{"id":289,"date":"2024-01-23T15:31:48","date_gmt":"2024-01-23T15:31:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/runyourtuitionbusiness.com\/?p=289"},"modified":"2024-01-23T15:32:47","modified_gmt":"2024-01-23T15:32:47","slug":"how-to-deal-with-tutor-lateness-and-what-steps-can-you-take","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runyourtuitionbusiness.com\/index.php\/2024\/01\/23\/how-to-deal-with-tutor-lateness-and-what-steps-can-you-take\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Deal With Tutor Lateness And What Steps You Can Take"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all know providing tuition is a service-based business; but yet we don\u2019t realise and understand that it is a business built on people, and for this reason alone the most difficult part of this business is dealing with tutors and managing your team. You might think it’s the customers. TRUST ME, IT’S NOT. It\u2019s the tutors and the people providing service to your customers, i.e. your managers and admin staff.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tutors present many challenges. Some of these include salary negotiation, teaching quality, sickness, leave and many others. But I want to focus on one challenge in particular, and that\u2019s lateness and timekeeping.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Every time I\u2019m at the tuition centre, I\u2019m worried about tutors turning up late. I should be more concerned with students not turning up as it\u2019ll impact profitability, but instead, it’s the tutors. Do you<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0know why?<\/b><\/p>\n

Because it impacts the quality of our service. Kids will go back home and say things like: <\/span>\u2018Mum you know what happened in our lesson today? My teacher turned up 10 minutes late.\u2019<\/span><\/i>, and that can only mean one thing for us; a call from the parent to discuss why we didn\u2019t start the lesson on time. It also means tutors cutting corners to catch up on time by not marking homework and providing feedback, resulting in quality issues.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If a tutor hasn\u2019t turned up 15 minutes before the start of their lesson, I start feeling anxious. I would look at my phone, thinking a WhatsApp ping would go off anytime soon with reasons why they\u2019re running late. I\u2019ve seen many reasons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It would say something like: <\/span>\u2018I\u2019m running 10 mins late, Sorry about it\u2019<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>\u2018There are road works going on in the area, not sure how long it\u2019ll take me to get in\u2019<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>\u2018Buses are running late, and there are no trains from X station\u2019<\/span><\/i>. These are the basic and sub-standard reasons that you\u2019ll hear all the time. But I’ve come across a few that I never never thought I would in my wildest dreams.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here is one:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning, I\u2019m at the bus stop waiting for the bus. It still hasn\u2019t arrived. I\u2019ve called an Uber. The buses are on diversion, so I\u2019m not too sure how long it will take. I will try and book an Uber again closer to [name of destination]\u201d. <\/i><\/b>So apparently they\u2019re unable to book an Uber as well now. Not sure what else I can say. I can blame it on bad luck I guess.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But my favourite reason by a country mile is this one here\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

One day I\u2019m getting ready to go to the tuition centre and I get a call from a tutor at 9.15 am. Mind you, the lesson starts at 10 am.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the phone rings, I\u2019m thinking: <\/span>\u2018Oh NO! This can\u2019t be good. I know this is going to be bad news.\u2019<\/span><\/i> I knew they weren\u2019t going to come in; all I had to do was answer the phone to find out why. Normally they would just send a message, but this tutor for some reason was calling. So I answered the phone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As expected, the tutor couldn\u2019t come in to teach, but what was their reason?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

They got locked outside of their home without keys and were now waiting for a locksmith to let them back in. My thoughts were: <\/span>\u2018What?\u2019<\/span><\/i> \u2018<\/span>Locked outside?\u2019 \u2018Waiting for a locksmith?\u2019<\/span><\/i> I mean what are the chances of that ever happening, and that too when the tutor is about to step out of their front door? Never in a million years would I\u2019ve imagined such a reason, but you know what they say: <\/span>\u2018There\u2019s always a first time for everything.\u2019<\/span><\/i>, and this was that first time. What can you do? Nothing to be honest; except feel sorry for yourself and empathise with them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After all, remember, you want to create a culture of tolerance, and not lose them if they are good. But as human beings, you\u2019re thinking: <\/span>\u2018How unlucky could I get to be in this situation?\u2019<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I said, <\/span>\u2018Keep me informed about whether you can make it in.\u2019<\/span><\/i> I knew they weren\u2019t going to come in, as it took them over an hour to travel on a normal day. I knew I had to find a solution and find a cover fast, which I eventually did.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But most interestingly, I then received a message at 11.03 am saying: <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m waiting for the call out locksmith to arrive still. It\u2019s been over an hour now, I\u2019m still here.\u201d<\/span><\/i> By this time you know there\u2019s no point, so I simply told them not to bother coming in anymore. I had managed to sort out a cover by then anyways, so it didn\u2019t bother me. Plus, I wasn\u2019t going to pay for two tutors when I only needed one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This reason was simply unheard of, but I have to give the tutor credit for one thing at least, and that was they were responsible enough to inform me. I\u2019m not kidding, but some tutors won\u2019t even bother sending you a message if they\u2019re running late. If anything, you have to message them to enquire. After a while, you soon get to know who the culprits are, so you know who to message when.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For instance, I messaged one tutor 10 minutes before their starting time asking them about their Expected Time of Arrival (ETA), to be sure, because I knew there was a high chance of them being late given their poor track record.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I messaged:<\/span> \u2018Morning [Name]. Are you ok for timings this morning? Just wanted to check.\u2019, <\/i><\/b>and the response was: <\/span>\u2018<\/span><\/i>Morning, yes I\u2019m all good. See you at 10.\u2019<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cLateness is a trait of disrespect and it gives the other person waiting for you time to think about your other shortcomings.\u201d <\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n\t
<\/div>\n\n\t\n\t\t
Carian Cole, Author<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/blockquote>\n<\/b><\/p>\n

Tutors not turning up on time signifies one thing to me; that they\u2019re not serious about their job. Their attitude and commitment are not there. There can be reasons for lateness, I get that. But for it to happen consistently, you start to feel that the tutor isn\u2019t serious at all. And if they\u2019re not serious, I can only imagine the quality they bring to their class.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So what can you do?<\/b> There\u2019s a lot you can do actually. But you have to see what strategy works best for you and the culture you\u2019re trying to build at the tuition centre.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve kept <\/span>\u2018Tutor Sign-in\u2019<\/span><\/i> sheets, for tutors to sign in their <\/span>\u2018start time\u2019<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>\u2018leave time\u2019<\/span><\/i>. I feel it helps, but you would still find tutors who would be late. At least it acts as a good deterrent. But then there is that problem of tutors forgetting to sign out, and you have to remind them all the time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Other times, I\u2019ve even seen one tutor intentionally put the wrong time. Yes, you heard me right, it was INTENTIONALLY done. They would always turn up a couple of minutes late, but always signed in as <\/span>\u2018on the dot\u2019<\/span><\/i> arrival. They did the same when leaving early. There is no difference there whatsoever. This is a serious matter, but ultimately the important thing to understand is that you will be presented with such instances and issues no matter what.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So how do you \u2018actually\u2019 deal with lateness?\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

You can introduce many systems, but I would suggest adopting a <\/span>\u2018trial and error\u2019<\/span><\/i> exercise. Try a few strategies, and once satisfied you will know which option to go with.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I remember when I used to tutor at a tuition centre myself, the manager used to issue <\/span>\u2018late slips\u2019<\/span><\/i> to anyone late. Three strikes and you\u2019re in trouble. Being a committed tutor that I was, it never came to that point, so I would never know what could have happened. I did however receive one <\/span>\u2018late slip\u2019<\/span><\/i> though, but that was it. You can adopt this approach if you like, but I didn\u2019t at my tuition centres. <\/span>Here is why.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

One thing I\u2019ve learned about running tuition businesses is that it is centred around people, and you want to build a good working culture to keep people happy. Tutors come and go all the time. But the good ones are very hard to come by.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I would take it on a case-by-case basis. Understand who the tutor is and how key they are to your business. If for instance, they\u2019re the only tutor who can teach Science, you don\u2019t want to annoy them as they are \u2018key\u2019 to your business. That is why make sure you deal with them very tactfully. At times, you would want to overlook some of their shortcomings, because you need them. But do make a mental note of what is happening. What you don\u2019t want is to show that you\u2019re onto them, which might only push them away to look for work elsewhere.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trust me; when I say a good tutor is hard to come by, it is quite hard to find them. Why? Because it takes time and effort to find the right tutor, one who is a good fit for your tuition centre. You train them to bring them up to speed – that takes a lot of time and effort.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Should you easily let them go just because they turned up late? I don\u2019t think so.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/b><\/h3>\n

With lateness, it’s something you should address on a case-by-case basis. <\/span>\u2018One policy fits all\u2019<\/span><\/i> is something I wouldn\u2019t advise. See how critical they are to your business before you take any steps. <\/span><\/p>\n

Best to keep an open mind, and have a polite word with them explaining your situation.\u00a0<\/span>Like us, they are people too. They\u2019ll understand that your request is reasonable, and they\u2019ll try their level best to turn up on time next time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Taking a hard stance will only impact your tuition centre\u2019s culture, which in my view is far more important. Your goal should be to have tutors turn up without fail and to have minimal disruption to the classes and in turn your tuition business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What you don\u2019t want is that they leave, and now you\u2019re looking for another tutor to replace them, which takes time. This will only disrupt lessons, and don’t forget kids’ education. So the next time a tutor is late, think about the repercussions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My view is, that as long as the business is running smoothly without interruptions, I would take that any day of the week.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you feel that the tutor is critical to your business, I would then suggest hiring another tutor (to potentially replace) before taking a harsher stance.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We all know providing tuition is a service-based business; but yet we don\u2019t realise and understand that it is a business built on people, and for this reason alone the most difficult part of this business is dealing with tutors and managing your team. You might think it’s the customers. TRUST ME, IT’S NOT. It\u2019s the tutors and the people providing service to your customers, i.e. your managers and admin staff.\u00a0\u00a0 Tutors present many challenges. Some of these include salary negotiation, teaching quality, sickness, leave and many others. But I want to focus on one challenge in particular, and that\u2019s lateness and timekeeping.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Every time I\u2019m at the tuition centre, I\u2019m worried about tutors turning up late. I should be more concerned with students not turning up as it\u2019ll impact profitability, but instead, it’s the tutors. Do you\u00a0know why? Because..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/runyourtuitionbusiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/runyourtuitionbusiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/runyourtuitionbusiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runyourtuitionbusiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runyourtuitionbusiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=289"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/runyourtuitionbusiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":302,"href":"https:\/\/runyourtuitionbusiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289\/revisions\/302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/runyourtuitionbusiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runyourtuitionbusiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runyourtuitionbusiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}