Job Descriptions for Child Care Programs

For the past couple of weeks, we’ve talked about Employee Evaluations.  In these posts, I’ve talked about the importance of making sure that each evaluation is based upon that employee’s Job Description.  This is how you ensure that your employees all clearly understand your expectations for their performance.

While a Job Description provides a framework as to what it will take for your employee to be successful in the position, writing Job Descriptions is a careful balancing act.  They need to be specific enough to inform each employee exactly what you expect them to do without bogging everyone down in unnecessary details. 

I shudder to think of how many modifications we have made to our Job Descriptions over the years.  While the core layout has remained the same, we've learned that a few things just really need to be spelled out more clearly.  For example, we just kind of assumed that if we hired a program manager with a recent Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education, that person would know how to use email, Word, and Excel.  We were mistaken.  We also assumed that if we hired a teacher, that person would have thought ahead enough to realize that they needed a reliable way to get to work.  Again, we were mistaken.  Those components are now part of our Job Descriptions.

Making sure that our staff members know these basic requirements right up front (we explain the Job Description as part of the interview process), helps us to hire the correct person and provides them with the tools they need to be successful in their position.  They also understand from the beginning that the Job Description will provide the framework for evaluations.  

If you don't already have comprehensive Job Descriptions for your employees, check ours out at: http://daycaretools.com/DaycareProducts.aspx#Personnel

Misty