Childcare & Early Learning providers need workforce management tech — here’s why

Workforce management is an ongoing challenge for Childcare & Early Learning managers 

Childcare & Early Learning workers turn up to work each day with good intentions: to watch over, care for, and foster the development of the next generation of youth. But most of the time, these workers leave work feeling drained and demoralised. — and t To understand why, it’s important to see from the perspective of a Childcare & Early Learning manager. 

Imagine having to manage a roster of workers who are – as research shows – traditionally overworked,underpaid and underappreciated by society. These workers often get immense value from the work they do; they enjoy their carer and educational responsibilities and are willing to invest their emotional energy into their role. However, this comes at a cost: they are often exhausted. Not only is the work physically and emotionally draining, but they must also stay on top of endless paperwork. For these reasons, and others, there was an exodus of staff from the sector during the turmoil of COVID-19 – and many have not returned since., 

With high turnover, service providers have no choice but to continuously employ a flow of fresh talent. New talent is hard to find though, due to the multitude of qualifications required to enter the industry. And while many attempt to juggle their degree or diploma while working, a lack of flexible arrangements sees many of these working students drop out of their courses before completing them. 

A manager can’t change the demands of children and parents, nor the industry standard salary or required qualifications. What they can do, though, is optimise their existing teams and workflows to reduce burnout, increase engagement, and create a more pleasant employee experience (EX) to re-engage and retain them.

But first — why Humanforce? 

We are veterans in WFM technology. Humanforce was one of the first software providers specialising in rostering and time & attendance solutions in Australia. For 23 years, we have made the lives of managers and frontline (‘deskless’) workers easier through our workforce management software suite — and continue to do so today. 

As part of a wider human capital management (HCM) suite, Humanforce offers solutions for rostering & scheduling, tracking time & attendance, leave management, compliance, and more. This is what we can do for Childcare & Early Learning providers, both in Australia and across the globe.

Rostering & Scheduling is the ideal WFM solution for Childcare & Early Learning managers 

With many centres operating extended hours, shift work is synonymous with the Childcare & Early Learning industry. When rosters are carefully constructed, they can add genuine value to a business, not only from a cost benefit perspective but also from a worker happiness and engagement perspective. 

Worker burnout is a key driver of employee turnover in the Childcare sector, so reducing the risk of this occurring should be a key priority. The first step is ensuring well-forecasted, balanced and compliant rostering practices. Too little staff can lead to increased workloads and overtime, reducing the overall quality of care. Too many staff, and the organisation risks overspending on labour costs. 

Moreover, Childcare & Early Learning managers are met with various compliance obligations and qualifications management duties, both of which are covered in more depth in our previous article on HCM pain points for Childcare & Early Learning providers. These responsibilities act as major time vacuums — regardless of whether the manager is keeping tabs on qualification renewal dates, maintaining child-to-staff ratios, or manually calculating accurate payroll based on the relevant employment awards or agreements.

What is Humanforce Rostering & Scheduling?  

Humanforce’s Rostering & Scheduling solution is a modern, AI-powered scheduling solution that elevates workforce planning for Childcare & Early Llearning centres. Managers can create optimised, cost-effective, award-compliant rosters with just a few clicks. 

The solution can help meet compliance requirements, including the need to roster both ‘contact time’ (working with children) as well as ‘non-contact time’ to work on course planning and admin tasks. Managers can also ‘float’ staff between rooms and to help cover breaks. 

Using sophisticated AI, rosters can be auto populated with suitably qualified and available talent who have specified their work preferences. It can even help forecast how many workers will be required based on historical data.  

Managers can auto-generate rosters based on previous work patterns. This is especially handy if your workforce relies on a rotating roster. Labour costs are shown directly in the roster as it is being created, ensuring that managers can stay within budget. 

Employees can use the Humanforce Work App to bid for shifts based on their preferences and availability, potentially helping them balance work with other life priorities.  

Finally, managers can switch to multi-view rostering for a top-down view of employee schedules and projected labour costs, giving them a greater understanding of employee capacity and wellbeing, as well as overall labour expenditure. And this is all doable with intuitive, click-and-drag controls and automated alerts for rostering conflicts.

In summary, Rostering & Scheduling is a win-win for managers and employees alike. Managers can enjoy the newfound benefits of automated rostering, payroll, and compliance functionality, cutting down the time required for manual administrative duties. Meanwhile, employees can take greater control over their work schedule, ensure accurate pay, and be notified by the system for any upcoming qualification renewal dates. 

As a best-in-one human capital management (HCM) solution, Humanforce also has a HR suite, including Compliance Management, to more effectively track continuous professional development (CPD), manage qualifications, certifications, visas, vaccinations, and more with automated expiry reminders and alerts.