Burnout is among the top reasons why childcare professionals have exited the industry. With a heavy workload, high stress levels, low pay, and almost zero benefits, it’s no wonder why the staff shortage have persisted for the childcare industry. This is despite most employer’s raising their hourly pay and providing benefits for new positions.
Before burnout happens, here are some ways you can prevent it from happening to your childcare staff.
1. Do not overload your staff with work.
Maximizing staff-to-child ratios by moving children into different classrooms to maximize capacity is never a good strategy for your center, the teacher or the children and their learning development.
While older children may be more self-regulated and aware of their surroundings, they can also be more hyperactive and harder to control.
Making sure the teacher and her aide can still handle the situation ensures that all the children in the classroom are taken care of and attended to adequately.
2. Have regular check-ins with your staff.
Asking them how their day was or what they need to be better at their job will be greatly appreciated. This makes them feel seen and heard rather than just being a body count that keeps a classroom open.
This also gives you a great opportunity to detect the signs of burnout early on, provide encouragement and ways to help them regain their zeal and enthusiasm in a work they’re proud to be in.
3. Give them time to breathe.
If staff shortage is a problem you just can’t get rid of right now, providing leaves may prove to be harder. However, before it comes to the point where your teachers need a mental health break, be the first to initiate well-paced breaks that give them the time to breathe.
In our last blog post, we shared what a director did for her staff, which is to give each teacher a five-minute break by relieving them of their post.
This ensures that all staff get their break during the day while you as the director are also able to build a relationship with all of the children in your center.
This method, while quick and relatively short compared to the long work hours childcare workers have, absolutely lifts the mood and morale of the teaching staff and gives them enough time to breathe, relax and regain composure.
4. Hold social-emotional learning seminars for your teachers.
COVID-19 has had a profound effect on everyone’s social and emotional well-being. As your staff pushes on despite the uncertainty brought by the pandemic, they may have a lot of unpacked social and emotional stress.
Help your teachers examine, manage, and recalibrate their social and emotional states through seminars conducted by a professional.
These events help them become better teachers that are better equipped to handle not only their own social and emotional needs but also the needs of the children in their care.
5. Free up your time for childcare through automation.
Automation can help you free your time to devote more time to childcare instead. Along with staff shortage, childcare slots have also been few and far between, making parents call at least 7-8 centers everyday. And having 100s of parents inquiring about places can take the whole day away from you.
Free up your time managing leads and organizing them into a waitlist through automation. Instead of combing through your waitlist finding for a parent who fits exactly your open slot, have a smart wizard do all that for you.
With an automated notification, parents can also update their own care needs or notify you when they no longer need to be in your waitlist after they have found a spot elsewhere. Increase the accuracy of your waitlist through an automated system that gives the reins of updating their status to the parent while you automate vacancy notifications that’ll simplify the waiting process for everyone.
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