General Workflow
Introduction
This page lays out the general workflow for tutors working with clients through BMT.
The process is (generally) as follows. More specifics are detailed below on this page.
- Potential clients contact BMT
- BMT reaches out to appropriate tutors
- Tutors apply to jobs through application
- Client selects tutor and signs up with BMT (or flakes out!)
- Tutor and client are connected via email
- Tutors schedule and complete sessions via TutorCruncher
- BMT periodically checks in on status of clients
Please familiarize yourself with the specifics of our workflow and be sure to contact the BMT office at Team@BrooklynMathTutors.com if you have any questions.
Our Tutor-Client Matching Process
As a tutor, it benefits you to be aware of how our matching process works to help you maximize the chances of being matched with clients you want to work with.
When clients contact BMT, they are either:
- Requesting a specific tutor
- Looking for a tutor in general
If a client requests a specific tutor, we’ll reach out to that tutor first to see if they are interested and available. If they are, the rest of the client-matching process does not apply.
Most clients, however, do not have a tutor in mind when they reach out to us and it becomes our responsibility to match the student with a tutor who can meet their needs. To accomplish this we:
- Talk to them and get as many details as we can about the student and their needs including as well as note any preferences the family may have regarding a tutor. Some clients will be very specific (i.e. I want a female tutor who has a degree in botany.), while some clients are very general (i.e. Just find me someone who is good.). Most clients however, have ‘some’ requirements which we try to incorporate into the job description.
- We send out job application notifications to up to five tutors that most closely fit the client’s requirements and description of what they’re looking for. This could be a combination of skills the client is looking for (i.e. if the client needs a tutor for Calculus and you haven't listed Calculus as a subject you teach, we will not contact you) as well as personality traits that client might ask for. (i.e. if the client is looking for someone more stern or friendly, more easy going, more chatty, etc.)
If you receive a job application notification from us, that means that we think that you'd be a good match for this particular student.
If you’re not interested in the job, there is no need to respond and you can ignore the job post.
Applying to Jobs
If you’re interested in the job, please do the following to maximize the chance you’ll be selected for the job:
Respond Quickly!
Respond to the job application as quickly as possible, ideally within 1 business day but no more than in 2 business days. The BMT office usually sends tutor options to the client within 2 business days of posting the job.
We also don’t tend to send out more than 3 tutor options to clients. When there are too many options to choose from, clients get overwhelmed, so once 3 tutors apply, the job will generally be closed.
Write Persuasively
Make sure you write a good, personalized tutoring application for the client.
For more details on how to write a good tutor application, please see the following page: How to Write an Effective Tutor Application
Between Application and Connecting with Clients
Once several applications have been submitted, we generally close the job and send the options the potential client. At this point no more tutors can apply to the job.
Unfortunately, this is also the period of time that many clients back out and the job goes dormant.
This is a normal part of the tutoring business so please assume after applying to a job that you won’t hear from us unless the client follows through and picks you as the tutor. We do understand that this is frustrating and we do our best to maximize the chance that you will be selected, but ultimately the parents make the decisions.
To minimize your stress, do not hold the time slots you suggested to the client open for more than 24-48 hours. As the semester goes on and our schedules become more booked, we tell clients that tutors can’t hold their time slots open for any amount of time, so don't feel bad if a job resurfaces a week later and you no longer have availability which you once proposed.
In general, it’s best to submit your application and forget about it.
Connecting with Clients
If a client does follow through and signs up we will then connect them with their top tutor choice.
We will send out an email introduction email connect you and the client. We suggest that you respond to this email as quickly as possible.
Be sure you CC the BMT office in the initial conversation so we know that you received the email and contact has been made.
After this first exchange with the client there is no requirement to CC us on conversations unless you specifically need to include us for a specific reason.
Once connected with the client, most tutors set up a time to chat with with their new client to get a better idea of the clients' needs and to schedule their first session. Some clients prefer to skip the phone call and schedule the first session right away though email.
Scheduling and Session Reports
First Session
Once you’ve scheduled the first session, enter it into the TutorCruncher calendar. For the best results, enter your session at least 2 days in advance of the session so that the client receives a session confirmation email 24hrs in advance of the session. When clients receive session confirmation emails, they’re far less likely to miss their appointment.
After Each Session
After each session, mark your session as "complete" in TutorCruncher. Our new fall of 2021 protocols will include billing clients after each session so it's important to please mark the session complete either the day of or the day following the session.
Session Report
The system will require you to submit a “Session Report” when you complete the session. This report is not for BMT and is sent to the parent.
The system requires you to put in something to make sure there are no misunderstandings about what the session focused on and whether it actually took place.
For some clients it makes sense to keep the report short and for some other clients it may make sense to make the report more detailed. Detailed reports generally don't make sense for clients who you speak to extensively, so something as simple as the following might be fine:
‘I worked with Johnny on this and this today. We got this done and I assigned him the following homework. I'm looking forward to seeing him next week!’
It is up to you to use your best judgement about the level of detail you provide. In general, the more care you put into client relationships the happier they will be, the longer they will keep you as a tutor, and the more likely they are to refer you (and us!) to their social network. (See the bonuses page for more information on referral bonuses.)
If You Need to Cancel a Scheduled Session
If, for whatever reason, you need to cancel a scheduled session, please notify the parents of your students at your earliest convenience.
If you can’t attend more than one upcoming tutoring session, it may be good to consider getting a substitute tutor. Check if the client would like a substitute tutor for a few sessions, and if they would, please reach out to us to arrange the details.
End of Month Confirmation
At the moment, most of our clients are billed on a monthly cycle and we also pay tutors on a monthly cycle.
On the last day of the month, you’ll receive an automated email asking you to verify that all of your sessions from the current month have been entered into the calendar and "completed". Please be sure this has been completed by 3pm on the 1st day of the next month. For example, all July sessions should be entered and completed by 3pm on August 1st.
Please respond to the automated email with a short ‘Confirmed!". Sessions that have been left off the calendar leads to delays in both billing the client and payment for the tutor.
Once you’ve confirmed, we’ll send out invoices to clients, collect payment, and usually pay tutors via direct deposit for their sessions around the 10th of the month.
Client / Tutor Check-Ins
Since we don't share a physical space and the opportunities for organic social interactions are essentially zero, we have found that communication with tutors needs to be more planned and formalized in order to stay connected, effectively help our clients, and make our work run smoothly.
Post-First Session Email Follow-up
After you’ve marked your first session with new clients as ‘complete’, we will send out a follow-up email to you (as well as to parents) asking for feedback on the session.
Please respond to this email and let us know if there are any obvious issues that we need to discuss. If you don't like working with the client, feel that it's a bad match, or already find yourself sensing trouble... now is the time to tell us and head things off before they get bad.
If all is good - and it generally is - you don't need to go into detail. A response as short as ‘everything went fine’ is good enough.
Tutor Check-ins (Call / Zoom)
Once a semester or so we’ll get in touch with you to invite you for a brief chat. This call allows us to get a sense of your availability, to check in on anything we should be aware of, and to see if it may be a good time to ask any of your clients to leave us a review.
Although these calls are not mandatory, we find that a bit of face to face (or at least voice-to-voice) interaction helps foster a sense of community and help us remember who we are behind the screens.
