Over the course of the last 6 weeks, HiMama conducted the first half of its employee engagement survey for early childhood educators based on questions developed by Gallup Organization to identify feelings of job satisfaction and engagement in the field. According to Gallup, survey results show a strong correlation between high scores and superior job performance.
The six questions are:
- Do you know what is expected of you at work?
- Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right?
- At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?
- In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?
- Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person?
- Is there someone at work who encourages your development?
The general trend that we noticed from this survey is that Directors / Assistant Directors are significantly more engaged in their roles than Lead Teachers / Teachers. Based on the comments on the survey, most teachers are very passionate about their work with children but feel under appreciated by management.
Without further ado:
The demographic of respondents consisted of 55% Directors / Assistant directors, 16% Lead Teachers / Teachers and 29% Consultants. All administrators seemed to have a clear (or somewhat clear) view of the expectations of their role, with no one saying “no”. However, teachers were much less clear on what was expected of them at work.
For this question, the demographic consisted of 55% Directors / Assistant directors, 35% Lead Teachers / Teachers and 12% Consultants. The results were generally positive, with most respondents stating that they have the materials required to perform their roles effectively. However, a significant 44% of teachers stated that they do not have the right materials to perform their jobs!
70% of respondents were Directors / Assistant Directors, 17% were teachers and 13% were consultants. While the trend for directors is positive, teachers were equally split in their response. Meaning, 50% of teachers feel like they don’t have the opportunity to do what they do best every day! A common theme in the comments was: “too much to do, too little time!”
51% of respondents were Directors / Assistant Directors, 41% were teachers and 8% were consultants. On the one hand, 64% of Directors and Assistant Directors felt that they were appreciated in their roles, particularly by parents. On the other hand, 71% of teachers felt that they were not appreciated for their work in the last week. If you are a leader that wants to improve team culture at your center, this episode of The Preschool Podcast has actionable steps that you can easily incorporate into your routine.
The results from this question shows a significant difference between the feelings of management and teachers in terms of having someone that cares about them as a person at their organization. While only 11% of Directors / Assistant Directors felt that they didn’t have someone who cared about them as a person, 50% of the teachers who responded felt that way.
74% of respondents were Directors / Assistant Directors, while 26% were teachers. On the positive front, 80% of teachers felt like there was someone at work who encourages their professional development. However, an overwhelming 71% of individuals in an administrator role felt like they don’t have support for professional development!
Related Links
- Addressing the Issue of Preschool Teacher Turnover
- Why Invest in Child Care Staff Training and Development
- Why Employee Engagement Matters in Early Childhood Education
- How to Support Teachers as a Preschool Leader
- How To Build A Superstar Team For Your Child Care Center
- 7 Ways to Build Trust at Your Child Care Center
