Ep. 189 - S.H.A.R.E. So They Know You C.A.R.E . : A Simple System to Help Your Staff Uplevel Their Customer Communication

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Show Notes:

Most coaches care deeply, but the lobby moment after class can still feel awkward. You want to connect with parents, you want to share progress, and then your mind goes blank. This bonus solo episode gives you a simple, repeatable way to talk with families in about 60 seconds, without forcing small talk or sounding scripted.

We walk through a tool we built for our team: “SHARE so they know you CARE.” SHARE gives coaches five clear lanes to choose from when they step into parent communication. If you run a gymnastics program, youth sports facility, or any kids’ classes, this framework doubles as customer service training and a practical retention strategy.

Then we dig into the deeper reason it works: CARE. Consistent communication helps families feel Connected, Appreciated, Remembered, and confident that our coaches are Engaged. That trust pays off later, especially when you have to navigate harder conversations like behavior issues or injuries, because you’ve already built a positive relationship and a strong emotional bank account.

You can download the template from the show notes, share it with your staff, and try the “one parent a day” habit to build momentum. If it helps, subscribe, share this with a fellow coach or gym owner, and leave a review so more programs can build stronger communities.

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:04

Welcome back to Learning to Thrive. Today I'm gonna do we're gonna do a bonus episode, a solo episode. It's just me. Michaela's not here today to talk about a tool that's working well for us on parent communication that I thought just might be helpful as we're talking through customer service this month and about how to best serve our customers. One of the ways that we can do that is to make sure that our parents are getting communication from their coaches. And in communicating, a lot of times I find that there is a gap where the coach wants to communicate but isn't quite sure how to do that. And so we have put together for our team a tool called Share so they know you care. And that just gives our coaches an outline of the types of things that they can be talking to parents about and kind of helps prompt them to constantly remember why that parent communication is so important. And so I wanted to share that with you guys today in case you also are thinking, gosh, you know, some of our coaches do a great job of communicating the progress in class to the parents, but it would be great if our whole team did. Or I really wish I could help that person because they want to be communicating, but they just don't know what to say. So this uh document is going to be shared in our show notes so that you could print it out for your team, so that you can talk about it in a staff meeting, so that you can share it with whoever needs to be shared, or so that you can provide a training on it to make sure that your staff knows and your coaches know how do I go about talking to parents and what do I say. So the first, the acronym is SHARE, S-H-A-R-E. So share, and then so you know they care, the C-A-R-E is the why behind why we share. So the first things in share are what are we talking to parents about?

Story

SPEAKER_00 1:51

And so the S is for story, and that would just be tell something from class, tell a story from class, right? Tell something funny that happened, tell something that cute happened. Oh, we were, you know, on the balance beam doing dinosaur walks, and she said she could do it by herself because she was good at being a T-Rex. Um, and you know, the parent laughs and the coach laughs, and that's just a quick bonding moment. Doesn't take too long, not super in-depth, not super intense, just a quick story. Oh, you know, she got up on the beam and she told me that she was gonna do her releve walks like princess walks because she's a princess, you know, just quick little anecdotes like that that will make the parent laugh, that make you laugh, um, that you just find really cute or funny.

Highlight & Accomplishment

SPEAKER_00 2:31

The H is for highlight. So tell a win from class. Hey, today we only needed one reminder on how to do our monkey jumps. And then she got it, you know, all by herself at the, you know, the next time around the station. Hey, she did such a great job listening today and taking turns. She sat crisscross applesauce and she was so patient waiting for that tumble track. You're telling a win from class, you're telling a highlight that will allow the parent to feel proud and also to just let them know you're paying attention, right? When you can pull a highlight like that for them in the lobby before they leave the building, that gives such a good feeling all the way around. The kid is proud, the parent is proud, and you're proud because we're making progress in class. Accomplishment is the A in share. And the accomplishment is when a child gets a new skill or tries something outside of their comfort zone. So this is a little bit different from a win because you're really looking at that progress, that skill-based progress. Um, did you see her cartwheel today? She landed it on her feet. Did you see how she jumped today with her arms above her head? So it's a skill-based comment that is gonna let the parents know that, hey, we're progressing here and we we're seeing, you know, that skill progress. Whereas a highlight might be something um, you know, more qualitative that is done. So if they're trying something, hey, she wouldn't, she hasn't been walking on beam for the last three weeks. I know we've been working on that. And today she finally walked on beam. That's a huge accomplishment, right? R

Relate

SPEAKER_00 3:59

and share is relate. So you're gonna ask a question or share something interesting about yourself. Are you guys uh doing any travel this summer? What are you doing for the holidays? How did the swim lesson go last week? So you're asking questions that are relevant to that family that would um connect you as a person more to them, or you can say, oh yeah, you know, I missed the everybody at class last week. I was on vacation, you know, me and my family go to the beach every year. Uh, it's such a great time. I really enjoy the time, right? You're just you're relating, you're you're sharing on a people level just what is happening in life. And this can go a long way to building relationships and it could go a long way to letting parents know that you care not only about the skills and the things that are happening in class, but also about them as people. And that really builds the community portion of our customer service, right? We want people to be more, it's more than just a cartwheel when you come in the building. It's you found some belonging, you found some inspiration, you found some connection. We want to be building that community. And relating is one of the ways that we can do that.

Expertise

SPEAKER_00 4:56

And then the E and share is expertise. So share what you know from a gymnastics knowledge standpoint and or help the parents see the benefit of the sport or how the sport relates to something that they're talking about. So they might mention, oh, you know, Susie is starting preschool this fall, you know, we're so excited about it. You know, she's gonna go with her cousin and they're gonna have a great time. And so then, you know, when you come out, you're hey, did you see that, you know, that bear walk, that bear walk, you know, correlates to to good reading skills. That's gonna be super useful, you know, when Susie goes into preschool this fall, or hey, did you see how great a job she was doing at following directions? You know, she's just gonna rock that preschool this, you know, this year. So you can kind of relate it back to what they have shared with you. Um, but you can also, from a gymnastic standpoint, kind of give your opinion. Hey, she is so coordinated. I really see her catching on to things super fast. And I noticed she's also very strong. Like she can get up from that forward role without her hands. That tells me she's got great core strength. That is so cool, right? Great core strength is a big part of motor skill development. Something where you're positioning yourself as the expert and you're sharing a piece of knowledge with the parent about the child or about what's happening in class so that they can kind of follow along with the whys behind what we're doing, or pointing out where their kid is really standing out, or where what they're working on with their kid outside of the gym really connects in the gym. This can go a long way in our team side as well, because there's so much of the development that happens in a school year, or, you know, you kind of get to know people on a super personal level there and you can kind of relate, hey, you know, she's facing down her fears, you know, here in the gym on that backhand spring. And I bet that's gonna, you know, that's gonna help her when she goes into middle school this year because, you know, she's gonna know how to handle fear as she walks through those hallways or something like that. Sharing your expertise with the parents. Okay, so share story, highlight, accomplishment, relate, expertise. You're sharing us, you're you're communicating based on one of those purposes. And then so they know you care, meaning, why are we doing this? Why would we go out of our way every time after a class to go talk to one parent? And why do we need some ideas of what we can talk about? And why do we want to make sure that we are relating to these people and that we're building this community?

Connect

SPEAKER_00 7:15

You want to do that because you care, right? You want the see and care is connect. You want to create connection with the parents that builds trust. High levels of trust are critical when, especially when navigating like the harder things, right? So if you have to have a conversation about behavior, if you've already spent the last two months building a relationship by popping in a story or popping in, you know, hey, they got this accomplishment, then when you go to say, hey, we had a we had a hard time listening today, you know, we really struggled with following directions today. You have already, the the coach has already built that relationship and added money into that emotional bank account with all of the stories and all of the anecdotes and all of the accomplishments or expertise or the small conversations. So now when we're having a tough conversation, the relationship's built. The emotional quotient is high. We know each other, we like each other, we are have been relating about this child for the last two months. And so, yes, we can definitely work together on these things that may need work. It will truly pay off 10 times down the road. That also comes into play when there's an injury. If you have a great relationship built up with your coach and your child gets hurt because sports, sometimes you just land wrong or you know, something goes wrong. If there's a high level of connection, a high level of trust, then the parent obviously is gonna handle that injury or, you know, um be more understanding of that than if I've never talked to the coach in the first time she's bringing me my crying kid who has a swollen pinky toe, right? Um there's just a there's just a better setup in there for everyone involved. The A

Appreciate

SPEAKER_00 8:52

in care is appreciate. So we want to be grateful to our community. They come in, they show up every week, they share their kids with us, they share our time, their time with us, they they spend money with us, and we they deserve to know that we appreciate that and that we're grateful that they're here. And by communicating and sharing the good things that happen in class and listening to them, we're giving them our time and we're giving them that um value of you know relating to each other. Yes, what you have to say, customer, matters. And also I notice your kid, and I'm grateful that you guys are here. And so I want to spend the five minutes after class investing in you guys. I want to use my time and my attention to make sure that you know that you're important.

Remember

SPEAKER_00 9:34

The RN care, remember. It shows our share items allow families to understand that we know their kids and that they are important to us. And they're so important to us that we remember their accomplishments. We we know their individual personalities, we notice the funny things they do in class. We are grateful for them being here. And we also remember things because we care about them, because we value them, because we're here because we love the kids and we love, you know, investing in them and making an impact. And so when we, you know, tell the story or the thing that the win, or hey, I noticed she, you know, four weeks ago she couldn't do this, and look how good she's jumping now. That tells them we remember them, and that means that they have value in our lives, that they have held that spot. Hey, I noticed this accomplishment four weeks ago, and you know, now I have it here. So really uh intangible that has an incredible amount

Engage

SPEAKER_00 10:27

of value. And then the E in in care is engaged. It shows our coaches are tuned into what's happening in class. When I can come out with a story for two or three parents, when I can highlight an accomplishment, a difference between four weeks ago and now, when I can't, when I take the time to ask you how the vacation went, or hey, you know, Susie said that we, that you guys went to uh, you know, Ocean City last week. How was it? I stop and I care. That means I've listened to your kid. I've been engaged, I've noticed, right? Um, and that we are really committed to seeing our kids progress. We are really tuned into what's happening in class. We are really teaching life lessons through sport. And by letting them know that each week, they they can actively feel that and they actively have like an action point. Oh, yeah, she's definitely engaged because she comes out and tells me things, you know, after class, or she, hey, she remembers, you know, the things that that she said and and highlights the accomplishments for me. Hey, she shared with me that those bear walks in class are good for reading. I didn't know that. That was such a helpful piece of information. The teacher's engaged. The communication is showing that we care, we care, we are connected, we appreciate them, we remember things because we care and we are also engaged, which means we're paying attention and we're really locked in. And that's an incredible value, right? It it goes back to making people feel like they matter and making, you know, the in our company, do your eyes light up is one of our core values. And it's like, you know, I can really matter to you, but unless you show me that with some kind of outward tangible, then sometimes I might forget it or sometimes I might not even know it at all. So teaching our coaches this formula share so you know, so they know you care. It gives them the tools to be able to build that relationship, right? It tells them, hey, well, I I would love to talk to parents, but I don't know what to talk about. Okay, share. Story, highlight, accomplishment, relate to them, use your expertise. Go do one of those things, pick one parent every day after class. When they practice it, they get better at it. And so then as they're walking through the lobby, they might get stopped by two or three parents, or they might see two or three of their kids and then they're giving out multiple a week. That's great. Start with one and then move your way up. But this gives them a tangible, what do I say? And then why do I say it? So that they know you care, so that they know that you're connected, so they know that you appreciate them, so that they know you remember and that you're engaged. We want our customer base to feel connected, inspired, like they belong. This is more than just gymnastics. This is their place, this is their refuge from a crazy little world. Um, and we want to make sure that they know that they're important to us. And we want to be able to back up the fact that, hey, we're teaching you guys something in here, right? For our for our sports kids, it might be, hey, your kid, your kid did 10 passes today without dropping one. And four weeks ago, they could only do two passes without dropping one, right? Uh, they were able to kick with their left, they scored a goal today in our scrimmage with their left foot and they were right footed buffly. Whoa, your your coach noticed they paid attention to what foot you kicked the goal with. This is a great place. You are really progressing, right? It does the work for us and it does it in 60-second conversations. Huge, huge, huge. Share this with your staff. Uh share the share the download as well so that they can study it and remember it. And see if applying this doesn't help build the morale, both in your lobby and also with your coaches, because now they have the tools, right? We've given them exactly what they need and they're able to go execute it. So take this if you'd like, apply it to your gym and or your sports facility, and let us know how it works out. We would love to hear from you. Um, send us a message and you know what successes did you have with it or what struggles did you have with it. And then we can share um, share those and with our community and keep continuing to thrive. And we'll catch you in the next episode.