Recruitment and Retention of Staff

How an employee views the organisation and their initial experience can impact their integration within the team and their own personal satisfaction within their role. Therefore, an induction helps to create a positive experience for both the employer and employee, to establish an initial relationship and build upon this as the employee gains confidence and settles within their role.

The induction process helps to provide all the necessary information and knowledge required to support the employee in all aspects of their role and ultimately ensure they perform at the required standard, in the shortest possible time, contributing to the team success.

For an employer, time allocated at the start of employment can make all the difference to their workforce, helping to reduce absenteeism, reduce the turnover of staff and build a strong employer brand and ethos which positively impacts the organisation. 

A good induction will help our staff to:

• establish themselves quickly in their job role, enabling them to understand their position within our nursery and working environment
• become motivated to do well and fit into the nursery early on
• understand any health and safety issues relating to their job- this will not only help to reduce accidents at work but also help us ensure that we are meeting our duty of care obligations under the health and safety legislation
• understand their obligations to our children and families

Supporting practitioner well-being

 Beyond induction - personal development reviews/career progression/flexible working

Your probationary period is a key element in the induction of new colleagues. It allows you to adapt to your new environment and discuss your performance with your line manager, and also allows for you to receive feedback on your progress and performance during this time. 

Meeting regularly to review promotes effective communication and builds supportive relationships within your team and line manager. This is a time to ask questions, clarify key points and embed the information you receive fully within your working practices.

It is an Ofsted requirement that childcare providers have appraisal and supervision procedures in place. The following information shows how you can motivate your staff and what practices and procedures to implement to ensure your childcare business thrives. 

What are differences between supervisions and appraisals?
Supervision can be confused with appraisals; they’re usually part of the same overall staff performance management and support process, however:

Supervisions – are regular meetings throughout the year, these can also be more frequent if needed. Throughout a probationary period, a line manager will conduct regular supervisions with the employee, these are just as important as a probation reviews. Supervisions are very similar as they look at the employee's performance and objectives set, they also provide opportunity to discuss any problems or difficulties they may be having. Unlike probation reviews, which end once probation has been successfully completed, supervisions occur regularly throughout the entirety of the employee's employment.

Appraisals – are held once a year, used for managers to review the staff members performance over the previous year and review objectives and what’s been achieved, together with planning forward for the next 12 months.

Those that grow within the organisation stay within the organisation.
Working in the education and childcare sector means that all members of the staff team need to ensure that they remain current with legislative changes in the sector as well as ensuring they continue to learn and grow knowledge, skills and behaviours within your career.

Regular CPD also helps to build confidence and demonstrate commitment to the role and can lead to embarking on higher qualifications and senior roles within the setting, supporting both the organisation and employees career goals.

It is important that all CPD is recorded and reviewed regularly during one to one’s and appraisals, where future CPD activities can then be sourced to maximise the time available and ensure the needs of the employee and setting are marched within the activities undertaken.

Examples of CPD activities could include:

• internal training / team meetings
• external training – short courses, e-learning level 2 modules, recognised qualifications at levels 2 – 6
• LCC specific training and events – view and book onto our training and events 
• guest speakers, conferences, sector specific events

Allocating team building sessions within your organisation can help individuals to build supportive relationships which enables people to effectively work together as a ‘team’. It can increase motivation, promote co-operation and improve morale. It can also define roles within the team and ensure that individuals work to their strengths to achieve a common goal.

Life moves on for some people and even though they are happy working for you, they may still need to leave due to life circumstances. Good practice is to carry out an exit interview to find out what that employee valued about working in your setting and what they struggled with. This gives you the opportunity to address those struggles for the next employee.

Survey monkey employee exit survey template

Creating a safe and supporting working environment means a happy and productive staff team. It can help to create a positive work culture in which staff and children thrive. Within this employee wellbeing is at the heart of each setting – to support you to thrive and reach your full potential, while enriching the lives of the children and families you engage with.

You can find out more information at Wellbeing at Work (CIPD).

Or you may want to engage in the Healthy Workplaces Leicestershire Programme:

Healthy Tots support Leicestershire early years providers to offer a healthy environment for their children. Parents and staff through a ‘healthy culture’ can improve health and wellbeing within settings. You can explore if this accreditation would enhance your provision.