Besides having a set of barn rules that you can post in a well-trafficked area of the barn, here are a few other ideas that can help keep everyone informed. You want your customers to feel that they are a part of your barn community and keeping open lines of communications is one of the best ways to achieve this.

1. Number one and most important is to start with a clear and concise Horse Boarding Contract. Make sure you sit down with each new boarder and read the contract together so that there is little if any misinterpretation. This is the time to ask questions by both parties involved.
2. A simple and easy way to keep everyone on the same page when it comes to tracking events from lessons and training to upcoming shows and clinics is through the use of Google Calendar. It is free, easy to learn and you can add others as contributors for updates, adds and changes to the calendar.
3. You can create a Customer Email Distribution List by including the email address of all your customers making it easy to keep everyone informed. In fact you can create several, for instance, one for horse boarders and another for lesson only clients. It makes it a whole lot easier than typing in each address every time you want to send out information to all your customers.
4. Everyone has ideas on how to make improvements and what better way to gain input from your customers than to install a Suggestion Box. It is simple to make and demonstrates your willingness as a business owner to listen to what your customers have to say.
5. A great way to communicate easily with all your customers at one time is to create Facebook Private Groups. A private group allows you to invite only those that are your current customers and will not be viewed by those not part of the group. It is an excellent way to get everyone talking to one another and can build great camaraderie at the barn.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention LaRaedo Barn Management Software which is another method to stay connected with your horse boarders and combines all of the above into one simple location. And it also includes an automated invoicing feature. As a horse boarder, I would be willing to have my board increased by a few bucks to have access to such a service. Another way to build revenue, stay organized and keep open those communication lines.

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What are the methods that you use to keep everyone informed on lessons, horse shows, or training progress?

I have noticed the many farms have a large white board at the main entrance with all upcoming information. Often the white board gets smudged and faded making it nearly impossible to read.

Or there is the monthly calendar where the squares never seem big enough for the various activities and erasing just makes things more eligible.

Ideally, the farm owner has a website that is updated on a regular basis and everyone simply knows to go to the website to get the latest information.

The bottom line is that all horse-boarding farms need a good method to keep everyone informed. It eliminates confusion, increases employee performance and builds horse boarder confidence.

There is nothing more frustrating for an employee than not knowing what tasks are to be completed each day.

When a horse farm owner clearly communicates their ideas so that the employee definitely knows what is asked of them, the employee will ultimately perform their job better.

Precise communication of farm tasks provides employees with a better understanding of what is expected. This in turn will create more effective performance and ultimately increase boarder loyalty and profit.

The reason why I write this blog on communication is because I have put together a method that will afford the farm owner another way to communicate with their employees so that there is no misunderstanding of responsibilities.

The LaRaedo software supplies a tool that clearly maps out daily tasks so that everyone knows what needs to done and what has been completed in any given day.

This work endeavor is funneled to the horse-boarding customer and they in turn will see the employee’s completed tasks for their horse. It ensures confidence and a feeling of comfort knowing that their horse is receiving such diligent care.

I know that there are many different methods to achieve similar results. Mine is just one method of finding ways to share a workload and have a singular location to keep employees and customers informed.

Website updates, white boards and horse calendars for the barn are some ways to do this.

What methods do you use on your horse farm to help everyone stay connected?

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