Introduction: when administration becomes an obstacle to the functioning of the school
In international schools, administrative teams juggle a wide variety of tasks: enrolment, invoicing, communication with families, human resources management, etc. Added to this are linguistic, legal and organisational constraints specific to the international context.
The result is often complex, time-consuming procedures that are difficult to standardise. However, solutions do exist to simplify the daily work of these teams. Here are five concrete ways to streamline workflows and allow the administration to refocus on the essentials.
1. Gather tools in a centralised environment (school software)
One of the main obstacles to efficiency is the proliferation of tools: Excel spreadsheets, isolated software programmes, paper documents, disparate emails, etc. This fragmentation complicates monitoring, increases the risk of errors, and slows down exchanges between departments.
What you can do:
Adopting a centralised solution such as Eduka allows you to bring together the main administrative functions (enrolment, invoicing, communication, internal requests, etc.) on a single platform. Information then flows more easily between departments, while limiting duplication.
Good to know:
Some tools allow data to be automatically reused from one module to another – for example, information about an admitted student can be used for invoicing, service registrations, or even school transport.
2. Identify and automate repetitive tasks
There are numerous recurring administrative tasks: sending reminders, validating forms, following up on files, managing authorisations. These tasks take up a large part of the teams’ time.
What you can do:
Map out your most frequent processes: these are the best candidates for automation. A tool with conditional workflows and validation chains will allow you, for example, to:
- Manage staff leave requests,
- Automate school trip approvals,
- Track updates to family files.
A well-automated process improves both the responsiveness and reliability of the actions taken.
3. Provide families with a portal to access their information (SaaS for schools)
A significant portion of the teams’ time is spent responding to recurring requests from families: copies of invoices, registration follow-ups, changes of contact details, etc.
What you can do:
Offering a secure portal dedicated to families allows you to:
- View invoices and current due dates,
- Register children for services (canteen, transport, extracurricular activities, etc.),
- Track the status of an application or admission,
- Receive messages or documents shared by the school.
The result: families are more independent, and administrative teams can refocus on truly specific cases.
4. Use dashboards to manage activities (school management software)
A lack of visibility on ongoing tasks, request volumes, or deadlines leads to short-term management, often under pressure.
What you can do:
Set up customised dashboards to track:
- The number of applications per level,
- The overall collection rate or per fee,
- The progress of the validation processes,
- Family requests still pending.
A clear and shared vision enables you to anticipate, distribute the workload and adjust your resources.
5. Set access rights according to roles
In international multi-campus or multi-service structures, managing data access can quickly become a source of confusion or privacy risks.
What you can do:
Implement granular role-based authorisation management: an extracurricular activities manager does not need access to financial records, an HR manager does not need to view student absences, etc. This allows you to:
- Better confidentiality,
- Better data protection,
- A streamlined interface for each user,
- Clearer accountability for teams.
Conclusion: simplifying means better structuring
Administrative simplification is not about doing less, but doing better. By structuring your workflows, eliminating redundancies and facilitating interactions, you empower your teams to be efficient and give families a modern image of your institution.
A good digital environment allows you to collaborate better, anticipate better, and above all… breathe easier during busy periods.
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