KidCheck’s unique parent created and maintained accounts provide many benefits for you and parents, including drastically reducing your workload with account set up and maintenance. Click here for benefits of parent created accounts. We also understand the benefits are only as good as getting the parents to participate. It’s important they buy in to the idea and process and set up the accounts, which means communication from you on the reasons, benefits and policies to keep them on track. You may be tempted to just do it yourself, thinking it will be easier – but it actually won’t be. Look here for reasons you shouldn’t set up the accounts yourself. Below are some suggestions and tools to get parents on board.

Suggestions/Tools to encourage parents to set up accounts:

 

  1. Don’t roll out to soon. After purchasing the product you may want to roll it out quickly, get moving and start using your great new KidCheck check-in system! Resist the temptation and plan the actual roll out for a few weeks later. This gives you time to prepare and to prepare the parents. They’ll be more comfortable and get used to the idea before they start using it.
  2. Communicate, communicate, communicate. Let them know you are implementing KidCheck and why (ease, efficiency, security, speed, etc) and request they set up their accounts prior to roll out. Start the discussion a few weeks prior to roll out. This gives them enough time to understand and complete the accounts and you enough opportunities to remind them. See our roll out timing recommendations here for additional information.
    • In addition to explaining the overall check-in improvements, highlight the benefits for them.
    • These include: they own the account, they can complete/change from comfort of home, it ensures medical/allergy awareness, they choose photos, they control authorized and unauthorized guardians
  3. Utilize the available KidCheck tools. At this link you can find downloads to help you with parent communication including an announcement poster, instruction letters, step-by-step guardian user guide and a document outlining the benefits and underscoring security.
  4. Help parents comply. After you announce plans to move to KidCheck but prior to roll out, set up a “check-in” area with a PC. As parents come in, ask them if they’ve set up their account. If they haven’t, help them get started, but don’t feel pressured to collect all their information at that time.Place tech comfortable volunteers at the check-in station. They don’t have to be tech-savvy, but comfortable with using a PC and keyboard. This keeps things moving and running efficiently and may help with the “hunt and peck” typers. Plus it’s a great connection opportunity to check in with the families as they are checking in.
    • Start check-in, leave it running and click the “I don’t have a KidCheck account” link. Ask them to input some very basic information (name, phone, email) and allow them to add detail from home at a later time. They’ll receive an email reminding them to complete the account and instructions to create their log in account (with username and password).
    • If they don’t have internet access you’ll need to add guardian and allergy/medical information for them. You can do this through the “people” tab after the guardian has completed check-in one time.
    • Doing this for a few weeks should get the majority prior to roll out. This idea can be utilized for the first few weeks when check-in is implemented as well.
  5. If parents still don’t comply by a certain date you may decide to take a hard line stance and insist they complete their full account prior to being able to check-in. This may create a backlog of parents the first time, but should quickly resolve the issue.

Unfortunately, there may be a minority of your members that don’t handle change well, are worried about a new process, or concerned about technology in general. We encourage you not to let some resistance dictate poor security for your organization and therefore the group as a whole. Continue to work with them and explain the reasons and benefits and help get them on board.