How to keep educators motivated

Childcare directors often have competing priorities in their day. However they know that a motivated team of educators is crucial in delivering high quality programs to the children. But it does not have to be a tedious task, are are 3 rules on how you can create an engaged team:

1. Empowerment

• Empower Educators to Find Meaning — When was the last time you asked your educators what their roles meant to them? You may be surprised to hear their thoughts. Having open discussion of their expectation and your expectation will allow both to align goals. This can also help figuring out how you can collectively achieve the centre goals. Take on board their suggestions and if they see a better way of completing a task, allow them the flexibility to do so.

2. Purpose

• Communicate Often — Regular communication do not need to take a long time. Set aside 10 minutes daily to talk about what how their day was. A simple mental checklist could be to ask (1) What worked well today? (2) What did not work well today? (3) How can we do it differently tomorrow? We found that having a consistent method of asking educators to give suggestions empowered them to think about solutions and thus allowed them a sense of ownership for the tasks at hand. Taking an interest in what they are doing can immediately impact morale positively as educators will feel like they are making an impact. Communicating with your educator about how their daily efforts contributes to the service’s vision will empower them to find meaning in their work.
• Encourage and Acknowledge — Genuine praise can make all the difference. A simple acknowledgment of a task well done or expressing sincere gratitude will truly motivate your educators. When they recognise that their effort and ability is being respected, it builds their confidence and encourages them to excel even more. Offering positive feedback both privately and publicly through emails, newsletters and regular staff meetings are perfect forums for recognising efforts that educators make.

3. Mastery

• Teamwork — Allow your team to build trust and openness with each other in team building activities and events. Create opportunities for social interaction in an atmosphere that encourages open communication. This will develop a sense of belonging amongst your team. Organising a lunch where everyone can share their favourite food is a good start.
• Leadership and Growth — Investing in your educator’s future encourages loyalty. Help your educators develop a progression plan for their career, listen to their goals and work with them to help them achieve these goals. It could be as simple as helping their fill in skills gaps by sending relevant resources and training their way.

Motivating your educators is a never ending cycle. Your commitment to motivating educators should be vibrant, visible and consistent through both positive and challenging times. As a manager of a service, you have the power to change things for the better, regardless of how much your patience and courage is tested.

At Shiftsimple, all our educators go through a strict on-boarding process to test for practical skills and emotional intelligence. We keep our community motivated through programs that provide constant empowerment in mastering childcare skills.

Click here to find out more about how we can provide high quality educators for your childcare centre. If you feel like a quick call to discuss your requirements, book a call with me here