The ABC's Of Hiring Day Care Staff:

Points to Consider


Starting a day care business? Need some people to complete your team? Wondering how to find the right day care staff? Well, if all of these questions bother you a lot, then note that finding the best people who want to spend some time caring for a group of children is no easy task. One reason for this is that people have their own goals and visions in life. Not all are interested in childcare and neither in teaching. There are also some out there who find some interests on themselves for caring a kid, but after working for months and reaping all the benefits that a day care center has to offer decided to leave for a much promising future. All of these situations can be bothering for people running the day care facilities who have nothing else in mind but the urge of wanting to get the best for the kids and themselves.

The good news is that with lots of day care centers popping up anywhere in the United States and other countries in America and the world these days, more and more ideas and suggestions about finding and hiring a day care staff came out to provide day care providers the chance to find the right candidates easily and quickly. The ideas are of course provided by experts themselves, and all are supported by some explanations and examples. In case you want to know what the best things to consider are when hiring a day care candidate, then what I have mentioned below will definitely lure you.

Oops! Before getting through the basics of hiring a day care staff, note first the importance of a good candidate. Consider the following details.


What Makes a Day Care Staff Perfect?

Day care centers are on the most basic one type of childcare that is built in a well-structured environment. They are formal in nature and are licensed by the authority. This follows that the quality of education they offer must be satisfactory, something that promotes growth and development for kids.

However, although structured and arranged, working in a day care center is still not an easy endeavor. There are a lot of tasks and responsibilities you'll need to do and this is no good thing for those who just want to lay back and enjoy a life free from all worries. Indeed, a higher degree of interest and dedication is needed here and this can be done only if you know by yourself that you like working in an environment that day care centers provide, in the first place.

So what then makes a good day care staff is a sense of commitment and responsibility. If a person has these assets, there's no wonder for him or her to grow and succeed not just as a day care person, but as a responsible citizen of the country he or she belongs. That's the challenge of being a good day care staff, and that's what every interested party should take note when applying for a day care position.


Basics Steps to Take for Hiring a Good Staff

Whether you need someone who can do all the teachings and supervision, or someone who will just take care of everything related to the kids' health, the children are putting their trust on you to do everything imaginable to ensure that they will be left in the hands of responsible beings. Noting this hope and trust alone, it would definitely be best for every day care center to take the steps of hiring a day care staff carefully and properly. Well, below are some of the most considerable steps to follow. Take note of the following and apply them in sequence whenever you come to the point of needing someone to complete your team.


#1: Setting Realistic Expectations

For day care providers to succeed on finding the right candidate for the available day care positions, they should start setting their own realistic expectations. This means that before starting to do some announcements and all the related works, providers should note first the possible duration and amount of effort needed for them to hire a good staff.

Finding and obtaining the best candidate requires days and weeks before you can say that you've got the best team. It's even shocking to more providers to find that anyone has the potential of becoming a good caregiver, regardless of their qualifications or skills. Because of this, it is highly expected from the day care directors or managers to set a realistic time frame for research and all the screenings. According to most established centers, four weeks can be enough if you are looking for the candidates that most agencies can offer. That time frame needs to be stretched though to more than eight weeks if you are just doing the search by yourself. Well, giving yourself a luxury of time is very much needed as it will allow you to properly choose the right candidate for the right position. Don't make your decisions in haste for that will only bring you to frustrations and costly U-turns.


#2: Do-It-Yourself or With Agency's Help?

So you've set all the realistic expectations. Now, decide whether you need to take the search by yourself or by the agency's help? Most people starting a day care business often worry about where they can find people who are trustworthy and reliable enough to make a group of caregivers. The good news for them is that finding the right candidates can be done in two ways. First, you can do all the research by yourself, and second, you'll need to approach some recruitment agencies to get whoever fits. If you'll prefer to take the latter option, be ready to spend some cash for the agency fees though. This is quite expensive, but you'll be assured to get the right people easily and without much legwork. Choosing the agency is important, however, as not all of them offers the high quality service. You can determine a good agency from the rest by that counsel you as what you may expect. They also must have a good record with the business bureau.

If agency search turns out not worth the money, try doing the search by giving all the legworks you can possibly make. This is where all the postings and advertisement come in. Well, there are a lot of media you can use to relay the message to whoever is interested. In the first place, there are the online ads subscription services that accept job postings from several people and companies. Other than that, you can post your ad at certain local newspapers circulated throughout your area and even outside your town. You can also post some posters at any areas where people commonly flock to make some things, including churches, synagogues, gyms, community centers, and others.

Whatever medium of communication you use to reach potential caregivers, do the search with much attention and care. Also make yourself available for the applicants' calls.


#3: Take Inventory of Everything You Need

While taking applications from possible prospects, make sure to determine some qualifications and traits that prospective caregivers must possess. You can easily do this by taking notes of any possible functions you can associate with the positions you're offering. Once the functions are determined, set certain requirements for the candidates to meet. For instance, also note the need for someone who loves children, or the one who has an experience with childcare.

Skills in driving are also necessary for the fact that there are some outside school activities that day care centers typically provide for the children's benefits itself, like a trip to museums and other interesting areas. A proof to this is the driver's license that the prospect carries.

Other considerations include the following:

* Language spoken
* Non-smoker
* CPR certified
* Age and lifestyle

#4: Screening and Interview

Hiring someone on the spot is not a good thing actually. So to make everything perfect, try to do some screenings and conduct interviews with the potential candidates.

When handling interviews, most people got the mistake of talking too much. To make a good start, note that the purpose of the interview is only to find out something about the applicant. With that, it would be best if you'll construct your questions in an open-ended manner, something that requires the applicant to say more than "yes" or "no". It is also necessary when conducting interviews to keep you not too judgmental every time the applicant answers. This is to ensure that the applicant is comfortable with your presence. The more comfortable she is, the more information she can give about herself.

Below are some possible questions you can ask to the prospective caregivers. Note the following:

* Do you have experiences with childcare? What exactly are they?
* Is your experience recent?
* Was the position full time or part time?
* How many children have you cared before?
* Are the parents of these children able to be contacted as references?
* Are you a licensed caregiver?
* What do you like about the profession?
* What are views, opinions, or feelings on discipline?
* Are you patient?
* How would you describe the role of a caregiver?
* What specific credentials can you offer to the center?
* Where do you live? How long you been living on that location?
* Can you handle stress at work?
* When would you be available to start?
* Are you ready to commit to whatever contract we can give you, like working for a period of at least one year?

While asking any of these questions, watch the applicant's responses and their gestures. If you think they are possible candidates, schedule them for another interview with other concerned parties on your center. Screen them carefully, and ask additional questions on the second meeting. Further questions you can ask are the following:

* What kind of position do you exactly want and why?
* Tell me about your education background.
* Are you ready to deal with children suffering from any disability?
* What activities are you interested in doing as a caregiver? Are there any activities you feel uncomfortable doing?
* Tell me about your salary expectations.

If the candidate has passed the interview portion and you are considering her for the position, still proceed by doing background checking. Call the character references she has provided on her resume, and ask for any possible thing that can help you judge her capabilities.


#5: Put Everything in Writing

Now that you've found a good candidate to complete your team, allow them to complete a written application. A work agreement must also be provided to make the partnership clear. You can include on that agreement everything involved in the contract, and once provided, keep the documents secured. The agreements are important as it will protect you from any possible consequences, like your staff leaves and comes back claiming that you failed to make a one month payment to her. This of course will give you less headache.


Other Factors to Consider

While all the above mentioned steps are taken or followed carefully and properly, it would still be best if you'll consider other factors that may possibly affect your decision in hiring a day care staff. Included in the list are mentioned below, so read on.

Health Tests or Screenings – Day care centers generally require some health testing and screening for the potential candidates to pass through. TB testing and a health clearance are two of the most common. So if you are just starting on your day care business, consider these tests. You might also need to get a professional from a licensed health center to do the testing. Considering this will help you ensure that everyone on your team is highly capable of caring for the children.

Hours of Service – Before you welcome a caregiver to your day care center, give her a general idea regarding the hours of service that she needs to offer. If your center has a schedule that changes regularly, mention that to her and be sure that she can work on those schedules.

Salary – This factor should be decided upfront. However, before giving the offer, know first how much you can afford to pay. Do your homework and ask for suggestions from other day care centers and learning institutions. Also note the tax regulations in your state and everything that may affect the salary of the day care staff.

Discipline and Other Child Caring Issues – Since you are the one managing the day care center, don't forget to discuss with your staff regarding the standards and policies that your center has been maintaining. Let her know about what and what are not acceptable when it comes to disciplining a child. Also explain to them what should be done in case the children sleep, take snacks, or enjoy their TV time. Check if these policies are understood, respected and being followed.


Starting a day care business and hiring day care staff are indeed two of the toughest things you can consider in life. To keep everything smooth and normal, be willing to spend some time thinking all that you need to find and get the best staff. Settle everything necessary in mind and do the actions with much attention and care.