It would be beneficial for schools to have the ability to set a default display name for staff in parent-facing communications, independently of the staff member's core HR record.
Currently, emails sent to parents display the name stored in the HR record, which may not always be the name staff are known by professionally. For example, some staff use a preferred name or middle name on a day-to-day basis, which can cause confusion when parents receive emails from an unfamiliar name.
While it is possible to change the display name on individual emails, this relies on staff remembering to make the change each time and can lead to inconsistency.
A useful enhancement would be to allow schools to define a default communication name for each member of staff, or alternatively apply a standardised naming format across the school, such as:
John Smith → J. Smith
Sarah Jane Brown → Sarah Brown
William Thomas Jones → Tom Jones
This display name would be used only for parent-facing communications and would not affect the underlying HR record.
Benefits:
Reduces confusion for parents and guardians.
Supports staff who use preferred names rather than their legal or HR-recorded names.
Allows schools to adopt a consistent communication style.
Preserves the integrity of HR records while improving flexibility for communications.
Eliminates the need for staff to manually adjust their display name on individual emails.
