Ever had one of those days when everything just seems to fall into place? Last Thursday was surprisingly special for me. It was spent interviewing - my latest attempt to recruit the staff team for our nursery set-up project.
It started well, with the morning commuting crowd unusually generously allowing me to get off the train before they squeezed on. I arrived at our office early and less battered than normal, with enough time to print off interview questions and make a cuppa. There was ink in the printer and even milk in the fridge - another good sign!
I'd been struggling to attract applicants with relevant childcare experience (Management Focus, 27 March). The original pool of potential practitioners had dried up and so I was forced to re-advertise in the local paper. We had a flurry of interest, particularly for the team leader role. However, when the application forms came back, I was disappointed to discover the majority lacked any mention of a childcare qualification.
Curiously, we had lots of replies from people who'd passed Health and Social Care exams, a couple of drama graduates and someone who had dabbled in ICT training a couple of years back. I was amazed how they'd managed to overlook the requirement for a Level 3 in Childcare in the person specification. Next time, I'll be sure to double-underline this and maybe avoid wasting so much time pointing it out to the pushy few who called to ask why they hadn't been invited for an interview.
Anyway, there were a handful of individuals who were worth seeing. Joining me to do the interviewing was Dominique, the newly appointed nursery manager - snapped up from an agency the week before. Luckily, she could start immediately and was keen to play a lead role in choosing her team. She sailed through what might have been a daunting first day with a smile and by five o'clock we'd seen everyone, compared scores and agreed on our preferred candidates.
I lost no time in calling them up to make offers. It always seems useful to do this the same day - if you can - to build on the momentum of good interviews. It also gives yourself a little extra time to chase up second choices, should they decline. But of course, this being a very special day, they all said yes! So it looks like as soon as the builders hand over the keys, we'll have a manager, deputy, cook, two practitioners and a gem of a housekeeper, all ready to move in.
Derek Hayes is senior consultant/trainer at Childcare Consultancy. For more information, e-mail info@childcareconsult.co.uk.
