The ability to retain staff is crucial to a successful business, but many nurseries struggle to create new opportunities for staff or provide a long-term career plan.
At the 18-strong Treetops Nurseries chain, a policy of promoting internally and focusing on the potential of each individual staff member is sustaining a loyal workforce.
Isabel Garvey, director of childcare, says, 'We have a transparent recruitment process and all vacancies are advertised internally. We like to look at individual strengths and find ways to build on those in a way that helps careers.
'As well as buying in external training, we deliver and develop workshops to ensure all staff are up to date with legislative changes. We try to make these as fun and interactive as possible.'
Initiatives such as buddy mentoring for new recruits, internal awards and days out to celebrate achievements are motivating to staff, along with solid benefits such as a contributory pension, bonus scheme, sickness benefits and sickness loyalty scheme and up to 33 days holiday.
Ms Garvey says her own position is testimony to the company's success in developing staff. 'I joined Treetops six years ago as a nursery manager and have been promoted three times, progressing to area manager, then childcare operations manager and now director of childcare.'
Benefit of experience
Helen Dashfield has been at Treetops' Castle Garden Day Nursery in Duffield, Derbyshire, for ten years and in that time has worked her way up from trainee to manager. She says her progress has been steady, with the opportunity to gain experience in lots of different areas of the nursery.
'Moving up from deputy manager to manager was a big challenge last year, but I'm really enjoying it,' she says. 'The fact that the staff are already used to working with me is an advantage, particularly as we have all been so involved in preparing for the EYFS in recent months.'
Treetops supported Helen in studying for NVQs 2 and 3, and she has just completed a level 3 unit in line management. While her deputy manager is undertaking Early Years Professional Status, Helen has no immediate plans to progress towards graduate level study. 'My experience here is really valued and in my current role I am ideally placed to pass that on.'
IN TOUCH WITH STAFF
- Regular staff meetings
- Working party to help with decision-making. Staff at all levels are invited to participate in these.
- Weekly staff bulletin keeping all staff informed of developments within the business and sharing ideas of best practice. The bulletin also has a personal element that introduces new teams, encourages interactivity across settings and celebrates success.
- Open-door policy with a direct link right up to managing director level.
