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The job ad is often the first communication a setting has with a potential candidate, and it is an opportunity for a nursery to stand out against its competitors. Nursery Worldasked more than 500 practitioners what they would like to see employers include in job ads, and the answer came loud and clear: pay, hours, and Ts&Cs such as holiday allowance. One practitioner said, ‘I would like to see a real statement about the job and the importance of that role within that team, not just generalised statements from a job description that could describe any role.’
When asked what they would like to know about an organisation before applying, practitioners mentioned staff turnover rates, ethos and culture, Ofsted rating, training and career progression opportunities, and what the setting did to support the well-being of employees. Many thought it would be helpful to hear comments from existing staff about the workplace. Clearly not all of this would fit on a job ad, but settings could consider using the ad to signpost applicants to information.
There is also the question of what job title to advertise for, as they vary from setting to setting. ‘When we are advertising, we have to use a multiplicity of terms or we won’t get picked up by search engines,’ says Zoe Raven, chief executive of Acorn Early Years Foundation. ‘People looking for the same role might search for different job titles.’
WHAT’S IN A TITLE?
Since last August, the London Early Years Foundation has referred to all practitioners as ‘nursery teachers’ to celebrate their professionalism. However, while the term is used in acceptance letters and contracts, it is not used in job ads, says Hellena Ajani, LEYF recruitment officer. ‘We switched back to early years practitioner as we found a lot of applicants did not understand how we were using the term,’ she says.
Although the term is not used in ads, chief executive June O’Sullivan says it has had a positive effect on retention. The organisation attracts a lot of applications, with 800 CVs arriving in May and June alone. ‘They are not all high-quality, but I have heard other nurseries say they are lucky to get ten CVs in a month,’ says Ms O’Sullivan.
However, not all settings believe using ‘teacher’ is the way forward. ‘My staff were all against it,’ says Ms Raven. ‘I can’t imagine qualified teachers in nurseries would be happy about everyone being called teachers, but my main concern is my staff do not think of themselves as teachers. By calling them teachers it feels as if we are buying into that schoolification agenda: I prioritise care over education.’
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The induction period is a vital part of the recruitment process: a badly managed one can result in a setting losing an employee before they have properly started.
‘I have heard so many stories about people leaving within a week or so after they have joined,’ says Osha Daley, senior recruitment executive at Daisy Chain Childcare Recruitment. ‘A bad induction is where they are put in a room and expected to get on with the job; they don’t feel they can approach the manager because there are no lines of communication. We have situations where they call us, as the recruitment agency, to ask what they should be doing. When I have to handhold someone and say “Go to your manager, they won’t bite”, I feel the nursery has failed.’
For Children 1st, the induction procedure is key. Candidates are given a mentor to support them, and have tasks to complete over eight weeks, involving issues such as safeguarding. ‘They have a four-week and eight-week check with HR,’ says Cathy Griffin, director at Children 1st. ‘If they don’t score very highly at week four, we can give them advice on how to improve. We have had young people who have decided in the first four weeks that the role is not for them, or if we see that they are lacking passion or commitment we will have a conversation to say maybe this is not the job for them right now but they could come back again in the future.’
‘We have improved our induction process, and we are now checking on staff well-being earlier on,’ says Ms Raven. ‘We make sure someone from the central support office is meeting with the new employee. What is important is making sure induction is tailored to the needs of different staff members – an apprentice who is new to childcare will need a different induction from the more experienced worker, or someone who is returning to childcare after an absence.’
‘Last year we started a programme where we have an induction day at a nursery every Monday, so five to ten new starters can get a better understanding of our pedagogy and values, where we started and where we are going,’ says Ms Ajani. ‘People say the induction helped them understand their part in the organisation.’
Once the induction process is over, there is still a need to keep staff well-being up. Hungry Caterpillar Day Nurseries, for example, has a wide range of initiatives designed to boost staff retention. Some tap into the feelgood factor: staff are given a day off on their birthday and flowers from the directors, and annual Superstar awards celebrate employee achievements. Others are more strategic, and include training programmes and staff working party groups.
GET TECH
Savvy settings can take advantage of technology by taking a multimedia approach – a jobseeker receiving an ad on their mobile phone can ping their CV off straight away. Recruitment agencies are already doing this. ‘We send messages through WhatsApp, which works really well because of the hours people work,’ says Ms Daley. ‘If we have a job come in, I can send a message to people I think will be interested at any time, not like a phone call.’
Olivia Foley, director of Hungry Caterpillars Day Nursery, says targeted Facebook ads are proving to be one of the most successful ways of attracting applicants. ‘They are a very cheap addition to a recruitment campaign,’ she says. Hungry Caterpillars also has a live chat facility on its website, which is used for communicating with potential staff as well as customers.
‘We get a better result through social media than classic job sites, although word of mouth is still key,’ says Ms Raven. The demographic targeting which Facebook has become notorious for can be used to advantage when it comes to finding groups to focus on: perhaps men, or the over-50s. Certainly as disillusioned staff continue to leave the early years sector en masse, it is vital that new pools of talent are found to replace them
Targeting the over-50s
The NDNA’s most recent survey found many of those leaving the early years sector are the more experienced and older workers. However, the over-50s represent a pool of potentially untapped talent, and some settings are specifically focusing recruitment on this group. ‘We are trying to target mature staff,’ says Acorn Early Years Foundation’s Zoe Raven.
Nurseries trying to target the over-50s face competition. In 1989, B&Q launched a pioneering project by staffing its Macclesfield store entirely with people aged over 50. More recently, Barclays and The Co-op have opened up apprenticeships to people of any age.
Settings can learn from these schemes, says Anne Wilmot, age at work director at Business in the Community, which represents employers who want to respond effectively to the ageing population. ‘We recommend that employers review their current recruitment and hiring practice for any age bias that might be seeping in,’ she says. Business in the Community works closely with Home Instead Senior Care, which employs many older workers: 45 per cent of its employees are 50 to 69 years old.
Home Instead Senior Care has a multi-pronged approach:
Networking in local community groups that tend to have higher numbers of people aged over 50, such as Women’s Institutes, Rotary clubs and church groups.
A dedicated jobs website that prominently features profiles of older people who have gone on to have a second career in the sector.
The company finds Facebook an increasingly useful platform for attracting the over-50s.
It links up with other employers in the locality, such as supermarkets, finding that older workers increasingly want to have two part-time jobs with flexible hours.
It trains people from different career backgrounds, such as customer service, the police force and teaching, to become qualified carers.
Other tips include the use of age-inclusive imagery and language in job ads, advertising on websites that over-50s are more likely to visit, training those responsible for hiring on the benefits of employing over-50s, and ensuring the culture is age-inclusive, calling out everyday ageism and carrying out diversity training with line managers and staff.
At a glance
- Get candidates’ attention by including the information they really want to know on your job ads.
- Advertise using a range of job titles.
- Use technology and social media to attract candidates and make it easy for them to apply.
- Get the induction process right or you may lose candidates before they have even started.
- Targeting older workers can tap into a pool of new talent.
