Spending the day with children is one thing, but managing a childcare facility and running a successful business is a completely different ballgame. It is important to think like a business professional to reach your goals. Read on to learn how to best manage a daycare facility.
Daycare Management Tips
Whether you're already in the childcare business or planning to open one, these daycare management tips will guide and motivate you to take your daycare business to the next level.
1. Invest In Your Employees
Your employees are your biggest assets. Therefore, making your staff feel appreciated and respected as educators and caretakers is crucial. Consider getting Self Care Daycare Provider Journals and Ultimate Daycare Planners for your staff to make them feel valued and inspired. You can invest in Daycare Personnel & Staff Forms.
You should also invest time and resources in training and ongoing education for them. This additional work increases the likelihood that your daycare will retain talented employees who will put in their best effort on the job and leave your customers thoroughly satisfied. Parents are more likely to feel comfortable if they can build rapport with the staff.
2. Keep a Comprehensive Manual
Even if it may seem stuffy, having a handbook for your business will improve parents' customer experience and safeguard your interests as a business owner. Create a policy manual for your daycare, and keep it up to date.
Have parents read it before enrolling their kids, and have it available all year. You can also consider getting a Parent/Daycare Provider Contract signed once parents have read the manual. State licensing agencies mandate many policies and emergency procedures that you must have in place.
3. Cater to Parents
Do you want to attract parents to your daycare? An easy way is to put yourself in their shoes. As a daycare provider, you don't want parents to feel stressed handing off their children. Even if your daycare is the best in the world, it won't attract parents if enrolling their child causes undue stress.
So, while you adhere to laws and regulations pertaining to licensing in your area, try to go above and beyond to make parents feel at ease. Make sure you use Parent Surveys. It will ensure that you have all the information you need to look after their children. You should also have Daily Report Forms that can be shared with parents if required.
4. Focus On Feedback & Reviews
In the daycare business, nothing is more valuable than a recommendation from a satisfied parent. The ideal strategy for organic growth is to provide excellent customer service and actively encourage satisfied clients to tell others about your business.
If you already have customers, you can encourage them to provide positive reviews by thanking them personally and posting their comments online. On the other hand, if your daycare is new and you haven't established a clientele yet, try the referral program. It involves offering discounts to customers who refer your daycare center to others.
5. Get Your Daycare Center Online
Using social media to promote your daycare business is a smart decision. If managing many social media accounts is too much, try picking one and using it exclusively to promote your business and build relationships with potential customers. Be sure to ask for permission before posting any images of a child online. Always use a Permission to Photograph Form before taking or posting pictures of children.
A daycare website is also a must. Parents will appreciate a central location for all your most pertinent information, but only if you maintain it with regular updates. Ensure that your daycare's address and contact details are prominently displayed on your website, as well as your policies, credentials, reviews, permission slips, and online enrollment choices.
Manage Your Daycare like a Pro with Standout Daycare
Need help starting a daycare business or expanding an existing one? Do you wish you had more daycare industry friends? Want to know when new funding opportunities become available? Standout Daycare is here for you. We provide tools, training, and resources to daycare providers to help them run a first-rate daycare that parents and children will love. Become a Standout Daycare Member today to take your business to the next level.
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