6 Tips on Recruiting and Retaining Staff in Nurseries

Recruitment is how we attract and bring on board the best nursery workers in the business. Retention is how we keep them, building our nurseries and giving children a stable and reliable team of people who care for them and help them to learn and develop. 

To us, recruitment and retention isn’t just about building a great business reputation – it’s about giving children the stability of a home from home, with people who they recognise and feel safe and secure with. A high turnover of staff is disruptive for everyone involved – with our retention strategy designed to avoid this at all costs. 

Here at My Ohana, we consider our management model to be our worst kept secret. It’s something we’re incredibly proud of, underpinning our core values which emphasise the integral role that each and every member of the team plays in delivering the best care to all of our children. 

In the simplest possible terms, this model sees our colleagues supported directly by the leadership team known as Central Support. Central Support’s core role is to be involved as possible in supporting colleagues to deliver a great experience to all our families, set on a foundation of excellent support from our founders and directors. 

This model provides an enticing opportunity for new recruits and is one of the reasons why our retention rate is so high. No nursery worker is ever without the full breadth of support they need. 

In the last year, 10% of our existing employees were promoted – highlighting a major benefit that boosts both recruitment and retention across virtually every sector. We believe that by promoting from within, we give all our workers and colleagues an opportunity to build their career in the childcare industry from within the My Ohana family. 

This in turn boosts our commitment to upskilling and helping our colleagues to develop their own skills and experiences – which brings us onto our third tip… 

When employees feel like they have an opportunity to learn, and that their employer is committed to their development, they are far more likely to stay in a role for longer. 

We highlight our commitment to each nursery worker both through opportunities to learn and attend training sessions, and with our increasing rate of promotion and in-company hiring. 

This is an attractive benefit that all nurseries can showcase and talk about during the recruitment process, which is an enticing concept to prospective workers as well as a reason why so many will choose to stay. 

Being as flexible as possible, both in terms of working hours and in the levels of experience that we hire from, is integral to our successful recruitment and retention strategy at My Ohana. 

We try to work with our team to give them access to the working hours that work best for them. In addition to experienced nursery workers, we offer roles to passionate individuals who are looking to start their career in the childcare sector and who boast the skills and values we look for in our team.  

We believe that everyone needs that first opportunity to learn and to build experience and are happy to offer support to new nursery workers who boast the attributes that we need. 

We’ve already talked about our upside-down management model and how the higher level employees in our business are directly responsible for supporting those beneath them. However, it doesn’t end there. 

At My Ohana, and across some of the most successful nurseries in the UK, support and a welcoming environment is part and parcel of the experience – for families and team members alike. Not only do we ensure that support is at the heart of staff management, but we also facilitate respectful communication between our team and parents / families of our children. 

Rewarding and recognising achievement and dedication is a fundamental part of the workplace, with My Ohana fully committed to recognising the little things that mean a big deal. 

As part of our in-house reward and recognition system, all colleagues and employees can submit shout-outs to each other, drawing attention to occasions when a team member has really gone above and beyond. In addition, our management team can reward individuals at their discretion, with rewards able to be redeemed against a vast array of everyday treats. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t love a birthday card on their special day; another thing we love to do at My Ohana for staff members and our children alike.  

Suffice to say, rewarding our team members with opportunities as well as tangible rewards forms an integral part of our retention strategy, and is one of the reasons why we are able to continually recruit the best in the business. We hope these tips help other nurseries to follow suit, and show parents and families just how committed we are to ensuring children are cared for by the very best nursery staff.