When parents have concerns about the studio, they’ll often tell one of my teachers rather than me. How can I solve problems I don’t officially know about?

It’s natural for parents to feel more comfortable bringing their concerns to their children’s teachers rather than to you, as the studio owner. You have to create a culture of open communication and regularly seek feedback.

At our studio, each teacher has access to student/parent/teacher concern forms. They are required to submit them to our office when presented with problems—no matter how small or large they may seem. On the form, the teacher details any conversation they’ve had that they feel needs special attention from the owner. They may also report anything that seems out of the ordinary, like dress-code violations, underperformance or attendance issues. We then read and investigate the issue, call or contact the parent involved and resolve the problem. We make it clear to parents that as a studio, we address every concern with care and attention.

Train your staff to report any and all issues, and implement a procedure for addressing them. Sometimes the resolution will be to send out a studio-wide e-mail reminding students of studio expectations. In other cases, a personal conversation is the best solution. When you take action, you let your parents and students know that your entire staff is working as a team, and what they say to anyone will be reported and addressed professionally and sensitively.