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Facing a high turnover rate is a significant challenge for childcare programs. It can impact the quality of service you offer, by creating a lack of continuity for children and families, leading to reduced enrollment rates in the long term. It can also drive up your costs, by having to spend more on rehiring and retraining employees.
Identifying the causes of low staff retention in childcare programs and the early education sector can help you understand how to protect your program. In this article, we will explore the key causes of high turnover, and also discuss 7 effective childcare staff retention strategies to help you build long-lasting, productive collaborations.
Table of contents
- What are the main retention issues affecting childcare?
- Why is staff retention important?
- 7 effective staff retention strategies
- Building long-lasting relationships
What are the main retention issues affecting childcare?
In the U.S., the turnover rate among early childhood educators is at 33% according to research published in the Early Childhood Education Journal. The turnover rate varies depending on the area and the socioeconomic background of the families, the age of the children the program is aimed at, and other such characteristics. There are three main issues that affect childcare staff retention rates across the board:
Work stress
The job of early childhood educators is both physically and mentally challenging. Ensuring the children in their care are safe, well-looked after, and engaging in creative activities that help them develop and learn is highly demanding. On top of this, the educators often have a long list of administrative duties.
A key aspect of this is the staff-to-child ratio. The more children one educator has to care for, the more likely they are to experience stress and even result in teacher burnout that will drive them away from the childcare sector.
On top of these intense circumstances, these problems have intensified after the COVID pandemic. According to Education Week, 84% of instructors that participated in their research on staff retention reported that they found teaching more stressful after the pandemic than before. Members of staff with health problems and weaker immunity had to return to a very high-risk work environment. This contributes to an increased feeling of insecurity regarding work in childcare programs.
Low salaries
Early childhood educators are paid less than educators working with older children. A recent report by the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment found that “early educators face severe pay penalties for working with younger children in all states, with poverty rates an average of 7.7 times higher than teachers in the K-8 system”.
Lower salaries may lead childcare educators to take on additional employment in other fields like retail to make ends meet and cover the increasing costs of living, which compounds the stress of their work. Lower salaries can also contribute to feeling underappreciated, which can drive even the most committed educators to look for other career opportunities.
Limited opportunities for growth
Despite the challenging circumstances and low pay, early childhood educators are deeply passionate professionals who care for the children they work with and want to make a positive impact on their development.
The lack of opportunities for professional development and support by childcare programs for educators to receive additional training can contribute to educators feeling stuck in their career. This feeling of stagnation can compound the burnout and feelings of underappreciation, leading educators to look for employment in a different sector where they can be more hopeful about their future professional development.
Why is staff retention important?
Successful staff retention has significant benefits for your childcare program, improving both the children’s experience and the financial health of your business.
Beneficial for children and families
Staff retention is important in order to provide a stable learning environment for the children in your care and to maintain consistent relationships with the families you work with. High staff turnovers mean that the families experience frequent personnel changes, disrupting their ability to build a long term relationship of trust. This can impact enrollment rates for consecutive years, with families seeking alternatives in other child care programs where they can get more continuity and stability.
Efficient childcare program operations
Maintaining high levels of childcare staff retention is important to ensure the efficient use of your resources. Beyond the loss of potential income if it impacts on enrollment rates, high turnover in staff also brings additional costs for your childcare program. You need to spend more resources on recruitment to attract new applicants on a frequent basis, and to train and onboard them. A successful staff retention strategy will lead to significant benefits in the long term. According to a study by Education Resources Strategy (ERS), the rate of turnover drops significantly for experienced educators, down to 17-20%, compared to 30% for new teachers. By increasing your staff retention, you will see the potential costs diminishing over time.
7 effective staff retention strategies
Now that we understand the causes of turnovers and the importance of staff retention, let’s discuss strategies you can explore to develop a sustainable and strong relationship with the educators and build a thriving childcare program.
Start with effective onboarding
Staff retention starts from the very beginning of your collaboration with a new educator in your program. Successful onboarding can have a big impact on how new teachers engage with their job and shape their outlook for the future.
Start by communicating the core values of your program and the reason behind your policies and practices with your educators from the very beginning. This transparency will ensure that educators have a clear understanding of what is expected of them and why.
Being clear on your values and policies can help you attract the right educators to your program from the get-go. Communicating your values and ways of working to prospective hires means that you are more likely to receive applications from those who share your vision and would enjoy this work environment.
When onboarding new hires, understanding your vision and way of operating means that they will start to feel more invested in your childcare program’s mission and goals, integrating them into the work culture. In fact, research shows that a strong onboarding process can increase staff retention by up to 82%.
Provide adequate compensation
Providing compensation that makes your employees feel secure and motivated is core to your staff retention strategy. While paying higher salaries and benefits is a significant cost, it is an investment in the long-term success of your childcare program. Research by the Regional Educational Laboratory confirms that childcare programs that pay higher wages to their educators have lower turnover rates than those who pay lower wages. Investing in higher compensation will save you money on rehiring and retraining new employees, while also ensuring that your program’s quality constantly improves.
Start by conducting market research to ensure the salaries you provide are aligned with industry standards, as a baseline. Consider if you can pay your educators above industry standards, to attract and retain top talent.
Of course, it may not always be financially viable to go above industry standards. An important part of your retention strategy is to have a clear structure in place for future pay increases, for example based on time served or performance. By communicating this clearly with your employees, you can give them a clear sense of what they can do to increase their future earnings, and to see a longer-term prospect in continuing to work at your childcare program.
Show your appreciation
Ensuring your educators know that their efforts and accomplishments are acknowledged and valued is core to a successful staff retention strategy. It is sometimes easy to assume that employees already know how much you value their work and appreciate them. Showing them your appreciation frequently, and often publicly, can serve as a very important reminder and source of work satisfaction. It helps your teachers focus on something positive about their work and their work environment, and know that their efforts are being seen and appreciated.
You can implement more public recognition programs, such as announcing a “Teacher of the Month” or announcing their achievements in newsletters to the families. Private recognition and appreciation is also immensely powerful: saying “thank you” to your staff on a daily basis, remembering their birthdays or work anniversaries, showing that you care and respect them as coworkers. Here are 75 Staff Appreciation Ideas so you can find the ones that work best for your team.
Improve communication
Building and maintaining strong communication channels with your team can significantly help with staff retention. This starts with the onboarding process, but ensuring it continues throughout the year is important to build a collaborative relationship, where your team knows that their concerns and contributions are heard and taken into account.
Setting specific regular opportunities to meet and talk with your team, sometimes as a group and other times one-to-one, ensures that there is a context in which they can share information that helps you stay on top of knowing their needs and feedback. Being proactive about identifying their needs means that your staff is less likely to look elsewhere for a different childcare facility that will cater to them more.
Open communication with your team can also mean including them in the decision-making process for your childcare program’s policies and future strategy. This creates a strong sense of investment from the team, knowing that they are part of your center’s success and its long-term vision, so they are more likely to stay in the long term to realize this vision with you.
Finally, open communication can be a great way to have meaningful career conversations with your team. Daily, informal conversations are often rushed and focused on the day-to-day tasks. Setting aside time to check in with your team and discuss their future career goals makes it clear that you are invested in their future and this is not a short-term collaboration.
Support professional development
Once you have discussed your team’s career goals, it is important to follow up with practical support to further develop professionally.
Offering professional development opportunities is a key staff retention strategy, because it shows your team that you are willing to invest in their growth and long-term success. You can offer in-house training opportunities, such as mentorship programs where less experienced staff learns from your experienced educators. This helps newer members of your team grow, while also developing the leadership experience of your mentors. You may also want to consider additional workshops that focus on building skills that your educators have expressed an interest in, and will help them stay up-to-date on the latest industry best practices.
Ensuring your team can set long-term development and career goals means that they have something to aspire towards by staying at your childcare program. This facilitates long-term planning and shows them you are committed to their success.
Reduce the administrative load
Beyond the demands of the classroom, educators are increasingly burdened with a lot of administrative tasks, submitting documentation, filling in forms, etc. These increase their workload, while also distracting your educators from their main task of working with the children.
Consider which part of your administrative process is necessary and if it is worth the time that teachers have to spend in order to stay on top of their paperwork. Identifying unnecessary steps in the administrative process can help reduce the workload on your team and by extension their frustration with their work.
Of course it is not always possible to cut down on administrative tasks. You can make it easier on your team by onboarding tools they need to do the job more effectively and efficiently. The use of childcare management software can help streamline your operations, freeing up more time for your educators to focus on teaching, developing their skills, and getting adequate rest.
Promote a healthy work-life balance
Teaching is a very physically and mentally demanding job. Your staff retention strategy needs to address the stress and even burnout that many educators are facing and citing as a reason for changing jobs.
Consider offering flexible scheduling to your educators when possible. Instead of driving a great educator away because they cannot work on a specific day of the week, be open and consider if you can create a more flexible arrangement with them: perhaps another member of your staff would like to cover that day of the week but take a different day off. Trying to adapt to your team’s life where possible makes it easier for them to continue collaborating with you.
Encourage your teachers to take a personal day or some time off to recharge, before they become exhausted and suffer from burnout. Time off and rest can go a long way in keeping your educators well-rested and able to perform well in providing excellent care for the children.
Building long-lasting relationships
Focusing on engaging with your staff in your childcare program from day one and throughout their professional journey is core to building long-term collaborations and achieving high staff retention. Here are 100 Ideas to Boost Employee Engagement at Your Childcare Center to make it easier to plan creatively.
Investing in communication with your team, catering to their needs, and helping them develop their skills will make your childcare program stronger in the long term. When your employees thrive during their time with you, not only will they stay longer, but your program will thrive as well.
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