The success of your child care center hinges upon a number of key factors. In addition to your enrollments, your center can not thrive unless you provide quality child care services and hire quality staff.

 

This post will discuss how the nature of your management of your employees can make or break the success of your childcare business. While many tend to believe that high enrollment numbers are what drive success, it’s also the quality of your child care staff that helps to attract families to your center. When parents and children are happy, they’re far more likely to send their friends and family your way than any marketing campaign could hope to do.

 

According to The National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA), word-of-mouth recommendations are responsible for up to 50 percent of all childcare enrollments! This is where the importance of effective management of your childcare staff comes into play.

 

Read on and learn some tips to help you manage your childcare staff successfully and effectively.

 

Hire the best people

Proper staff management starts with the hiring process. If you don’t bring high-quality employees on board to work at your childcare center, you are more likely to fail before you even start. While the recruitment and training of your staff may eat up a significant portion of your child care center’s resources and time, remember that hiring sub-par employees will result in wasted resources, effort, and time.

 

As you review your applicants’ qualifications, look beyond their experience and education. You also need to learn about each candidate’s childcare philosophy, character traits, and skills. Having a skilled set of people in your corner will only make your childcare services better, and yield higher enrollments in the long run.

 

Make your employees’ needs your priority

Remember that each of your staff members also comes with their own sets of concerns that need to be considered. Child care services are labor-intensive, and the happiness of your staff members is vital to your center’s success. Therefore, it’s essential that you prioritize the needs of your childcare workers, which will allow them to provide high-quality services to your enrollees.

 

Prioritizing the needs of your employees means listening to their feedback, concerns, and needs. Take time to listen to their ideas and thoughts as they relate to your childcare operations. Ensure that employees receive worthy benefits and that their hard work is appreciated. Also, be sure to provide staff members with a variety of opportunities for growth and career development.

 

Offer competitive payment packages

When it comes to offering competitive payment packages, you don’t necessarily need to pay high wages.. “Competitive pay” is not always synonymous with a high salary. It also equates to quality benefits and overall job satisfaction. It’s only right that you provide your employees with good compensation that recognizes the importance of their hard work, and its impact on your business.

 

Maintain honest and open communication

Open communication is a two-way street and requires effort on both ends of the spectrum. Therefore, it’s essential that you display honest and open communication with child care staff members consistently. Improving your internal communication methods will help your employees feel valued, which will in turn help them become a more engaged and cohesive team.

 

In order to establish and maintain consistent communication among your staff, you might need to schedule regular staff meetings and sessions that allow for feedback from your employees. You might also consider scheduling occasional staff outings and social events to enhance professional relationships among employees.

 

Make sure your staff members are not overworked

Overworked employees can have a negative direct effect on the quality of services offered at your center. When staff is overworked and morale is low, it can reduce overall efficiency, and can even result in sickness and burnout. Make sure your staff members are not overworked by following these tips:

 

  • Give employees adequate breaks
  • Schedule staggered shifts instead of having employees work straight through the day
  • Provide training opportunities on early child development and child care practices
  • Incorporate a rewards and recognition system for excellent work

 

Invest in professional development for staff members

Staff training is beneficial for both the members of your staff and the children in their care. It’s essential that you invest in your employees by allocating funds in your budget for educational opportunities. This will allow employees to attend training or seminars that enhance their knowledge about their important work with children.

 

Setting your staff up for success will result in success for your child care center. Follow these tips and strategies, and you’ll be on your way to managing your staff more efficiently and effectively.

 

LCCM is trusted by hundreds of child care centers across the United States. We’re focused on driving results for each of our members. We offer integrated digital and offline marketing solutions, specifically designed for a child care business like yours. Visit our website and learn more about how we can help you.