8 Tips for Hiring and Retaining Great Childcare Staff

Hire for values, train for skills

Curriculum techniques can be taught; warmth, patience, and reliability are much harder to install. Screen first for the human qualities that make a great educator, then invest in developing the rest.

A clear, honest job preview during hiring saves heartbreak later. Show candidates a real day — the joyful and the messy — so the people who say yes know exactly what they're choosing.

Make the first 90 days intentional

Most turnover happens early, when a new hire feels lost or unsupported. A structured onboarding plan — a mentor, a checklist, weekly check-ins — turns a nervous newcomer into a confident team member.

Tell new staff what "great" looks like in their first month, and celebrate when they hit it. Early wins build the loyalty that carries a team through the hard weeks.

Protect your educators' time. Cutting an hour of daily paperwork is often a bigger retention win than a raise — it tells staff you value their energy where it matters most: with the children.

The retention checklist

• Write honest job descriptions and give a realistic day-in-the-life preview
• Assign every new hire a mentor for their first 90 days
• Hold short, regular one-on-ones — not just annual reviews
• Recognise great work publicly and specifically
• Remove low-value admin tasks so staff can focus on children
• Ask for feedback often, and visibly act on it

Build a culture people don't want to leave

Pay matters, but people stay for belonging. Teams that feel respected, heard, and trusted weather lower pay far better than well-paid teams that feel disposable.

Small rituals — a Friday shout-out, a covered break, a genuine thank-you — compound into a place where great educators build their careers instead of passing through.