Did you know that January is ‘get organised’ month so what better time to organise a school trip? Here in the operations department at Activ4 School Tours, being organised is an essential part of our job. If our team wasn’t so organised, the many trips that we manage would not run as smoothly as they do.
I asked all the event organisers to name their top tips for party leaders, to help you best organise a school trip.
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Organise a school trip by regularly checking your Trello Board
We take a digital approach to our communication with clients. Trello is a web based project management app which makes our collaboration easier and more efficient. When you first receive the invite you will need to create an account. From there we would always advise looking through all of the documents. There are also some helpful videos to watch.
Your Trello Board can be updated by yourselves and us, as and when we receive new information. We always try to email you, to let you know that there has been an update however we do advise checking the board at regular intervals especially as it gets closer to your trip. You do not need to notify us when you post an update because Trello automatically updates us.
We try to get the final information for your trip, uploaded to Trello around 2 weeks before your departure. Things can still change after this but only where it is essential to ensure you have the best trip possible.
By regularly checking your Trello Board you will see all updates as well as helping to see when deadlines are due for other information that we require you to send to us.
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Set an earlier deadline than the one we give you
We will give you a deadline on Trello for important documents like your passenger list. We set these deadlines to ensure that we have all of the required information to be able to run your trip in a smooth and efficient manner. These deadlines are often not met due to teachers giving the students the same deadline. We recommend that you set the student deadline a week earlier that the due date for Activ4. This gives you time to ensure you have all the information for Activ4 when it is needed.
We do understand that sometimes deadlines cannot be met, due to unforeseen circumstances, however please do speak to us as early as possible to let us know if you think there may be a problem with a deadline. This way we can help find a date doable and therefore prevents us from keep asking over and over about the required documents.
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Keep us updated
Probably the most important tip on this list is to keep us updated. Whether that’s a phone call, email or a comment on your Trello Board. We are in the office between 8.30-5, Monday to Friday, should you wish to call. This helps us to know where you are at with your documents as well as answer any questions you may have. By keeping us updated with where you are at. We can ensure that any issues should they arise can be resolved as quickly as possible.
When you are on your trip you will also have a contact number for out of hours just in case. However the best way to keep us updated while you are away is to tag us in your Twitter posts. This way we can see what an amazing time your students and staff are having.
Hopefully all of these ideas can help you to be the most organised party leader you have ever been. If you haven’t already got a trip booked contact us today on 01743 467267 or on our request a quote and our sales team will be happy to help.
