Professional Development: Involving and Empowering Employees

Welcome back😊

The longevity of teachers in our early childhood programs has become such a challenge over the last few years.

I have decided to look though a new lens when training new teachers. Asking myself the questions: What has changed, and how can I retain teachers for longer to provide consistency within the classroom?

I determined that training matters within every profession and here is why:

📏Increase longevity

👀Focuses is on the future

💪Strengthen the program

🏗️Builds employee morale

I started to look at our training process and found that we need to individualize based on the teacher’s skill level and design, or prescribe training to help them grow their skills and feel confident. (Just like teachers do with the children within the classroom!)

There are two types of training for employees:

1. Company policies and procedures/ state licensing rules and requirements: this type of training is during the employees’ first few weeks of hire or when there are updates to company policies or state licensing rules. This training will help employees understand the importance of keeping children safe while in their care and acclimatize them to the company culture.

2. Growth and development: the employee is reading or taking a class to learn new skills to grow within their knowledge and gain the mastery of their position.

As leaders we want our employees to be excited about learning!

How to engage employees in their own professional development:

I think of the quote by W.B. Yeats, “Education is not filling the pot but the lighting of the fire.” As leaders, we need to stop just putting any training in the pot for employees to meet a requirements. We must be mindful and include the employee in choosing training to light their fire❤️‍🔥 to be better teachers!

I started to ask employee’s where they were struggling in their classroom. I have seen that each employee had a different thought than I had, and I used this as an opportunity to engage them in their own learning.

Here are the steps I use to involve employees in their own professional development…

Using this strategy, I have now created excitement to learn and implement what they have learned! You can add a new step by empowering employees to share what they learned, and how it is being used within their classroom with their peers at a staff meeting. This also will allow you as a leader to assess their ability to lead others.

As Bill Gates once said: “As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.”  I believe as leaders we need to empower our teachers to be a part of sharing knowledge and experiences so they one day can be leaders with in the Early childhood field as well.

Till Next time,

Jen🖍️

P.S Here is a template for employee empowered professional development.

P.P.S. If you have questions on my “why” behind this or general guidance, I am always a message away! [email protected]