There are more than 1.4 million schools in India. Your school is one of them and prides itself for offering high quality education, a gamut of extra-curricular activities, superb location and excellent infrastructure. But, so do other schools in your circle of competition! Now, how will you ensure that parents prefer your school over others for their children’s admission?

Or, let’s picture this. Your school has several branches or franchises across India. The look and feel of each one, are the same, irrespective of the location. But the branch / franchise in City A has higher enrolments than the one in City B or there are several complaints from parents flooding in from City C. What is the reason for this difference?

That’s because, the brand identity of your school is not consistent. There are loopholes in the way your school manages its brand. Branding is not just about the logo, colours, website, uniform, social media pages, prospectus or infrastructure, It’s about the personality and character of your school. A brand also reflects your school’s philosophy, culture and values. It is unique set of propositions, when followed consistently and continuously, sets your school apart from the competition and builds a good reputation. It is also about how you manage your day to day operations internally so that the outcomes are perceived positively among all stakeholders – parents, school staff, students, vendors and governing authorities.

Unfortunately, most schools tend to ignore brand management due to which they fail to deliver what they promise, the implications of which can be serious in the long run. In order to build strong successful brand as well maintain it perpetually, your school needs to identify the areas which affect your brand reputation.

Here are some of them:

• Non-adherence to or deviation from Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). For instance, students must not be allowed to go outside the main gate during school hours, school bus driver must take attendance of students boarding on the bus, parents-teachers meeting must be held quarterly, only authorized personnel must be allowed in the playground or a fire drill should be conducted every six months.
• Non-adherence to or deviation from regulatory compliances laid down by the state or central governing body. For example, a school must hold a valid shop establishment license, must not deny admission to a student from a backward class or must provide benefits of the Maternity Act to its female staff.
• Lack of proper documentation of revenues earned from admission fees, transport fees, sale of assets or any other source of income. For instance, the total admission fee collected in FY2015-16.
• Not maintaining records of cash transactions. For instance, no receipt of office stationery purchased in cash.
• Not defining the authority matrix for approvals regarding management decisions, financial transactions or inventory & fixed asset management. For example, only the trustees can approve a media announcement or the approval of every financial transaction above Rs 50,000 must be signed by the principal.
• Not maintaining inventory and fixed asset management registers. For instance, how many cricket bats moved out of the sports stock during a cricket tournament in the school or what is the number of desks & chairs in the school?
• Not undertaking facility management activities. For example,

Are the drinking water purifiers serviced regularly?
Are the washrooms cleaned every hour or is the school insured against theft & fire?

Can you imagine the number of factors that can go against your school’s brand? Just imagine what will happen to your school’s reputation if a student didn’t reach home on a day and when you check the bus attendance register, there is nothing recorded in it! When such incidents get reported, they will not only be hugely detrimental to the reputation of your school, but can also land you in legal soup.

The right way to capture the above inefficiencies and proactively manage risks is to undertake a brand review exercise regularly, and if be needed on SOS basis. It will ensure that every branch or franchise of your school speaks a common brand language. It will make your school compliant on all aspects, build integrity in the society and put your school in a professional light.

It’s never too late to build and manage your school’s brand. Start today!

Stay tuned for the next two series blog on how to achieve brand compliance.