The first non-teaching person most schools hire is described as a receptionist: answer the phone, greet parents, keep the desk tidy.
Six months later the owner is still doing the follow-up calls, still chasing the unpaid invoices, and still wondering why the new hire has not made the difference they expected.
The job that pays for itself
A front desk is necessary and it is not a growth role. The role that pays for itself owns two things end to end:
Every enquiry until it converts or dies. Logged the day it arrives, followed up on a schedule, and closed with a reason. Not "I called them once."
Every invoice until it is paid. Sent on time, reminded automatically, escalated by a written rule.
Both are jobs with a number attached. That is what makes them hirable, reviewable, and worth a salary.
Hire for follow-through, not warmth
Warmth is easy to interview for and nearly useless as a predictor. What you need is someone who finishes things they cannot see the end of.
Two questions that work better than any personality read:
- "Tell me about a time you had to chase somebody repeatedly for something they owed. What did you actually do?" You are listening for a system, not persistence as a character trait.
- "A parent says they will decide next week. What happens next?" The right answer contains a date and a written note. The wrong answer is "I wait for them to come back."
Give them the two numbers on day one
Trial-to-enrolment conversion, and money outstanding over 30 days. Both are theirs. Review them weekly, in ten minutes, at a fixed time.
A role without a number is a role where being busy counts as doing well.
That is not micro-management, it is the difference between a job and a seat. And it lets you promote them honestly later, because there is a record.
What still stays with you
Pricing exceptions. Anything involving a child's welfare. Hiring teachers. Firing anybody.
Everything else, hand over properly — which means writing down what happens when an enquiry arrives and what happens when money is late, not narrating it once and hoping.