Preparing your centre for 2010

Ryan Meldrum, Expect A Star

If you are a childcare centre owner or you are planning to acquire a centre then planning for 2010 should be at the top of your agenda.

There are many things you can do now to ensure you are well prepared for the coming year. By formulating a simple recruitment, marketing and training strategy you will ensure your centre is in the best possible position for 2010. Planning areas to be considered include covering for your staff’s annual leave, staff training requirements and how best to market your centre for the coming year.

Planning for your Staff’s Annual Leave – no last minute stress or headaches!

Each year your employees will take a minimum of four weeks annual leave. How do you cover for this? Do you have a casual pool or a trusted agency you can call on? Here are some tips that can make your planning ahead a lot easier –

• At the beginning of each calendar year, provide all of your staff with a calendar in the staff room for them to nominate the leave they would like to take that year. Whilst not all staff may know when they want to take leave, you will be surprised to find out that staff will then tend to start thinking about their holidays which will give you more notice.

• If you rely on a casual pool of your own, touch base with them regularly, especially at the end of the year to ensure you get their availability well in advance and this is updated before you start the New Year.

• In the absence of a reliable casual pool, ring your preferred relief staff agency and ask if they provide reduced rates provided you book early. This is something many centres are unaware of but can help save you a substantial amount on staff expenditure just through being organised

Marketing your centre – how can you reach as many parents as possible?

More than ever childcare centres are competing for enrolments. The modern reality is that when parents are searching for care, they are searching online. Parents can now browse online the centres in their local area looking at pictures, centre descriptions, program information, fees and vacancies - effectively assisting parents to create a shortlist in which to visit.

In order to compete for enrolments it is imperative that you effectively market your centre and here is how you can do it –

• Get listed on a childcare centre search website - the more information you provide and the higher up the listing you appear, the more chance your centre has of making a parents’ visit shortlist.

• Ensure that you promote things such as your centre logo, photos, information about early learning programs, fees, vacancy information, and what your centre offers that others may not (nappies, formula, etc). This can be the difference when a parent is deciding whether or not to visit your centre.

With Kate Ellis, the Minister for Early Childhood Education, Child Care and Youth, announcing on August 6, 2009 that “all child care services from next week will be required to report the number of vacant places for each day of the week”, there has never been a better time to market yourself on a comprehensive childcare centre search website.

Professional Development – workshops offsite or in the comfort of your Centre

Often employees get the most out of training when the training they attend is either tailored to their particular stage of career development, fills a knowledge gap or provides the knowledge required to propel them to the next level. In order to facilitate this, knowledge of both the employee’s stage of development and the range of training options available is essential.

When you are planning your staff professional development for the year, keep the following things in mind -

• Think about each individual employee and identify knowledge gaps as well as areas where you feel improvement is required.

• Discuss and consult with each staff member the type of training they would like to do, as this will give a clear indication of the direction in which the employee would like to head.

• Research Training and Educational organisations to get a sound understanding of the type of training options available for your staff.

• Pairing the type of training required with the type of training available will provide the basis for your training schedule.

The adage ‘If you fail to plan, you plan to fail’ is decidedly relevant for a childcare setting. Plan now and you will be well placed come January 2010.

For further information relating to recruitment, marketing and training strategies feel free to contact Expect A Star on 1300 669 653.

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