Dressing to impress & presenting your school The importance of image Sydney Region Public Schools...

Dressing to impress & presenting your school

The importance of image

Sydney Region Public Schools Ros Bastian – Regional School Promotions Officer

Dressed to impress?

Dressing to impress = image

Image = perception

Perception = reputation


Image

Look at:

Image – how important is it?

Your school image? How good is it?

How do you contribute to the image of your school?


Image and brand

What image does this brand convey?



What is your personal brand?

• Do you regard yourself as a professional?• Is your work something you take pride in?• Do you take pride in the school you work in?

If you answered yes to all the above, does your personal brand reflect this?


What is your personal brand?

• The way you dress

• Personal grooming

• Your image

•The way you deal with people – customer service


The job interview

How would you dress to impress?


Dressing to impress

OR


In the workplace

If you dress like this to secure a job – then this should be the dress standard for the job.


Dressing to impress

Don't forget the shoes!


Dressing to impress!

Dressing to impress - men


Dressing to impress – or not


Your personal brand

Not just the way you dress BUTThe way you deal with people.

Your customer service style


Customer service

What is your customer service style?• Warm and welcoming• Cordial• Efficient• Bland• You are interrupting my real job!


Customer service style

School office reception - If you sit a little way from the window:• Do you get up and go to the window / reception desk to deal with the person?• Do you respond from a seated position?• Do you immediately stop what you are doing to attend to your customer?• If you are on the telephone, so you cannot immediately attend to a customer, do you look up and acknowledge their presence?


Presenting your school

The image or reputation of a school is very much determined by the way in which the school is presented.


How does your community see your school?


In a positive light?

In a negative light?

What affects a school’s reputation?

Presenting your school


What affects a school’s reputation?• First impressions

• Exterior physical appearance – perimeter, entrance, gardens, lawns, playgrounds – where is the dumpster?

• Interior physical appearance – foyer, front office, corridors, classrooms, public areas

• Student presentation – uniform, behaviour on the streets, in the school grounds

• Customer service – this is an all school responsibility

• Staff presentation – dress, contact with parents

• Communications materials

• Word of mouth


First ImpressionsThe presentation of a school starts on the street – at the school gates.

How does your community see your school?


When they look at the school from the street?

How does your community see your school


When they look at the school from the street?

When they walk from the front gate to the office?

Are there clear and welcoming directional signs to the office?

What do the paths and gardens look like?

What does your foyer look like?


Customer service and school image


Dressed to impress

• Welcoming

• Professional

• Proud of the school

• Academic excellence

• Care and leadership

• Opportunities

The right messages


“When I walk into my local school – I feel great.From the moment the office and teaching staff greet me with a smile I know this is my school. Last year I received a thank you certificate at a

morning tea.

Because of all this I turn up and work in the canteen, help out on sports days and whenever I have the chance I tell everyone what a great

school this is…”

Word of mouth is the most powerful form of image building


• On average people will tell five people about a good customer relations experience…but they’ll tell ten about a bad one

• And those ten will tell ……?

• Industry figures show that 80% of negative advertising is word of mouth and 80% of positive advertising is word of mouth

Word of mouth is the most powerful form of image building

Customer service and school image



Customer service

• Customer focused public contact areas• front office welcome• Signage

• Answering the phone• on-hold message• after-hours message

• Customer-friendly professional presentation: staff (all school) dress and attitude

• Complaints handling

• Accessibility – customers’ ability to access:• key personnel• information

• Email enquiries

• Parent-teacher and information events

• Welcoming customer feedback that informs continuous improvement


Presentation of written materials

• Positive corporate ID

• Consistently applied

• Remember, every piece of paper which goes out of the school is part of your public face

Communications madness

Word has a lot to answer for:• Clip art mania• Font mania• Border mania• Template mania

Get rid of them all – develop a simple and effective school style and stick to it.

Every school should have a simple style guide.


Simplicity and white space rule!


Presentation of written materials


The right messages


The right messages

What people hear

• What your students are saying• What your parents are saying• What members of staff are saying• What the local community is saying• What the local media is saying• What you are saying – phone etiquette

And…

• What people, including all teachers and SAS staff are saying about public schools in the area

Look carefully at your internet presence

• Your school website

• What other people are saying about your school on social media

• How the school is presenting itself to the global community

• The Pocket Public School


http://www.thepocket-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/news/great-schools-show-off-winners

Do you work at a fabulous school?

Tell everyone about the fabulous school you work at!

The most persuasive people are the people who work in schools – you are a powerful image builder!



And remember……….

Dressing to impress & presenting your school The importance of image Sydney Region Public Schools...

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