Independent Article

The benefits of using consultants opposed to management companies

Childcare Sales Australia welcomes back Conny Schmidt – renowned childcare industry expert and Managing Director of Maximise Childcare Consultancy. Today, Conny shares with us a case study of a childcare business she has recently worked on and talks briefly about the advantages of using consulting professionals to troubleshoot problems in your business rather than using options that lock you into lengthy contracts and unnecessary monthly fees.

Why get locked into Management Contracts with external management companies and PAY FEES for a service you don't need... one off TROUBLESHOOTING your business may be
a more cost effective solution!

There are consultants, Maximise Childcare Consultancy being one of them of course, that specialise in troubleshooting businesses to gain greater efficiencies. A benefit of this method is that you only pay for what you need. There are no lock-in contracts and the project fee will always be specified up front.

www.maximiseconsult.com.au  

Often operators find themselves requiring the support and expertise of a childcare specialist to assist and or support in some part of their business, however many Management services require that you be locked into a contract or agreement, and pay a monthly fee for services, that you usually don't really need on an ongoing basis.

Even more often, operators are astute enough to be able to identify the problem(s) in their business, and can in some cases narrow it down to a specific area, however lack the expertise or time to make changes to rectify the problem. In these cases it makes more sense to seek the support of an expert, to work with you on implementing long term change. In some cases this does not require an ongoing management structure, only an analysis of the problem and a well implemented change strategy.

CASE STUDY

Scenario: Client X operates a high quality service in Tamworth NSW as an investor only, and, being very familiar with the Childcare Industry and its operations, has identified that his bottom line profit was starting to decline, with increased wages being the major contributing factor. The centre Director was also experiencing low morale, and suffering a lot of frustration with the lack of relief staff that were available - an all too familiar story for some.

Agency staff were being used as well as casual staff, and wages were looking like blowing out even further. The owner of this business was certain of the problem however lacked the time and the more detailed childcare expertise to rectify the situation. Maximise was asked to consult with the service to find a solution.

Process: After spending a day on site, and carrying out a business analysis to determine the reasons for the centre’s consistently high wages, we provided the owner with a full report detailing our findings and specific strategies and recommendations to rectify the problem.

Some of the recommendations involved introducing a roster day off system, changing some staff from casual to full time, introducing a trainee into the service as an additional floater to always be on hand when staff call in sick, systemising when and how long staff take leave for, as well as introduce team morale activities, and incentive plans for the staff and Director to work toward. With some Key Performance Indicators in place, they are rewarded on their outcomes.

Whilst these strategies seem simple, it is of course the manner in which they are delivered that makes the difference. Change management can be a handful for anyone so a skilled consultant can often be the best short term solution.

Outcome: With the centre’s Director now hungry for knowledge, and very fond of the environment and the owners, she finds herself happy to work with the new recommendations. With the business showing marked improvements in a very short period time, and with overall wages being reduced, the centre gained more stability with the use of a new roster. More importantly, the use of agency staff lessened dramatically.

Continuing to consult on a phone-support basis only for several months whilst the application of new strategies was monitored, it was only a few months before the centre was able to put into practice the new strategies without any input from the consultant, effectively eliminating further management costs until the next review.

The key to success was the owner and Director’s commitment to high quality, and the early involvement of a consultant. Utilising all three meant that the problem was caught early and failed to have time or opportunity to spiral out of control, inevitably looking to affect other parts of the business.

Should they have left it too long, or tried to handle the issue without the proper support, those issues may have trickled through the business.

With the business now performing well, the owner can be sure that his valuable investment achieves the best sale price.

If this case study sounds like your situation, don’t waste time, contact Maximise Consultancy today and ask for assistance.

THIS BUSINESS IS ALSO FOR SALE

Centre Location: Tamworth, NSW
Lease Details: 20 year lease available
Licenced Places: 46
Occupancy: 95%

Leasehold Price: $630,000.00
Return on Investment: 24%

Please click here for further details