The workforce landscape in the early childhood industry has been under attack for several years. There is a common sentiment of a hazy fog covering our schools. In this fog, teachers are less engaged and excited about their impact in the classroom. Leaders are burnt out from a revolving wheel of recruiting and staff demands. School owners are tired of competing with other industries to defend the prestige of working at a child care center.

This “fog” is having an effect on our ability to attract, engage, and retain staff. And so, I invite you to take some time to reenergize every aspect of your school and develop an informed strategy to secure growth, fortify revenue, and solve the people crisis. 

Win the Shift: Move from Recruiting to Attracting

“Only 22 percent of organizations have an informed strategy on how to attract, engage, and retain. For the child care industry, this number is actually less at 8 percent” (Wessinger, 2022). In addition to our lack of strategy, we have become more and more desperate to hire, causing us to allocate our resources incorrectly.

“Most companies spend 86 percent of their resources and time on recruiting, yet only 4 percent on engagement and 10 percent on retention” (Wessinger, 2022). It is clear to see that when time is allocated in this manner, the important people retention piece receives the leftovers of our leaders’ time and energy.

Leaders can tap into their workforce to build sustainability in their organization through a lens of understanding (alignment of values, hopelessness, desire for creativity and innovation) and priorities can shift to be retention-focused. When this occurs, there is a lifting of the fog and an organic approach to recruitment occurs, giving leaders the ability to focus on how to keep their employees engaged and happy. 

As energized leaders spend more time on the employee work experience, they face fewer obstacles—for example, the need for scheduling around low staffed crews due to high levels of staff callouts, and the pressure to entice quality staff to remain in their positions.  

The following engagement and retention techniques can help your program create this shift: activate the voice, build community, mentorship, mental health, and  leadership development.

Activate the Voice of the Employee

When we activate the voice of our employees with intention inside our organizations, it gives our employees meaning behind their work. When they feel heard and respected, they will be energized to come to work and engage in helping move the company forward. When we activate their voice, they will share what makes them want to work for our company, and reflect on what keeps them loyal. We can use that information to make sure that these positive qualities are reflected to potential future employees—for example on your website or social media channels.

Tips on activating the voice of your employees: 

1. Host quarterly events that allow employees the opportunity to present ideas on how to elevate the company. Work toward implementing ideas that align with your company vision. 
2. Survey staff regularly and utilize the survey results to improve the employee work experience. Build a time for organizational feedback into employees’ professional development or coaching sessions.
3. Conduct exit interviews when employees leave, in order to gather input on any areas in your organization that are lacking. 

Build a Community of Purpose

The pandemic has been a catalyst to elevate personal purpose and values. Employee engagement is completely contingent on community of purpose. Today’s employees want to be actively engaged in their purpose and work for an organization that prioritizes this community of purpose, both internally and externally.

“Gartner surveyed more than 3,500 employees around the world in October 2021, and 65 percent said the pandemic had made them rethink the place that work should have in their life and 56 percent said it made them want to contribute more to society” (Wiles, 2022). People want purpose in their lives—and that includes in their work. Organizations that tap into those areas employees want to contribute to, and create programs for giving back or volunteering, are able to build a culture and community of purpose. 

Ways to build a sense of community within our organizations: 

1. Survey staff to determine social issues they are passionate about and consider supporting some of those causes (donate a percentage of revenue, volunteer at an aid warehouse on a weekend, host food drives, support programs that provide mental health awareness).  
2. Establish committees that tap into employee passions.
3. Consider flexible schedules and part-time options to allow employees to allocate time for volunteerism and advocacy pursuits.
4. Do not try to appeal to all, but make sure passions and causes align with the organizational vision. 

Mentorship

“Eighty-one percent of employees state that mentorship is essential to their growth and success, yet 94 percent of companies say they do not have a mentorship program/structure” (Wessinger, 2022).

Mentorship programs serve to empower employees to achieve their development goals. Skills can be developed, mentees can learn how to make better decisions, and even gain new perspectives on life and career. In mentorship programs, the mentor’s experience is leveraged, and the opportunities for reflection are abundant.

When developing a mentorship program, keep in mind that employees are not just looking for one-on-one mentorship anymore, but often small groups of three to five people. These small mentorship groups allow for people to gather and talk about their challenges and ideas with their peers—
it also helps prevent feelings of subject matter insecurity or professional isolation. To build a culture of mentorship: 

1. Place all new hires in a mentorship program in their first year of employment. 
2. Provide premiums in wage for employees that volunteer to lead mentorship groups.
3. Provide ample time for mentorship groups, reflection and feedback, so that the process truly serves the goals of its participants. 
4. Ensure a level of accountability and follow-up with all employees involved in mentorship groups.

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Mental Health

Employees want to work for organizations that are empathetic on the topic of mental health. Mental health is a major area of contention/conflict in organizations.

“Seventy-seven percent [of employees] suffer from mental health issues; 17 percent feel hopeless about life; 15 percent considered suicide” (Wessinger, 2022).

Now more than ever, our organizations need to develop and offer a proactive mental health strategy. As our teams are less able to cope with anxiety and stress, we are finding they are unable to follow through at work and engage with our children. Most importantly, our leaders have not been equipped with how to manage all the mental health issues arising in our schools. This is causing a great burden on our site directors and other leadership, as they feel inadequate to lead their teams. 

Strategies for supporting employee mental health:

1. Provide a space in your school that allows for decompression.  
2. Support your leaders by organizing trainings on how to deal with mental health in the workplace.
3. Invite community mental health specialists to speak with your staff on topics of interest.
4. Offer a certain amount of counseling sessions per year or offsite/virtual support groups in your benefits package. 

Leadership Development

Seventy-three percent of employees want to develop into leaders, but most companies would rather hire from the outside rather than develop leaders inside (Wessinger, 2022). Simply identifying the employees that want to experience leadership development is step one. Then invest in them now, even if you do not presently have positions available for employees to advance. Do not fear that if you invest today, they will leave tomorrow. The more you invest and develop, the more likely they will stay with you. Plus, while you have them for “this season” of time, they will be more dedicated and determined to make an impact. Consider:

1. Career path options that are easily laid out for advancement. 
2. Empowering teachers to lead their classrooms; empowering float and part time staff to be leaders of how their time is allocated and how they can influence the areas they support. 
3. Invest in employees that want to eventually run their own schools. Do not be afraid of their ambition. Harness their talents while they’re with your program.

As your program leadership gives focus to these five areas—activate the voice, build community, mentorship, mental health, and leadership development—you will see employees engaging with increased enthusiasm. The effects of this engagement will boost staff retention, allowing for our leaders to spend their time less on recruitment, and more on the employee work experience, growth and development, and moving the company forward. 

References

Wiles, J. (2022). Employees Increasingly Seek Value and Purpose at Work. Gartner. gartner.com

Wessinger, K. (2022). 3 WINS! Attract, Engage, and Retain Millennial Employees and Clients: Strategy Guide. create2elevate.