6 Tips for Hiring Educators

Like most childcare providers, you’re probably looking for new staff members at your centre. Hiring and retaining quality childcare staff is a prominent issue facing the industry. Now more than ever, providers are looking for employees who will help their centre grow and flourish by adopting their core values and mission. The process of hiring new childcare staff can be tedious and time-consuming. It can be hard to know where to look for qualified candidates and even harder to figure out how to get them to stay. 

To help make this process easier and allow you to find the staff that you need, we outlined helpful tips to set you apart and find the staff members you need. When you’re staffed at full capacity, the quality of care for your children improves and you can focus on growing your business. Keep reading to learn more about hiring childcare staff. 

What Current Hires are Looking For

Hiring staff is a pressing topic for childcare providers. There’s a range of circumstances that have affected the current hiring process. For today’s candidates, flexibility is most important. Staff members are expecting flexible hours and generous time off. However, this is not feasible for all childcare centres. 

During this time, it’s important to think outside of the box. It might not be ideal, but hiring multiple part-time employees instead of full-time employees can help you fill in the gaps. Throughout this process, be sure to follow your centre’s mission and vision. This will help you stay focused on the right candidates. 

If you’re finding you’re still not able to hire quality employees, check out the helpful tips below.

Tips for Hiring Quality Childcare Employees

1. Host call back nights

o   During these sessions, take the time to call back any new applicants as well as past employees who might be interested in re-joining your centre. This will widen your pool of applicants and give quality past employees a chance to come back to your centre. 

2. Utilise a CRM

o  Use a CRM to track new and old candidates. This will make it easy to set up applicants on a drip campaign and keep them engaged duringthe hiring process.

3. Offer bonuses for referrals

o  Try offering an incentive through a sign-on or referral bonus. These types of bonuses can be constructed in a multitude of ways. As an example, you can offer asign-on bonus of $500 for new hires once they reach 60 days of employment. When it comes to a referral bonus, you can offer your current employees a bonus of$500 once their referral reaches their sixtieth day of employment.

o  These bonuses can be customised to what works best for you and your centre.

4. Be flexible with schedules

o  Hiring multiple people to get you to full capacity might be overwhelming at first. However, this will ensure you have enough staff and leaves room for schedules to open up. 

5. Start a mentor program 

o Assign mentors for new staff members at your centre to help them learn the ropes and quickly become engrossed in your community.

6. Ask current staff members to write a review‍

Testimonials from happy staff members will go a long way when hiring new staff. Potential employees want to know they’re entering a positive work environment when job searching and will be eager to join your centre and your community. 

We hope these tips and tricks help you along your journey to becoming a fully staffed and thriving centre!

 
Free Sample Interview Questions for Hiring Educators

Download this flyer to help your centre with hiring educators aligned with your goals. Fill out the form below and we’ll send you the template via email.

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