According to the National Household Education Survey, about 6.38 million parents nationwide use center-based child care options. This means the child care industry is massive.
It also means that child care providers are some of the most influential people in many children's lives. They provide structure, love, and nurturing when parents cannot be there.
So when it comes to child care recruitment, selecting the right providers is essential. This is helpful for a child's development and happiness. If you're a child care provider, you understand how tedious childcare recruitment and selection can be.
With so many candidates, it's hard to know where to start and it's even harder to find the perfect fit for your child care center.
To help make the process a little bit easier, we've compiled a list of three tips only child care providers understand about recruitment and selection. Here is what you need to know.
1. What Is Safe Recruitment?
Safe recruitment is a process by which child care providers are selected to care for children. The criteria used to determine whether or not the provider is a fit for service will vary depending on the level of risk involved.
Safe recruitment aims to ensure that each child receives care from the most qualified possible staff member so they can thrive. There are a specific set of practices that you should use as a child care center to practice safe recruiting.
For example, if a child is receiving therapy for developmental disorders, it would be appropriate for their caregiver to have a minimum of two years of experience working with children with similar issues.
You should also have processes that include screening applicants for criminal convictions. That means you should be running thorough background checks on every applicant.
It is also good to require applicants to pass drug tests. A step further is having them undergo psychological examinations before being considered eligible for work.
Protect Children From Harm
As a child care provider, your job is to protect children from possible harm. One of the easiest ways to keep children out of harm's way is to ensure they are supervised.
Keeping an eye on the children at all times is critical for a child care provider. It doesn't matter if they are playing outside or inside, they should always have supervision. In your child care recruitment process, pay attention to how attentive the provider is.
You also want a child care provider to know what to look for. Children can't always tell you when something is wrong. So it's up to a provider to know what to look for and when to take action.
This means keeping an eye out for physical symptoms such as bleeding or bruising that doesn't go away after a few days, changes in behavior like acting withdrawn or aggressive, sudden weight loss, or fever lasting more than three days.
Protecting the Child Care Center
As you go through the child care recruitment process, you want to find providers that care about the place where they work. That means building a team that helps the organization prevent complaints or claims of discrimination.
You should also have providers willing to help avoid lawsuits by ensuring everyone is treated fairly and consistently. For instance, if one employee is treated differently than another, that employee may be able to sue if they believe they have been mistreated. Hiring employees trained in diversity and inclusion can help avoid this.
The focus of your center should be to ensure that all employees are working within their skill set. If employees have skills beyond what is required for their position, they may feel as though they are being underutilized and become frustrated.
You also want to understand the effects of poor management and an inappropriate recruitment process. All this plays into attracting, retaining, and successfully managing the right child care providers.
2. What Is Values-Based Recruitment?
Value-based recruitment in child care means providers have the same values as their clients. For starters, childcare providers should have compassion. That means showing empathy and care for children, families, and other staff members.
Responsible
Values-based child care recruitment also involves finding providers that are responsible. For example, you want to hire providers that take responsibility for their actions and decisions regarding administering care.
Collaborative
Ideally, your providers should be great at collaboration. Do they work well with others? Can they be a team player?
It is essential to find providers that can offer a collaborative spirit.
Curious
Values-based recruitment also looks at curiosity. You want child care providers keen on learning and exploring new things. A team that provides new teaching approaches will work well in the long term.
Creativity
Creativity is another big part of being a child care provider. Using your imagination to come up with new ideas and solutions to problems is valuable. You want to ensure your providers can commit to efforts that improve the experience and learning opportunities for the children.
Flourishing
One last values-based recruitment element is the ability to flourish. Having child care providers who find joy in their work and life will allow them to grow personally and professionally.
3. The Recruitment and Selection Process
The recruitment and selection process for childcare providers is a vital part of your business, as you hire the people responsible for your children's safety, security, and well-being.
Planning
As you begin your recruitment process, you want to have a plan. Accessing the needs of your center is a great place to start.
The recruitment and selection process should be designed to ensure that you're hiring the right people for the job. This means you must consider critical factors such as aptitude and experience, personality fit with the team, and professional certifications and training.
Creating Job Ads
When creating an ad for childcare jobs, clearly outline the position requirements, benefits, salary range, and other details related to the position. Have a process for reviewing resumes and cover letters to be able to set up interviews quickly.
Conducting Interviews
When conducting an employment interview, keep it engaging. Have the child care provider tour their work area. This is an excellent time to ask questions and get a feel for the interviewee. You want them to understand what their day-to-day will look like.
Selection Process and Employment
As you go through the selection process, be upfront. Let the candidate know about the next steps for starting the position. The goal is to find the right child care provider, and these steps can help with that.
Your Childcare Recruitment Process Is Important
To avoid licensing violations, childcare providers need to understand recruitment and selection basics. By following these three easy things, you can ensure that your process is on track and compliant with regulations.
Schedule a demo today if you need help navigating this process or more information about our services. We are here to support you every step of the way!Are you looking for more child care management information? Check out our Ultimate Guide to Child Care Management.
Our child care management system makes running your child care program simple and efficient. Get back to what's most important. You shouldn't have to spend more time on the administrative tasks than you do with children and staff.
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Do you run an early childhood association made up of child care providers? If so, check out our Ultimate Guide to Shared Service Alliance.
Header image courtesy of Jumpstory.
