitlist to keep our buildings full of love and laughter? How can we have a waitlist that actually tells us useful information, potential revenue we can make, and have it all be organized and manageable? A little over 2 years ago that seemed like a dream that no one had a solution for.

The Solution at Hand

Now picture this in your head- Are you ready? 1 click can get you all the above and more. 1 click can show you every interested family, desired schedule, allergies, special needs, follow up notes and how long that child has been on your waitlist. 1 click. The best part- 1 more click and that child is now enrolled and in your class schedule. I know it sounds too good to be true. But it is real. An owner that felt his directors pain with waitlist management and enrollment, decided to make it better. Not just better but superior to so many other options.

The Future of Enrollment and Waitlist Management

Child Care Seer broke the mold when it came to waitlist management. Prior to me using Child Care Seer in my centers, there were lost post it notes, scribbled notes and an overwhelming binder of information. The founder of Child Care Seer listened and made a difference. The time and peace of mind saved on enrollment and waitlist management is invaluable. Once I entered a child into the waitlist, I could see the schedule they wanted, the classroom they would fit into, all the contact information for the parent(s), and what revenue I could be bringing in for the week with that child enrolled. If a child was disenrolling, I could easily click on waitlist and there were my children to select from. Pick up the phone, make the call, and now that spot is filled. No lost revenue, my classrooms are still full of love and laughter, my staff is still in place and my boss was happy.