Good management is essential if your language school is to

be successful in the long-term

“I need more hours”. “I need a better rate”. “I don’t want
to teach groups any more”. “I don’t want to use these
materials, I have my own stuff. “I’m ill and can’t come to
teach today. Or tomorrow. And I quit.” “I’ll be here for a
season and then I’m off travelling.” “I just need this job
before I find something better”.

If you run a language school, I can imagine that you’ve

seen some of these things being said by your teachers. It
can be exasperating.

Yet teachers provide the core service of a language school.

An unhappy teacher is a danger to the quality of this
service. He or she cannot only affect the satisfaction rates
of students, but their unhappiness can infiltrate into the
moral of other staff too. High teacher turnover is an ever-
present problem. Teachers can come and go very quickly,
and sometimes this is more due to bad management more
than anything else.
So how do you manage language teachers properly? What
methods can you use to keep turnover down? Here are
some ideas on how to improve teacher turnover through
better management.

1. Manage through personality

Teachers are all people and as such have different
personalities. You cannot manage them all the same way.
Some need for you to hear their opinions, some need
more reassurance, some need challenges, some need a
smile and a joke. The better you understand them, the
more they’ll respond to your needs. So manage in different
styles according to who they are and don’t lump them all
in one basket.

2. Set up some performance indicators

Satisfaction is obviously the main indicator that you can
use to follow performance. There are others too. Have you
thought about recommendation rates, hours lost (through
cancellations by the teacher), exam/certification success
rates? Depending on what you want your school to do,
there are plenty of quantifiable ways of getting data that
can help you and your teachers improve together.

3. Create incentives
If indicators are showing increased performance, and
quality is rising, and more courses are being sold, then it
makes sense that in a win-win scenario the teacher should
also benefit, shouldn’t it? If margins are tight, then you can
be creative with your incentives: through profit-sharing,
bonus on objectives, fun day out, extra paid holiday, etc.

4. Learn how to motivate properly

Motivation is more important than money. This may seem
paradoxical compared to the last tip, but studies have
shown that that people don’t perform well due to money
alone. So it is your duty as a manager to know how to
motivate. One of the prerequisites for motivation is trust.
Do your teachers trust you? Have you spent enough time
with them for that to happen? If they trust you, they are
more likely to listen to you and be more motivated to do
what you ask. Furthermore, it is very important that you
know both how to congratulate and reprimand properly.
Done badly and the consequences can be quite severe.
5. Let them be creative (on your terms)
Any experienced language teacher usually has a toolbox of
skills, techniques and material to teach his way. This can be
counterproductive and difficult to manage if the method in
your school is it’s main selling point. Teachers are asked to
perform, they’re artists. This mean they are creative, and
have to be allowed to be so. So why not spend 1 day a year
running a session on creativity? Get a consultant in and
find out ways to improve your school together. It’s a lot of
fun, it’s energising and will show you to be a school
manager who makes a real effort to hear their views
without compromising on your needs.

6. Train, train and train them some more

Teachers love to learn. They understand training and the
principles of learning effectively, and so they have huge
passion for learning themselves. There are so many
benefits to personal development and technical training
that it is surprising how rare it is to find teachers that are
cared for in this way. Subjects such as interpersonal
communication, learning and teaching techniques, use of
materials (off and online) are all good ideas.

7. Give them specific projects to work on

If there is regular downtime during a slow season then this
is the perfect opportunity to give your teachers some
projects that might turn out to be of huge profit to your
school. For example, you could ask them to test different
online platforms, work on a student welcome package, or
research for better materials. Giving them responsibility
doesn’t mean you have to pay them more money but it
does show your faith in their abilities.

8. Take a management and

communication course
The tips given so far are often related to best practices in
management and communication. If you have not yet
taken a course I strongly recommend you do so. You can
take one at any age and at any level of experience. Studies
linking neuroscience, motivation, intelligence, use of
emotions and more mean that the courses are becoming
better and better. Management and leadership now make
up 35% of the United States professional training market –

a proof of how important it has

become!

9. Be available
I’ve worked in several language schools. In virtually every
one the director tried to hide himself in his office and only
dealt with teachers reluctantly when he really had to.
Some decisions, especially when it came to salaries, were
just not for the director of studies to make, and it is
amazing how hard feelings and rancour can develop when
people think that the director is not available. I don’t mean
literally take the door of it’s hinges and announce proudly
that “my door is always open” but it is also very important
to be sincere and pay attention when you do give them
time.

10. Sit in on their classes

Like I said earlier, teachers are your core service. You
should be paying attention to what they are doing. How
can you actually manage them if you have no idea what
they’re doing? Yes, you can get feedback from other staff,
but think of the benefits of sitting in on a couple of classes
a year and see how they get on. The teachers will feel like
you’re really interested and hopefully more well-meaning
towards you when it comes to talking about tricky
subjects. Obviously you can’t scowl the whole time when
you see things you don’t like. Use it as an opportunity to
give genuine, useful feedback and really find out what’s
happening.