Keeping Your Team Happy and Motivated

It should go without saying that as an employer in early childhood education (and any other sector!) you should be striving to have employees who feel happy about coming into work each day. Creating an enjoyable workplace has an impactful run-on effect for the way your service operates and the quality of the team you have.

Think of it this way — when your staff are feeling happy, engaged and valued they are better positioned to be the best they can be as educators. An employee who feels good about their work and their role is more committed, motivated and hard-working. Plus, they’re more likely to be loyal to your service and continue as part of your team over the years. And this is the kind of educator we all want to have in early childhood education services!

On top of this, staff recruitment can be timely and expensive, so keeping the great team you have feeling happy and motivated in the workplace is well worth the effort. 

So, how can you keep your educators feeling engaged with their role, with early learning and with your service? Here are a few tips to help you with educator engagement and staff retention so that you can build – and keep – a wonderful team at your centre.

  • Lead from the heart

A great leader is compassionate and inspiring. Treat your team like the individual human beings that they are. Put staff wellbeing at the forefront of your business and watch it flourish. 

  • Acknowledge and reward

Make a point of recognising your staff member’s achievements and celebrating a job well done. Everyone deserves a pat on the back when they’re doing a great job. Something as simple as an educator of the week or month can bring a positive and rewarding energy to the workplace.

  • Encourage growth

The desire to grow is innate for many, and we can nurture that to create a stronger early childhood education service. Professional development opportunities should be offered and encouraged in the workplace along with support for those wanting to take their career to the next level. 

  • Communicate often and openly

An open line of communication between managers, leaders and staff can be a game changer. Your team should know that there will be the chance to share their thoughts or ask questions regularly, both individually and in group settings. And remember, the first step toward effective communication is to listen. 

  • Create shared goals

Goals are valuable to help us on our path to reaching our full potential, so why not create shared goals for your team. This can create a unified and highly engaged team environment in your workplace.

You can use one, a few or all of these strategies and we are certain that you will notice an improvement in your workplace. The educators in an early childhood education workplace are the heart and soul of the centre, and when you find the right educators it’s important to do your best to keep them!

The Bonkers Beat programs were actually designed in part to better support centres in nurturing their educators and improving educator engagement – you can take a look here: BonkersBeat.com 

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