The year 2021 was heavily characterized by what experts are referring to as “The Great Resignation.” People chose to quit their jobs at rates exceeding anything the U.S. has seen in the previous 20 years.
While the news of so many resignations might be shocking and concerning for childcare, business owners realize that there are advantages you can draw from changes in the workforce.
Evaluating ways you can serve parents better with flexible childcare options that meet their needs for flexible work to return to the workforce on their terms is one huge opportunity.
But another opportunity is to focus on retaining your best teachers and attracting teachers who left other childcare centers unwilling to adjust to meet their needs.
Why Employees Resigned
Low pay and lack of advancement opportunities were the top reasons employees left their jobs in 2021. But there are several other reasons they noted as well. The following list is in order of most popular reasons for resigning to the least popular.
- The pay was too low
- No opportunities for advancement
- The feeling of being disrespected at work
- Because of childcare issues
- Not enough flexibility to choose when to put in hours
- The benefits weren’t good
- Wanted to relocate to a different area
- Working too many hours
- Working too few hours
- The employer required a COVID-19 vaccine
Understanding why employees leave can guide you in adjusting your policies to meet the needs of today’s workers.
What Childcare Owners Can Learn from the Data
Employees are walking away from their jobs across all industries. And many of these industries include employees with skill sets that could easily transition to childcare, such as school educators. The largest industries that experienced resignations were hotels and restaurants, with 8 percent of all positions open. In contrast, education has 4.4 percent open positions.
Even IT positions and financial firms saw significant rates of resignations despite being some of the more desirable industries to be in historically.
But to attract the best workers, you might need to make some adjustments to your hiring and working policies. Here are some big takeaways from The Great Resignation data.
- Demonstrate that the work your team does is meaningful to your community
People like to work in industries where they know they are making a difference. Feeling connected to your organization’s mission and the people you serve can help you attract and retain top talent.
But you can’t just tell them this all the time. They need to see it in the parents they interact with and the developmental milestones their students reach. Showing childcare teachers their impact can be simple, with good processes in place to demonstrate how much the children in their classes are learning and pulling reports from childcare management software that they can use to talk with parents regularly.
- Offer flexible work options to meet workers’ needs
Today’s workers want flexible work options. That means working the best hours for their families or taking on a part-time schedule.
While this might be more challenging for you to accommodate, it can mean that you have the best of the best options for hiring. Take time to listen when employees need time off and do your best to accommodate. You won’t always be able to empower employees to take the exact times off they always want because you must ensure proper staffing, but the more effort you put into working with the needs of your team, the better you’ll be able to retain talent.
- Create a collaborative, pleasant work culture
Your work culture makes a huge difference in whether teachers choose to stay working with you. An incredible 46 percent of job seekers list job culture as an essential factor in their decision-making about a new job.
And you should note that your existing employees will tell others about their experience working for you. You need to build a good reputation in your community as being the place where people want to work.
This also means having the best, easy-to-use childcare software to power the classroom experience. Modern teachers expect high-quality tools to guide them and document important information.
While many in the industry see The Great Resignation as a challenge, you can choose to see it as an opportunity to attract the best talent who have chosen to leave their jobs elsewhere.
If you’re focused on adjusting your work culture and technology, schedule a demo with iCare Software.