Any directors out there

[minimiracles]

Hi. I am a first year director at a brand new center (talk about takeing on a lot). I split my time between teaching in the toddler classroom and being the director. Any other directors out there? Got any tips for getting staff, keeping staff happy and getting them to do thier jobs well, finding children to fill up the center.
Thanks
S;)

[mopar]

I am not a director but I've had a couple of good ones. They really work on staff suggestions for hiring new staff. A good way to keep staff happy, maybe set up a breakfast rotation. Have a different set of teachers bring breakfast or snacks each week. Lots of positives for teachers, like writing each other small notes. Try letting them win something if they have the most in a week. Can be an early night or extra half hour break.

Lots of training and extra ideas to get staff to do their jobs well. Maybe keep a book with ideas for different ages that all teachers can share.

[minimiracles]

thank you for your tips.:)

[Boxcar]

To attract children, try giving parental perks.

For example, if a parent refers someone to you, that parent gets a gift certificate or a discounted rate. You could also try having occasional free Saturday, Sunday, or later night hours. These don't have to be very often, but parents will find them very useful. If once a month, a parent can leave the child at the center for free so that s/he can run errands or clean the house then that would be a great motivator to attend the center.

You can also try having little parenting seminars at different venues. These can be hour long session that are free to the public, but promote your center. Ask local children's clothing, book, and toy stores if you can give a small talk at their location. They will probably like the attraction it will draw to their store, as much as you will like the customers it will get you. Try to avoid controversial topics for your discussions, of course. Afterwards, hand out goodie bags with promotional stuff. It can be really cheap stuff that is still good. For instance, you can get t-shirts, pens, ect. personalized in bulk over the Internet for very little money. Obviously, you'd personalize the items with the center's information. The stores may also want to give away some of their overstocks as well. You can do the same kind of talks at area hospitals, parks, libraries, and colleges.

You might also try offering a free trial week to people. This has the benefit of getting the parents in the door. Once they have been bringing their child for a week, they will be in the habit of coming. They will be less motivated to search for another center when there is a perfectly good one right in front of them. The children will probably also have already made friends, and they will not want to leave. This is why I suggested a week. A day would be too short to deal with seperation anxiety and to get the child adjuested. A week is slightly longer, and it is more likely that the child will start becoming more comfortable in this time.

Oh, you can also visit shopping centers at peak parent shopping times. Hand out the card of your center and a pencil to every parent and grandparent you see. You could also assemble a paper booklet of some, maybe like five, cute fingerplays to hand out instead of the pencil.

That is all I can think of at the moment. Hope some of these ideas are good.