in your organisation for longer, Childbase Partnership regional director
Sarah Rotundo looks at the importance of recognition.
The more staff you have who stay, the better your setting is likely to be. The reason most people leave their jobs is because of their managers, and having happy, engaged employees means higher overall productivity. That is the lessons of the previous articles condensed into a nutshell - which leaves the issue of how to reward and recognise staff.
We are in an industry where wages swallow at least half of a setting's revenue and Government-funded 'free' places mean a 20 per cent funding gap for providers. It is no surprise, then, that low pay is a norm. Nurseries can't simply hike up fees to pay higher wages, and while a funding review is on the table, a settlement giving nurseries the money they need to properly fund the free entitlement, employ the specialists and the graduate leaders, and invest in staff training to make the difference seems a long way off. So is high labour turnover just something the sector has to live with? No - as, luckily for those providers who don't have the option to pay more, reward and recognition is about more than just a salary.
Salary is important, however. Employees think about their salary more than the owner of a business does. Every time an employee gets paid they think about it. For me, the figure £11,200 will always be lodged in my mind as my first ever proper salary in my first proper job within early years. Research shows pay is a huge factor, sometimes number one, when a candidate is thinking about taking a job. Settings thus need to consider their pay rates carefully, taking into account what is reasonable in order to keep the setting sustainable, and considering, where possible, the 'going rate' for the role in the specific geographic area.
Where settings have the ability to pay a salary range, it is in both the setting and the employee's interest to pay more, whether that be performance-related, for greater experience, higher qualifications or additional responsibilities. Doing so means settings ensure they are experiencing value for money and employees who represent higher quality through their performance or other attributes are recognised accordingly.
After pay, other financial rewards can include the ability to earn extra money by working additional hours - for example, to provide cover. Other payments such as sick pay can be linked with length of service, to further reward and recognise employees.
Long service itself is a real cause for celebration. Recognising those with long service can contribute to improved staff retention. Some organisations have done this with financial rewards, while others have chosen to use visual rewards such as badges showing an employee's length of service, thus making it a talking point with parents.
No amount of financial compensation will make up for a poor working environment or ungrateful leader. We all want emotional rewards from our job. Work that we enjoy and that has value is work that we are more likely to continue doing. Non-financial rewards are feeling you do work that does good and fits in with your life, and that you are working for an organisation that rewards and recognises you.
Formal means of praise and recognition include employee of the month and reward schemes, such as free childcare places at a setting or interest-free loans for travel tickets. Regular appraisal and supervision also play a part, alongside praising and recognising staff informally.
Managers must remember to explicitly show appreciation. The time that employees contribute can be rewarded and recognised. This doesn't just benefit the individual, but helps to create a culture of appreciation and participation - in too many workplaces a culture of resentment and dissatisfaction leads employees towards their exit route.
And even where staff are engaged but considering their next move, succession planning and talent management are important. If a member of your team is eager to take that next step in their career, showing their talent has been identified and that they are being trained and developed ready for that next role keeps them engaged. Giving an employee no stimulation through fear of losing them is likely to lead to itchy feet syndrome quicker.
So how else can we create our culture of reward and recognition? Training and developing individuals and teams is a key method. Some organisations persist with the fear that training staff will simply lead them to move onto something better. This approach is flawed, and training people well and providing them with continual positive and constructive development has been shown to aid retention. Training can take many forms, from specific courses to opportunities to shadow others, job swaps, or mentoring. Developing staff to take on specific roles and responsibilities where they have the opportunity to learn, to be recognised for their achievements and to do something different is immensely engaging for them.
In summary, it wasn't the £11,200 that kept me in my job. It was the innate reward provided by working with young children, the 'family' of my supportive team (many of whom I still see), the intellectual reward of studying pedagogy, the interest I felt at training courses, the career development I could see unfolding ahead of me, the fun I had every day with the children, the team and the parents, and the recognition I was given for my work.
The sector has a long way to go to become properly paid for the enormous contributions early years provision makes. This Government and any that follow have a duty to ensure that children are given the best possible start in life. Part of this should be an early years workforce development plan tackling, among other things, staff retention. Quality settings will work out how they can possibly reward and recognise their staff in any way they can within often-limited budgets. They will recognise that good members of staff are working for pay, but go the extra mile for recognition.
TOP TIPS FOR KEEPING EMPLOYEES MOTIVATED
1. Offer flexible working.
2. Prioritise training. There is a recognised lack of it in the early years.
3. Give spontaneous rewards for good work - for example, you could offer an early finish on a Friday afternoon.
4. Also give out formal awards - whether that is in the form of an annual event, employee of the month, or recognition for employees' long service.
5. Invest in some adult-sized furniture and create a quiet area for staff to relax in.
6. Give staff time to complete paperwork, away from the setting if they choose.
7. Larger settings should have a staff council or representative to feed back concerns from the team to management.
8. Use noticeboards and team meetings to keep employees informed about business progress.
