As the leader of your dance business, you want your employees to perform at their best—and you have more influence over their performance than you may think. A self-confident employee who knows his or her role in the success of the business performs better. Employees who view their jobs as insignificant will reflect those attitudes through their work. It is up to you to create an atmosphere for success, bettering their work performance, the atmosphere at work, and the entire image of your studio.

Running a dance school can be a real challenge. You need to continually stoke your faculty’s creative fire. Discover what makes them tick and find out what they need to stay motivated and excited to be a part of your school. It is your responsibility to keep upbeat, happy and encouraging. Because you set the tone, I recommend that you do not vent and bring all of your problems to your faculty and staff. If you are constantly complaining about your customers and bills, this will negatively affect your employees work. If the boss is complaining, the boss is setting an atmosphere of problems.

Take this quiz to determine if you are bringing out the best in your employees.

1)    Do you recognize your employees for a job well done?

2)    Do you offer opportunities for professional development?

3)     Do you value employee’s opinions and suggestions?

4)    Do you recognize personal achievements or celebrations, such as a birthday or graduation?

5)    Do you provide opportunities for advancement?

6)    Do you help your employees by giving them tools to succeed?

7)    Do you offer incentives for goals achieved?

Now think about how you train your staff. If you leave it up to them on the 'how to' run your business, then you cannot complain when they don’t do it your way! Training can and must be fun! The more you train, the better results you will have. Better results will create a positive atmosphere and make everyone feel and work more productively. 

We do this for both our front desk staff and faculty. We want the experience to be the same for all students who enter our school, both in the lobby and in the classroom. While each teacher will have their own individual style of teaching, we want the students to be treated the same. Whether dealing with issues or problem students, we want situations to be handled the same by everyone. There is nothing worse than having a parent come to you complaining about how your faculty member treated their child, even if the child was the problem. Giving your faculty and staff a system to follow on the overall experience you want your customers to have will be a big key in not only building your business, but also giving you more freedom within your business. You will, however, have to monitor how it is going. It is not a one-time deal, but a way of doing business you need to build into your overall business strategy. Keeping your staff and faculty motivated, happy and encouraged will, in turn, have them treating your customers the same way.