Childcare staff shortage is now the norm and continues to push childcare centers and at-home daycare into shortening hours, closing classrooms, or worse, shutting down for good.
To prevent this from happening, here are 7 unique hiring strategies that uses various avenues to get the word out about your job openings.
Get interviewed by the media.
Instead of getting commercials or paid ads for your open positions, try being a resource person for local media outlets in your area.
Especially if the piece of reportage is about staffing shortage or parents struggling to find childcare, getting your name out there establishes a good reputation.
Free airtime and mention of your hiring status also helps you get your center noticed without a single cent spent.
Whether it’s in video or article, news is an underrated channel to employers.
Post your job ad on various bulletins.
Never discount the power of going offline as you just won’t know who’ll read it.
Target the bulletin board at your local church, community, park, or even nearby university.
Despite limited group gatherings, these bulletins are a great way to reach out to the immediate community and tap potential applicants within the area.
Search locally by advertising on online local groups in your area.
If you have a Facebook group of your enrolled parents or neighbors, don’t hesitate to share it in your local online groups.
The more who knows about your open positions, the more likely it is they’ll know someone who fits the bill.
Add a hiring blurb to all your communication.
Get creative with your email signature and turn it into your center’s hiring billboard on a mini-scale.
A simple “We’re Hiring!” blurb added to your emails to everyone can help in getting the word out there organically.
The people you communicate with can be your indirect hiring advocates.
Put in a placement for your job openings in professional organizations’ local chapters.
Reach out to local chapters of childcare organizations such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) or Child Care Aware.
Consider offering flexible, part-time, or even volunteer opportunities.
Remember that finding full-time staff isn’t your only option. You can also try offering more flexible employment options for applicants.
Consider opening the position to the possibility of having a flexible work arrangement that’s going to support the center at its peak. You can also ask parents, both enrolled and waitlisted if anyone is interested in working at the center.
Letting waitlisted parents know the reason they cannot be accommodated due to staff shortage may encourage one to volunteer if it meant getting a spot for their child in the center.
Offer paid internship opportunities for early childhood undergraduate students.
If all else fails, consider tapping undergraduate students. Help them achieve valuable experience and get a lively, energetic workforce.
Offering them a paid internship also wouldn’t hurt in attracting the best undergraduates.
This will also help you build a relationship with the next generation of qualified and talented early childhood educators.
Staff shortage is a problem that affects not only childcare providers and their business but also working families who desperately need childcare in order to continue working. With these hiring strategies and federal support in the form of childcare grants and other COVID-19 measures set forth by the government, childcare providers can start re-building their businesses into a better and stronger childcare service for their communities.
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