Is Your Arts Ed Program Ready to Scale? Check These 4 Indicators

Many arts organizations have mandates to grow their education programs. Offering more classes means reaching more people (at least theoretically) and bringing in more revenue means you can reinvest in your organization's broader mission. But too often growth happens too fast; programs haven't taken steps to set themselves up for success and teams end up overwhelmed, resources end up overstretched, and promising programs go the way of the Dodo bird. Fortunately, there’s a way to get the benefits of growth while avoiding the pitfalls. Scaling balances growth and sustainability to keep programs healthy as they get bigger. 

What follows is a simple checklist to help you determine if your education program is ready to scale. We’ll offer adjustments you can make to better prepare your program or restore balance to programs already stressed by growth. We’ll also give you a look at how to scale with intention when you’re ready to do so.

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First: Defining "scaling" vs. "growing:

People often confuse scaling and growing, sometimes with disastrous results. Growth is a linear process of getting bigger, usually by investing more money or time into something. This can be a good thing! But growing without preparing for the additional cost and administrative work involved can generate short-term gains with often unforeseen long-term costs. 

An organization that hires five new instructors and rents additional space to offer more classes is growing. An organization that asks its current instructors to each teach twice as many classes is also growing. But, in both cases, simply adding more classes may not be sustainable. Growth like this can put a strain on an organization that isn’t ready for it.

By contrast, scaling is an exponential expansion. It efficiently uses resources to increase reach while minimizing the cost in time and resources. A program that streamlines its class registration and payment process by introducing an online registration tool before attempting to expand its class offerings is able to serve more students without overwhelming the administrative staff.

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4 Factors that indicate your program is ready to scale

Just like you wouldn’t start painting without first prepping the canvas, you shouldn’t try to scale without making sure your program is prepared for expansion. Your people, workflows and systems need to be ready to handle the change. 

If the following four factors apply to your program, it may be ready to scale. If not, the bullet points in each section can help you identify areas for improvement.

1. Staff members are trained and supported

Start by checking in with your people. A team that is already overextended may not have the capacity to support expansion, but staff who are trained and supported can likely handle the short-term stresses of scaling. 

• Staff are trained in processes, procedures and software. Staff have been onboarded thoughtfully and receive refreshers and updates throughout the year so they feel confident in their work and can do it well.
• Volunteers are reliable. They bring skills and attitudes that support paid staff. Volunteers are recruited, trained and managed in ways that avoid creating extra work for paid staff. This creates more capacity on the team and creates room for expansion.
• Work is as flexible as possible. Staff have access to as many opportunities for remote work, cross-training and flex schedules as possible. They are trusted to manage their own time and energy so they can more easily take on new work.
• Restful time off is encouraged. The program has cultivated a culture that respects time off and encourages employees to use vacation or sick days as needed. Well-rested employees are more likely be creative and handle change gracefully.

If you see signs of burnout or overwhelm in your team, settle that issue first before you attempt to scale. Staff who are well-rested and feel that the organization trusts and supports them are more likely to be enthusiastic supporters of expansion projects.

2. Core workflows are optimized

Scaling is much more successful if your team is already working as efficiently as possible. This not only frees up resources to enable scaling, it also helps avoid burnout. Ask your team about the tasks that feel most frustrating or repetitive for them. These are ideal areas for workflow optimization. 

• Processes have been simplified where possible. Unnecessary steps and repetition have been removed. Technology has been introduced where needed to free staff to focus on the demands of expansion.
• Communication is centralized. The team uses group chat and calendar tools like Google, Teams, or Slack to help them stay connected while navigating change. (Note: these tools are often free or low-cost to nonprofits.)

• Software is integrated. Often-used software tools are integrated and data has been centralized to improve efficiency and help avoid errors. This is especially important as the volume of data grows due to added classes or headcount.
• Standard operating procedures are in place. Team members have access to SOPs so they can remember how to do infrequent tasks or fill in for each other where necessary. That way work gets done even if some staff are pulled away to support scaling.
• Templates and forms have been created. Customizable email templates, registration forms and checklists have been designed and tested. This cuts down on duplicate work and gives your program a sense of polish even as it grows. 

Optimized work flows create consistency across the program. They minimize frustration so team members have the energy to devote to change and growth.

3. Tasks that can be automated have been automated

Mailing information packets to each student or manually managing a waiting list can eat up time and energy. Manual tasks are not scalable because each one must be done by hand. Programs that are ready to scale have automated rote tasks, freeing teams to exercise creativity and problem solving skills for expansion. 

• Class registration and payment processing is self-service, online, and mobile-friendly so students can manage their own registration online, anytime. This helps small teams manage a high volume of registrations easily.
• Email lists have been thoughtfully segmented to enable easy communication with groups or the entire student base. Standard communications like welcome packets or class cancellation emails can be sent automatically to avoid getting bogged down as volume increases.
• Waiting lists are automated. Students are automatically notified by email when a spot opens up for them and are able to accept the invitation online without calling the office. This lets staff focus on growth rather than scrambling to fill existing classes.
• Payment plans are pre-loaded. Plans can be presented as a standard payment option on big-ticket classes, with credit cards automatically charged on a pre-determined schedule. This helps keep your cashflow strong to fund expansion projects.
• Social media and email scheduling make it easy to share information about upcoming classes and communicate with students. This keeps your communication channels consistent so you can capture and hold the attention of students.

4. Goals and expectations are aligned

Before you attempt to expand your program, make sure you know how that course of action fits into the greater goals and mission of your organization. The broader organization may need to make some investment to support scaling. Your board of directors or other stakeholders may have expectations about the return they’ll get for this investment. Align your plans with theirs to make sure there are no misunderstandings. 

• Program goals and mission are aligned with the wider organization. Consider how scaling your program fits into the big picture for the organization. Getting clear on this can help you sell your scaling plan to leadership, and makes them more likely to help when expansion gets challenging.
• At least one member of the leadership team supports the program. At least one champion among the board or executives advocates for the program among stakeholders and donors. Your ideas for expansion will go a lot further with a champion or two in your corner.
• Metrics demonstrate community impact. Specific community impact metrics measure program success and can be used to monitor efforts to scale.

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Get your arts education program ready to scale

Being ready to scale is rarely something that happens by accident. It takes focused effort and intention by program leaders and staff. The good news is that every effort you make in that direction helps your program become healthier and more resilient. Supporting staff, optimizing work flows, automating tasks, and aligning goals and expectations with the broader organization helps your program thrive regardless of when and how you plan to scale.