Read their reports!

At my daycare each day the teacher(s) create a report which tells us certain little information about our baby's day, things like how many meals he had, what books were read to him, and of course the all important count on how many times he used the bathroom (with some added detail!) I LOVE this reporting, maybe because I am an accountant but I hope also because I am an "into it" parent.

The other day, I happened to notice that one or two of the parents consistently do not take the reports home at night. At first, in my judgmental way, I thought how wrong that was. But who am I to judge? There may be a reason for it and it does not mean they are unconcerned parents.

But then I was thinking ... what do the teachers think?! These teachers hand-write these reports every single day for each parent ... even for those they know will not (maybe never) take them.

Now sure they may have to do it for internal reasons, but ....

Could that affect the way they perceive those parents? Maybe. Oh my gosh, could that affect the way they perceive those babies? Hopefully not, but maybe?!?!

Now let's look at the "reports" you review....reports where your staff will expect you to review them. Of course there are the quality control standards at your organization that come into play, but beyond that ...... Why isn't everything your staff does reviewed by you or someone else? Not just reviewed but "acknowledged"?

If you work in a public or internal accounting shop, do your clients/colleagues know how much you care about your staff? Do they SEE you valuing their work? If you are suppose to look at something a staff created ... do you always "read their reports"?