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FALL 2017
I N F O R M AT I O N Q U A R T E R LY O N C H I L D C A R E M A N A G E M E N T
• How to Make the Transition to New Technology Seamless and Easy • Interested in Using SmartCare for Free? • 4 Tips for Hiring and Keeping the Best Child Care Staff
Keeping Up With the Millennial Generation
Is Your Center Keeping Up With the Millennial Generation? If your child care center is like most, you’re still accepting only cash and checks for payment. While there were plenty of good reasons to avoid using new technological payment options, those reasons are quickly fading. And there’s a major reason to consider using new payment options.
According to the Guardian, many experts predict that by 2025 as many as 75% of all transactions will be made without cash. With close to five billion global mobile users, there’s a huge opportunity for mobile payments. This is especially true for the child care centers that still accept only cash and check payments. If your child care center wants to take advantage of this massive opportunity in serving the millennial generation, using new technology to connect with them is crucial for success. This means As you may know, child care
most transparent generation
introducing new technology
needs for the millennial
ever and they continue to
to your center so parents feel
generation are growing at a
remain heavily connected
connected to their children
rapid pace. This generation
online even after they become
throughout the day. It also
is history’s first “always
parents. Over 35% of millennial
means ensuring they feel
connected” generation.
parents claim to have posted
mobile payments in your
They are immersed in digital
on Facebook in the last day.
center are secure.
technology and social media
That means that among the
and treat their hand-held
older millennials (those 25-
While introducing new
devices almost like a body
34), 3.78 million of them are
technology to your center may
part. More than eight-in-ten
“connected” on any given day –
seem like a daunting task.
say they sleep with a cell
and that’s just Facebook.
You may think your parents
phone by their bed.
This is important for child care
will be hesitant to trust a new
centers because millennials
system. Then you have to train
Among the older half of
are 2.5 times more likely to be
your staff, which can be time-
millennials, those between
early adopters of technology
consuming and overwhelming.
ages 25-34, there are now
than previous generations.
However, millennials want to
10.8 million households with
This includes the use of mobile
use new technology. So there’s
children. Millennials are the
payments.
little hesitancy in this new
MARKETING TIP
generation of parents. What’s
provide in-person onboarding
more, there are systems on
and support to make sure
the market today to ease the
every center feels completely
pain and make the transition
comfortable with all aspects
to a new management
of the software. This way, all
software system seamless.
staff and parents leave with confidence in the system and
One such technology has
understand how to access
solutions for child care
every feature.
centers of all sizes. This new
Focus on What Sets You Apart In today’s world, we are constantly exposed to advertisements and marketing
software offers modern
This new technology came
schemes that are striving for our
mobile and web solutions
about when two companies
attention. The goal is to grab a
that connect child care center
– SmartCare and ChildCare
potential customer’s attention
owners, directors, teachers,
Manager – joined forces in
and spark their interest. What
and parents in real-time. It
early 2016. With decades of
has all the features of child
experience from ChildCare
makes your child care center
care management software,
Manager and innovative
but with a modern twist.
technology from SmartCare,
These apps offer child care
the company has the
centers secure sign-in and
technological solutions every
ratio? Is your teaching method
sign-out, automated billing,
child care center can use.
influenced by Reggio Emilia
different from other centers in the area? Does your center have a low teacher-to-child
or Maria Montessori? Is your
payment processing, mobile payments and parent
With the technology these
center committed to outside
communication (including
two companies provide,
play every day? Parents should
photos and video sent in
there’s no reason introducing
real-time). This software can
new technology should be
have a compelling reason to
a concern. Allowing parents to access these new tools will increase their sense
choose your center over others in the area. All child care centers are focused on providing a safe
of security, help them stay
environment that supports the
connected throughout the
needs of children, so don’t spend
day and allow them to make
all of your time focusing on this.
payments on-the-go; all of
Focus on what sets you apart
which help millennial parents
and make it clear to parents
feel connected to their child care center and make them want to share their experience with others.
what that is within moments of stepping foot inside your center.
Interested in Using SmartCare for Free? Consider the Parent-Pay Option
$
If your child care center isn’t accepting online or mobile pay, you might be wanting to avoid the extra costs associated with these payment options. However, most millennials have grown accustomed to paying for the vast majority of their purchases and bills using one of these options. This includes child care. What if you could offer these options for free? An easy option many child care
options online or through
the accounting and reporting
centers use is the parent-pay
their smartphone. Parents
center to the directors and
option. Rather than the center
always have access to their
owners have full transparency
paying the fees, the parent-pay
tuition balance and they are
of everything that’s happening
option passes the fee payment
automatically emailed a receipt
with tuition payments.
onto the parent. This is done
after paying.
through a small monthly tech fee. This attractive option
For the center owner or
allows child care centers to
director, SmartCare will
enjoy using the software with
simplify and streamline a lot of
no extra charges.
manual processes and provide access to all center data
The tech fee is similar to a
from any internet-accessible
registration or materials fee
device. All the time you used
that many centers already
to spend keeping everything
have in place. Each month
in order with tedious projects,
parents would have this tech
you can now focus it on more
fee wrapped into their tuition
important things.
balance, adding three to five dollars each month. That’s less
Another attractive option
than the price of one latte –
for both the school and the
and it’s low enough that most
parent is the ability parents
If you’re interested in learning
millennials won’t bat an eye at it.
have to setup auto-pay online.
more about how parent-pay
This automated billing option
can help your school, schedule
One added benefit for parents
reduces late payments, making
your demo today. You’ll quickly
is that the school their child
sure child care centers always
see why centers are starting to
goes to continues to provide
get payments on time. And it
use SmartCare without having
the best technology for security.
reduces late fees for parents.
to pay for it. It provides parents
It allows for easy payment
What’s more, everyone from
with technology that they love.
i
HOW TO
Make the Transition to New Technology Seamless and Easy Taking the next step with new technology in your child care center may seem like a daunting task. But knowing there’s great customer service behind the software can make all the difference in the world. When you have a problem, you want to know there’s someone you can contact who will be able to solve your problem.
The trouble with many customer service managers is that they haven’t ever been in your shoes. But that’s not the case with Pattie Shomaker. Three years ago, Pattie attended Kris Murray’s Child Care Success Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she first discovered SmartCare. She was an Executive Director for a child care company in Salt Lake City, Utah. “I was sitting in a demo and learned of new child care management software called SmartCare. I was intrigued. It seemed to put all the daily jobs of a full management team into one application. I loved the idea of streamlining my processes and cutting down on labor. I checked into it and signed up to be a tester of the product. I then decided I needed to be a part of this great company and came to work for SmartCare,” said Pattie. Pattie began her journey with SmartCare in 2015, traveling around the country and talking to parents with children in child care. Pattie and others from the Customer Success team interviewed them about their views
on the day-to-day comings
countless hours on the
the one-on-one training and
and goings in their child
phone planning travel and
truly appreciate the on-site
care centers. They asked
training directors, teachers,
implementation experience.
about security, safety, and
and parents. Her favorite
Pattie loves helping a center
functionality, learning much
part of her job is getting to
grow and learn to better
from their perspective that
travel to all the different
manage their teachers and
they could bring back to
child care centers seeing
children.
the rest of the SmartCare
their daily operation and
team. Pattie was also able
spend the face-to-face time
to witness the development
with them. Her clients love
So if you need help, Pattie is here to serve you.
team take the results of these hundreds of interviews and merge them into the software available today. Many of the suggestions from the child care center parents and staff helped us shape the software solution that SmartCare offers today. Pattie now has the opportunity to introduce SmartCare to clients all over the country. She spends
Does your child care center have the ability to communicate with parents throughout the day? Can you send photos and updates to parents? How about videos? With SmartCare’s latest software system, teachers can do all of this and more. Parents want to feel more connected to their children throughout the day. With SmartCare’s new video technology, teachers can send parents photos and videos for everything from easing their first day drop-off concerns to educational milestones. Teachers and parents can comment back on these updates using the SmartCare Teacher and Parent Apps. To add a video to a child’s timeline, teachers simply choose the attach function and can send videos as a MOV or MP4 file. Parents also have the ability to save these photos and videos on their child’s timeline, which they can share with other family members or on social media.
TIPS FOR
Hiring & Keeping
CHILD CARE S TAF F
Read more posts at www.smartcare.com/blog
Quality employees are the key to making your child care center great. Parents look at things like qualifications and number of years employed at the center when making decisions about where to send their child. Unfortunately, it can be hard to find great workers and even harder to keep them at your center.
Rather than putting an ad in the newspaper or on Craigslist, work your network to find great employees. Let staff and parents know that you are looking to hire new teachers or administrative staff. This can give you higher quality candidates, especially if you offer an incentive for referrals. Additionally, if you currently employ part-time workers, tap into that pool before you cast a wider net.
Ask candidates why they want to work for your child care center. Then choose the people who have specific reasons for preferring your center over those who have general reasons for wanting to work with children. Have they worked at other centers in the past? What did they like and dislike? Rather than asking typical questions about strengths and weaknesses, ask candidates how they would deal with specific problems they might face in the classroom, such as dealing with a child who is being aggressive or helping a child who is shy making new friends. Do they have real-life examples to share?
Take the time to check the candidates’ references and perform thorough background checks. In particular, ask former employers about how long the person stayed with the company. Ideally, you would like to find workers who are going to stick with your center for many years. If the candidate seems to bounce around from job to job, you may want to pass on them. Also, check with state requirements to see which background checks are required for each employee at your child care center. This can vary from state to state.
Give employees a good reason to stick with your company for a long time. A solid benefits package can be a big selling point. Include things like healthcare, paid vacation time, options for retirement savings, and discounts on tuition for their own children. These are all great ways to retain quality employees. Also remember that it’s important to offer competitive wages so they don’t feel tempted to keep looking for a position after starting with your child care center. Ultimately, if you want to attract and retain the best staff members, you need to be a child care center where people want to work. Set up a positive environment that supports employees. Learn more in our Guide to Child Care Staffing here and how to retain the best staff members in our blog post here.