Staff retention

Good retention practice begins with a robust onboarding process. This is much more than reading policies and procedures.

It is how you welcome new staff into your setting. How they experience your welcome will shape their feelings about you as an employer, and whether they feel valued from the start. 

Onboarding starts before your new member of staff starts. As well as the necessary paperwork, it should include a welcome email detailing everything they need to feel welcome and ready.

• Do they know where to park?
• Where local transport links are?
• Who to report to?
• What to wear on their first day?

Here are some ideas for a welcoming onboarding experience:

Starter packs

This might include the staff handbook, uniform and a welcome card signed by all the team. You could even pop in a small gift like a mug to make them feel like one of the team from the start.

Purpose

Explaining your setting's values and vision is important. But it is also important for the new starter to understand what their contribution to this will be. Knowing how you fit and how you make a difference is key to having a sense of belonging within a team.

Expectations

It can be daunting starting a new role, at any point in someone's career. Having clarity around expectations can help. If a new starter has not had any experience working in an early years and childcare setting before, this becomes even more important. Setting small achievable goals for the first 4 weeks, working up to monthly goals until the end of probation, can help new starters learn about the role and your organisation. As a new starter succeeds their motivation will increase, which research tells us is critical to job satisfaction.

Buddy system

Whilst you will expect the line manager to be responsible for the overall onboarding process, a buddy can help the new starter settle into role. A positive buddy can model your values whilst they support and settle a new team member. This should not be seen as extra work by the buddy. A culture in which the team are supportive of each other will ensure your team see this as a natural way to support a new starter.

Listen

Ask your new starter for feedback. Check in regularly about how they are finding the new role. This builds trust and confidence. It also demonstrates that you value what they think as well as what they do. Learn from the feedback so you can continually improve your onboarding experience.

Job satisfaction is measured by:

• happiness in role
• feeling of job security and stability
• satisfaction with work life balance
• enjoying working with colleagues
• flexibility

Warning signs that job satisfaction is low:

• high staff turnover
• high levels of absence
• poor staff wellbeing
• reduced effort and drop in general engagement
• high levels of negativity and poor relationships between team members
• low energy and a drop in creativity

Increasing job satisfaction within the workforce is key to retention. This does take planning, time and resources - it does not happen by itself. But the benefits of your investment will be felt by the organisation, the team , the children and their families.

The wellbeing of young children is linked to the wellbeing of their caregivers, so it is important for both staff and children that the physical and emotional wellbeing of your teams is prioritised. We think this is so important that we have a whole section on supporting staff wellbeing.

Early years and childcare settings all know the value of providing a positive and nurturing environment for children to develop and thrive. This is equally important for staff - feeling safe, supported, respected and having a sense of belonging is good for your team too. Think about:

• How do you ensure your team feel safe to share concerns or ideas and do you then act on these?
• Do you have the resources and processes in place for all of the team to be effectively supported?
• How do you demonstrate that you trust your team?
• How do you recognise the work your teams do?

Showing staff appreciation is an important part of boosting team morale. This could be a simple thank you, or small rewards, which can all contribute to staff feeling valued.

Think about what you value most in your team or early years and childcare setting. You could consider a small reward to celebrate something your setting values being done well.

You could try asking your workforce to nominate an employee of the month. Sharing why they have nominated a colleague makes supportive, creative and caring practice visible.

Celebrating achievements and milestones is also appreciated. How do you celebrate staff who have gained new qualifications, developed new skills or hit in-service milestones?

Opportunities for continuous learning and growth contribute to keeping staff inspired and motivated. If you invest in their development, they feel secure in their roles and their future within your setting.

• Do you have development plans for each staff member?
• Do you understand what their career aspirations are and how you can support them to get there?
• Do you offer shadowing opportunities for staff wanting to develop within the setting – shadowing a room leader, deputy manager or manager for example?
• Before recruiting externally, do you give consideration to growing the talent you already have?
• Do you upskill your staff team through apprenticeships?
• Do you offer staff the opportunity to engage in high quality training? How do they share what they have learnt and evidence their new skills?

Conflict and hostility in teams can lead to feelings of instability.

• Do you deal with staff issues quickly and empathetically?

Unexpected change can lead to staff feeling insecure.

• How transparent are you about changes to practice or the setting that will impact the team?

Much of the working world has changed since the pandemic and your staff will be very aware of the flexibility offered in other sectors. You might want to consider some of these options to give your teams better work life balance:

• offer holiday allowance above the legal minimum of 20 days plus bank holidays
• increase holiday allowance in line with defined length of employment (for example an extra day a year up to 5 years)
• offer an extra day off for birthdays or significant relations' birthdays
• an extra day off every month for full-time staff whose performance is meeting expectations
• a half-day off a fortnight for full-time staff whose performance is meeting expectations
• opportunities to work part-time hours
• introduce staff wellbeing days

Early years and childcare staff often work long hours, so it is important that they do not feel they have to take work or worries about work home with them.

Daily check-outs are useful. This is where you speak to your team members at the end of the day. This gives the team an opportunity to share how their day went, celebrating successes and reflecting on how challenges were addressed. Check-outs encourage team members to leave work at work and not take worries home with them.

Some settings offer morning check-ins as an opportunity for staff to share how they are feeling and any challenges they may have at the start of the day too.

Have you thought about how to minimise paperwork? Are you providing staff with time out of ratios to complete observations and paperwork so they do not have to complete these in their own time or after work?

Staff who enjoy working with their colleagues stay longer in their role and take less time off. This is because they feel part of a team, are well supported, and do not want to let their colleagues down.

• Do you provide opportunities for the team to socialise together and build relationships outside of working hours?
• Do you do regular team building activities in your staff meetings?
• Do you celebrate birthdays or other notable occasions in your employees’ lives meaningfully and with joy?

We know that when job satisfaction is high, salary becomes less important. However, the early years and childcare sector is experiencing a recruitment and retention crisis, with other sectors such as retail and hospitality offering attractive benefits and higher salaries.

Within early years and childcare, the market is getting more competitive too.

• Are you aware of your competitors’ salaries and what they offer in addition to pay?
• Can you match local pay rates?
• What other benefits can you offer to retain your staff and attract new employees should you need to recruit?

The ideas listed in the work life balance section of this page are all useful, but some other ideas include:

• annual performance based pay reviews
• regular supervision
• discounted rates on childcare
• staff breaks and dedicated staff room
• free meals at work
• free uniforms
• free training and an agreed amount of paid days to engage in training
• termly intensive training (INSET) days
• free or subsidised social events
• mental health first aiders and staff other wellbeing offers
• open door policy

“Providers must put appropriate arrangements in place for the supervision of staff … which encourages the confidential discussion of sensitive issues”

(Section 3.27, The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework for group based providers)

The EYFS statutory framework requires that supervisions should provide opportunities for staff to:

• discuss any issues – particularly concerning children’s development or wellbeing, including child protection concerns
• identify solutions to address issues as they arise
• receive coaching to improve their personal effectiveness

Supervision is a regular dedicated time outside of performance management process, such as appraisals and performance reviews. It can be for small groups or 1:1. It offers a safe space for staff to:

• reflect on how working with children, families and other team members is affecting them personally
• explore their skills and understanding, highlighting any developmental needs
• feel supported in quality assuring their own practice and explore any worries or concerns about the welfare of children
• reflect on how they are upholding the vision and underpinning principles of the setting

Supervision is a key tool when looking at staff retention. It can:

• develop confidence and increase skills
• enable positive and cooperative working relationships between leaders and staff that are built on trust and respect
• provide a reflective, non-judgemental safe space that encourages honest and open discussion of issues experienced by staff in their work roles
• reduce stress-related absences and increase confidence in dealing with complex work related challenges

All of these factors contribute to higher levels of staff engagement, motivation and job satisfaction.

It is good practice to conduct exit interviews. They will help you understand why staff move on.

By analysing the feedback from exit interviews, you can create both short and long term plans for improving retention.

You can check this feedback with your team. They will have ideas to help you shape the environment and culture to support retention.

As a manger it is important to be open to the need to change, if evidence is showing there is room for improvement.