Do This One Thing To Relieve Stress and Chaos In Your Child Care Business.
Do you feel like your child care program is always chaotic and stressful no matter what is going on? You’re not alone. Many leaders and directors feel like they can’t ever get a handle on the day-to-day operations.
Although there are a few things you cannot control, such as behavior challenges, illnesses, and staff call-outs, there is one thing you can do to take your childcare business from chaos to a well-oiled machine.
That is to implement systems and processes. A system is a set of procedures, an organized framework or method, in which something is done. Implementing a few systems in your business can make everything run more smoothly and efficiently.
Here are a few systems to implement.
Assign people different roles and responsibilities
Have an opener or one person who opens the center or school every morning. Their duties might be to turn on all the lights, adjust the thermostats, and make the bleach bottles.Assign a closing teacher or floater the responsibility to check all windows and doors, adjust thermostats, and dump the mops, for example.Assign roles to each staff member and train them from the beginning to know how to properly perform the task they have been assigned.
For example, I have an afternoon floater who knows every day that her job is to clean the staff bathroom, sweep and mop the halls, finish the laundry, and clean all the doors.
All teachers are taught upon hiring how to clean their rooms at the end of the day.
Dividing responsibilities among staff members will take some much-needed weight off of your shoulders.
2. Use templates for different aspects of your business to save you time
Have a welcome email template you send to new enrollments and new staff members. Have an email template saved for inquiries, the waiting list, and any other letter or email you may send on a regular basis. Organize them in folders in google drive or dropbox for easy access.3. Create a Drop Off & Pick-Up Process
When enrolling new families, give parents instructions on how and where to drop off their child, where to put their child’s belongings, and how to check or sign their child in and out each day.
4. Child management system
Choose a software such as Brightwheel, Procare, or Himamma to keep track of student data, communicate to parents, manage enrollment, track ratios, manage staff, and collect tuition payments. Using software will simplify your daily management processes so that you can spend more time serving your families.
5. Hiring and training process
Develop a system to use when hiring. Have an ad template to use for each time you need to post an available position. Use the same process for interviewing and welcoming your new hire. Have an orientation format that you always use during onboarding and training. Consider making training videos to show your new team members.
Conclusion:
These are just a few of many systems you can create in your daycare, center, or preschool. Having these systems in place will allow you to have a more organized and less chaotic day-to-day routine. The more you can replicate a process and the more you can delegate and assign responsibilities, the more seamless flow you will have in your business. Knowing that everything will be done automatically is such a stress reliever and allows you to focus on the important things of your business.
Don’t forget to grab my FREE Returning to Child Care COVID Guide for 2022 to help determine when children, parents, and staff can return to child care after a positive case.
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