Are You a Good Employer?

01/11/2008

As a child, one has the magical capacity to know a hundred different smells of mud.
Valerie Andrews

The Manitoba Child Care Program's newsletter, "An Eye on Early Learning and Child Care in Manitoba," contains an excerpt from a Canadian Child Care Federation book, Partners in Quality by Barbara Kaiser and Judy Sklar Rasminsky, which outlines steps a child care director can take to create a positive work environment...

Smile, greet, and interact with each staff each day
Model a respectful and harmonious work environment
Acknowledge staff's accomplishments
Create a culture of lifelong learning
Develop a clear mission statement, goals, policies, procedures, and work responsibilities in consultation with employees
Develop specific job descriptions that outline expectations and responsibilities for trained and untrained staff
Do annual staff evaluations and encourage self-assessment and goal setting
Identify training gaps for career development and in access to resources
Offer to support professional development and post-secondary education, such as time off and paying for all or part of tuition and books
Match staff's abilities, skills, and interests to program requirements
Evaluate programs; ask for feedback on improvements; follow through on approved recommendations
Delegate responsibility

Tools for Employers

Our Manager's Tool Kit, containing the resources listed below, is now on sale on our web site:

The Art of Leadership: Managing Early Childhood Organizations
Managing Money: A Center Director’s Guidebook
Stick Your Neck Out — A Street-Smart Guide to Creating Change in Your Community and Beyond
250 Management Success Stories from Child Care Directors
Exchange Article CD Collection #9: Taking Stock — Evaluation Tools for Program, Teacher, and Director
Exchange Article CD Collection #5: Supervising Staff

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For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.