Scheduling

[CherylHEA]

Hi Everyone! I am new to the forum, thanks for all your posts. I have moved to a new community where I am considering opening a small center for infants and toddlers, there is a big gap in care here for this age group. My big concern is enrolling and scheduling. A large percentage of the parents in this community work retail and the food and beverage industry, we are kind of a tourist spot. How do your fill your spots with families with varying schedules?

[Cat Herder]

Most centers have two shifts. Openers (6-2 FT, lead) + Closers (2-6 PT, assistant), with a couple PT float positions (6-12, 12-6) to cover breaks, emergencies and daily maintenance (avoids overtime from end of day cleaning, no more waiting until close to clean then dragging it out).

Some have tried to make everyone part-time to save on benefits, but they tend to not have enough staff with required training and have high turnover.

[Michael]

Welcome to the forum. Here is an older thread from our archives with How To Handle Fluctuating Schedules: https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=87627