May - 2017

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New parent visits – “Indifference” or “Enthusiasm” – your choice!

New parent visits – “Indifference” or “Enthusiasm” – your choice!

It's normal for most childcare providers to show new parents and their children around the setting to help them decide where to place their child and also to gain the sale of a childcare place. "So, hands up, how many of you actually ask for the business?" By that, I mean, ask the parent to choose your setting over everyone else's. In our experience it is not a very high percentage, and I can already hear you saying, "surely it's parental choice?" You are right it is, but wh

Marketing 5 Big Steps

Marketing 5 Big Steps

Whether you are marketing your childcare services now or are thinking about it one thing remains a fact, "Ignore marketing and at some point your setting will suffer!" We often hear childcare providers saying, "We don't need to do any marketing, parents find us by word of mouth" which is actually a key marketing strategy that you can feed and develop, BUT if you think that's the only reason parents choose you, why not ask them and be sure? (oh, and that's another key marketin

The "gift" of a complaint

The "gift" of a complaint

I know, it took me a while to understand what the heck was meant by the gift of a complaint, but now that I understand the power of this phrase, my business delivers better quality than ever!....Let me explain... One of my biggest bug-bears when I walk into a childcare setting, (or any business like shops or restaurants), is getting a negative attitude from the first person I see or who greets me. Generally greetings I receive are on the whole positive, but I have experienced

Too busy? Or not in control of your time?

Too busy? Or not in control of your time?

We all have periods at work when we struggle to have enough time in the day to get everything done. But what interests us are the many studies on how people control their time and some of the ways they can truly save time and be more efficient if only they could take a step back and reflect! Well anyone can, so why not give it a try if you feel hard pressed with these few ideas we have to help you save your time.....your alternative is to keep going under pressure for ever! “

What! - Staff making decisions, really?

What! - Staff making decisions, really?

I know what you're thinking, staff make decisions all day long right? Ok well that's true enough, but what inspired me to write this blog today was a few interesting examples I have come across where owners and managers have been approaching decision making in two wildly differing ways. The first approach is, "I'm the manager I make all the decisions" and in complete contrast, "I'm the manager but I have a hands off approach and my staff work autonomously". In my humble opini

Vision to Supervision - Why staff appraisals are so important

Vision to Supervision - Why staff appraisals are so important

We talked in our recent article about the importance of holding positive staff appraisals with your staff each year and how motivating that can be for the individual, but also how beneficial they are to the business. The early years and childcare sector is no different from any other sector in that it relies on the skill and experience of its staff to ensure high quality services. In some ways you could argue that it is more important for staff to be of high quality in the ca