When is the Right Time to Hire an Admin Assistant for your Kids Club?
Are you struggling to fit your kids club admin around running sessions and feeling overwhelmed? It isn’t always clear whether the right answer is an admin assistant. This article walks you through what gaps software could fill for your club, and what you genuinely need human input for.
What are the signs it’s time to get help with admin?
Chasing up late payments, constantly missing messages, failing to keep bookings because you’re losing track and spending your evenings that should be free on club registers, invoicing and reminder emails are all an indication that something needs to change.
Should I hire a person, or fix my systems first?
Integrating more bodies into an under-performing system won’t lighten the load as effectively as fixing your systems. Getting a new hire up to scratch can take months, while optimised technology provides instant rewards. And since salaries are fixed costs, you don’t receive the same elasticity from people as you do from digital tools that grow with you.
On the other hand, refreshing your systems can quickly, cheaply and sustainably relieve your backlog, leaving you free to do more of what you love, and all with immediate productivity gains for your club.
Which tasks should a system be doing, and which genuinely need a person?
While technology is particularly strong at speed, precision and consistency, humans are more suited to complex decision making and sensitivity to client preferences. Waiting lists, booking questions, allergy flags and automatic discounts can all be handled by a booking system prior to the club sessions. Immediately before or during the activity, software can manage payments, auto-approval and reminder emails and online registers. Finally, it can put through refunds for no-shows and release customer updates after the activity finishes.
A good booking system won’t forget to send an email, make typos or overestimate a discount. However, it can’t connect with a child, have a tricky conversation with a parent or make tough choices about staffing and employees. That’s why people are needed for everything technology can’t do: session planning, building relationships with kids and their families and leading from within.
Eequ Pro Tip: Before hiring anyone, track the admin hours you rack up on your own for two weeks. Many providers don’t question an overwhelming level of admin until they realise just how much productivity time is being lost to it.
What should you check before you hire anyone?
- Have you tried a booking system that worked for you? Done right, this software can automate a lot of processes you would spend hours over otherwise.
- Is a new hire necessary considering the amount and type of admin you’re struggling to keep on top of? Hiring a new face can lead to you paying out more for someone to manually operate tired software, while a sophisticated booking system can eliminate these stresses.
- Could the money you would be spending on a new hire could be put to better use elsewhere? Maybe on new equipment, staff training or renting a larger space so more kids get the opportunity to attend your club.
What should you do next?
Before making any hiring decisions, why not try creating a free Eequ account, trialling one activity using the booking system, and seeing what productivity gains result from making that one small change. Systems like Eequ automate booking confirmations, reminders and intake questions, meaning you’ll never have to double check everything is being handled correctly. You’ll notice the difference quickly when you aren’t losing time - and money - to chasing payments or catching up on emails.
Eequ Pro Tip: A good booking system should already be automating the consistent, repetitive admin like built-in payments, refunds and live updates of the register and waiting lists. Eequ does all this- and more.
FAQs
Am I really saving by using a booking platform rather than hiring an admin assistant?
Yes. A booking system can be a fraction of the total cost of employing a new person and is very low-maintenance once up and running. An extra person can only save a limited amount of time and money, compared to the savings of having all of your admin set up to run fully automated with limited management required.
Is setting up an automated booking system complicated or time-consuming?
It doesn't have to be. By choosing the right tools and training existing staff in its use, you can get comfortable with a booking system very quickly.
What happens to my existing customers if I switch to a new booking system?
As long as you update your customers in advance when making a change, all customers can be carried across to the new system. Do this before launching any new activities so families are kept in the loop.
Ready to streamline your booking process?
Set up a free account with us and watch admin get taken care of in real time, before you jump to employing a new hire. There’s no contracts or subscriptions, and Eequ is free to use for free bookings! List your first session on Eequ.