Without a doubt, recruitment is the most enormous challenge our business has faced since 2004 when we started,’ says Abby Auty, co-founder of Red Balloon, a three-setting nursery group in Surrey. ‘We are never not recruiting.’ The NDNA’s 2019 workforce survey found that 77 per cent of settings in England said they had issues recruiting Level 3-qualified staff and 24 per cent reported difficulties recruiting even unqualified staff.
In Scotland the situation for PVIs is even worse, driven by the Scottish government’s plan to expand funded childcare hours, leading to a local authority childcare recruitment drive. The NDNA found staff turnover in Scottish PVIs is 29 per cent, higher than the UK average, with 62 per cent reporting significant challenges in retaining staff.
‘The situation is impossible,’ says Karen Flynn, area manager at Kirktonholme Nurseries. ‘We have lost over a third of our workforce since October 2018. All but one have gone to local authority nurseries. All were experienced staff in whom we had invested in over the years. The salaries offered were 50 per cent higher and we can’t match them.’
For some nursery groups the recruitment crisis has been exacerbated by Brexit. ‘Brexit has been a massive influence,’ says Ms Auty. ‘At the time of the referendum one in three of our staff were EU nationals, now it is one in ten. That channel of recruitment switched off practically overnight.’
Red Balloon is considering looking further afield for candidates. ‘We recently had an application from a Thai lady who was extremely well qualified and had a wealth of experience,’ says Ms Auty. ‘It made us think perhaps we should be tapping into markets beyond the EU, but that is very much in its infancy, and red tape may prove too restrictive.’
EU nationals have full freedom to work in the UK until December 2020, and beyond if they apply for settled status. Non-EU nationals need appropriate immigration visas, which generally are only offered for roles where the salary is £30,000 or above. ‘We can’t stretch to that for a standard practitioner,’ says Ms Auty.
GOING ABROAD
Some chains are continuing to recruit in Europe. Bright Horizons turned to Spain in the summer of 2018.
‘We decided to partner with an experienced external agency and tasked them with helping us to recruit more than 20 Level 3 or above early years practitioners,’ says Karen Harbisher, head of HR at Bright Horizons.
‘Following two dedicated campaigns in Madrid we were able to successfully offer and relocate 25 childcare practitioners who met our criteria. Following on from the success of this campaign, we made the decision to continue with our international recruitment, with a particular focus on geographical areas where we were finding it difficult to source talent locally.’
During 2019 the chain has completed five successful recruitment campaigns in Spain, relocating more than 50 qualified nursery nurses to areas such as Cambridge, Oxfordshire, Richmond, Manchester and London. Another 25 will be relocated in the coming months.
‘The impact of our new overseas recruits has been significant,’ says Ms Harbisher. ‘It has enabled us to reduce agency staff and the associated costs, allowing us to offer increased continuity of care throughout our nurseries and a strengthening of the relationships with our nursery families.
‘Due to our focus on qualified recruits we have been able to offer more apprenticeship opportunities locally to those people who would like to start their childcare journey with us.’
Two of the recruits have already been promoted to room leaders, while four received awards at the chain’s annual Awards of Excellence. ‘We anticipate further promotions before the end of 2019,’ says Ms Harbisher.
Kids Allowed, which has eight settings in the Manchester area, currently only has four vacancies in a team of around 500. Chief executive Jennie Johnson believes that building a local reputation as a good place to work is key to the chain’s recruitment success.
‘We are transparent about our pay grades and we pay better than the norm,’ she says. ‘We have a clear set of values; we make sure our management team is trained to show gratitude for a job well done.’
A bonus scheme, a strong induction programme, healthcare including access to counselling and a team room stocked with food and drink are among the other elements that contribute to the chain’s good reputation as an employer.
ATTRACTING TALENT
However, even Kids Allowed has noticed a slowdown. ‘We used to have loads of people applying but now we have to work harder to get talent through the door,’ says Ms Johnson.
One of the secrets to the group’s success is a focus on recruiting young staff who can be trained up on the job. ‘We are recruiting great people who are not necessarily qualified, but have the spark, and then upskilling them through our training academy. We tend to be recruiting apprentices, because it can be so hard to find qualified nursery nurses,’ says Ms Johnson.
Each setting is paired with at least one secondary school. ‘We are there at the Year 8 options evening with a stand, we offer work experience, and we make them aware this is an option,’ she says. ‘By Year 11 we hope they will consider an apprenticeship with us as an alternative to college.’
This summer, the chain launched its first paid work experience programme, advertising on social media for students to take part.
‘There were about 25, all doing relevant degrees such as teacher training,’ says Ms Johnson. ‘The experience was great for them and many have gone on to relief contracts with us. We hope to develop the scheme.’
Kirktonholme Nurseries is targeting ‘returners and career changers’ as well as young people. But turnover is so high the chain is concerned that new joiners will lack mentors. ‘It is so concerning and worrying for the future,’ says Ms Flynn. ‘There will be people going through qualifications who have nobody to mentor them.’
For Pear Tree Nurseries, which runs three nurseries in Scotland, building a local reputation is also the key to successful recruitment, with a particular focus on the family feel the small chain is able to maintain in its settings.
‘One staff member left to work for the local authority and then came back to us,’ says Nicola Pryde, director/owner. ‘It was totally about the family feel and how we treat our staff. We didn’t know that until she came back and told us, but now we can use that as part of our recruitment, feeling you are part of a family, not just a team.’
Pear Tree is also looking to strengthen its induction process after finding many of its unqualified recruits leave within a few months. ‘Our core staff have been here a long time and appreciate how we treat them and what we do, and I don’t think they will leave,’ says Ms Pryde. ‘We have to look at those who are leaving quickly and concentrate on our induction process to retain the people we are recruiting.’
The chain is about to launch a new website with a revamped recruitment section. ‘People can apply at any time, they don’t have to wait for an ad,’ she says.
Thinking innovatively about staff retention has led Red Balloon to make some changes in its business approach. ‘Ten years ago, all our staff would work a four-day, 40-hour week,’ says Ms Auty. ‘Now we have about 36 different working patterns. We bend over backwards to accommodate any form of working pattern that makes the person feel they have a good work-life balance.’
The chain has redesigned its bonus scheme with a greater emphasis on rewards for longevity, and is reviewing and increasing pay more regularly.
GROUP ADVANTAGE
The increased opportunities for promotion and career development that nursery groups are able to offer is an advantage when it comes to recruitment. ‘We are looking at almost 100 per cent promotion from within when it comes to room leaders and management. It is rare to join at a level other than apprentice or nursery nurse,’ says Ms Johnson.
‘When we were just one setting, the biggest reason for losing people was the lack of promotional opportunities, so now it is fantastic to be able to offer more senior positions, and we see a lot of migration between settings,’ says Ms Auty. ‘Training is another big factor, we never turn down a staff request for any form of training.’
When it comes to advertising, some chains such as Kirktonholme Nurseries, are turning to social media. Some online advertising, however, can be deceptive.
‘When we started using Indeed.co.uk, we were jumping for joy in the first two weeks at the sheer volume of applicants, but six months later we realised you are looking at possibly employing one out of 30 applicants, as they are impossible to get hold of, they don’t respond to our calls, or they don’t turn up to interview,’ says Ms Auty. ‘I wonder if the platform makes it too easy to apply for jobs and people just click out of a vague sense of interest.’
The NDNA is calling on the Government to stop ignoring the situation and support nurseries, particularly with the underfunding of free places. In Scotland, it is calling for councils to review local recruitment policies to ensure PVIs do not miss out. But it is clear that recruitment and retention will continue to be a challenge in the near future.