Setting the Tone: Building a Culture Where Staff Want to Stay

At the beginning of a new program year, early childhood leaders are thinking about enrollment, classroom schedules, family communication, licensing requirements, and a hundred other details competing for attention.

Staff culture can easily become something to address later…perhaps at the next staff meeting or with a team-building activity once things settle down.

But culture is already being built.

It is being built when a teacher stops by the office with a concern. When a new employee arrives on the first day. When someone offers an idea. When a director promises to check on something. When schedules are changed. When an employee does excellent work and someone notices it.

In It’s Fine! Everything’s Fine! (And You’re in Charge), Jill Jacobi-Vessels and Amy Kay Powell encourage directors to make the most of these small moments. Even when there is no time for a long conversation, being fully present, listening carefully, writing down what needs follow-up, and then actually following through communicates that staff members can rely on their leader and that their needs matter. (p. 8)

That is culture in action.

Start New Employees with Belonging, Not Just Paperwork

The first weeks of employment tell a new staff member a great deal about what kind of workplace they have joined.

Orientation certainly needs to cover policies, procedures, expectations, and required training. But It’s Fine! also recommends making room on that first day for introductions, conversation, a tour of the program, and time with the new employee’s classroom team.

The authors note that a thoughtful orientation helps employees enter their classrooms feeling more comfortable and confident, while clear expectations prevent directors from spending the next several months reacting to misunderstandings. (p. 42)

Build Your Dream Team makes a similar case. Thomasa Bond emphasizes that orientation should give employees a clear understanding of both their job and the expectations of the program, followed by feedback as they settle in. Direction, encouragement, reinforcement, and timely feedback help new staff develop confidence and feel supported. (p. 54)

A good first month should answer more than “What am I supposed to do?”

It should also answer: Who can I ask for help? Does my supervisor notice how I am doing? Are questions welcome here? Am I part of this team?

Listen, Then Close the Loop

An open-door policy means little if employees learn that walking through the door changes nothing.

Bond advises directors to listen when staff bring forward ideas or concerns. Not every suggestion can be implemented, but leaders can explain why and make clear that the employee’s contribution was genuinely considered. Feeling that their ideas are valued is an important part of retaining staff. (Build Your Dream Team, p. 80)

Jacobi-Vessels and Powell take that idea one step further: open-door time should actually be protected for conversation. If a director cannot give someone full attention at that moment, the authors recommend scheduling another time and then honoring it. (p. 9)

This is where trust is built. Not because a leader always says yes, but because employees discover that when the leader says, “I’ll get back to you,” they do.

Make Professional Development Something Staff Help Shape

Professional development can also communicate something powerful about culture: We expect you to grow because we believe you are worth investing in.

Susan MacDonald’s Inspiring Early Childhood Leadership recommends creating professional development plans collaboratively, building on each teacher’s strengths, interests, passions, needs, and goals rather than prescribing the same path for everyone. (p. 39–42)

Bond likewise encourages ongoing professional development and regular conversations about individual progress. She also recommends using teachers’ existing expertise by inviting them to share skills with colleagues. (Build Your Dream Team, p. 58)

That shift matters. Professional learning becomes something people participate in, not something that is done to them, or they just must suffer through.

Help Staff Learn from One Another

Some of the best professional expertise in your program may already be inside the building.

Growing Together describes communities of practice where professionals work together around shared interests or challenges, exchange experiences and resources, solve problems collaboratively, and build knowledge together. As members develop shared resources and a shared history, the authors explain; they can also develop greater cohesion, trust, respect, and belonging. (p. 39–40, 52)

That does not require launching a formal initiative. It might begin with protected time for teachers to discuss a classroom challenge, share an idea that worked, or brainstorm together.

It’s Fine! specifically recommends creating regular opportunities for staff members to collaborate across classrooms rather than leaving teachers isolated in their individual spaces. (p. 9–10)

Culture grows when employees begin seeing one another not simply as coworkers, but as resources.

Notice Strengths and Respect the Whole Person

Recognition matters, but appreciation does not have to mean an elaborate event.

It’s Fine! recommends noticing when teams solve problems well, navigate difficult situations together, or develop ideas that could benefit others. Staff commitment grows when employees feel included, valued, and respected. (p. 54)

MacDonald similarly urges leaders to identify and draw upon the unique strengths and talents of individual staff members, giving people opportunities to contribute to what they do especially well. (Inspiring Early Childhood Leadership, p. 75)

And sometimes support is much more ordinary. Scheduling is one example. Jacobi-Vessels and Powell remind directors that they are “working with people, not numbers.” A seemingly minor schedule adjustment can affect child pickup, a second job, school, or other responsibilities outside work. Their recommendation is simple: talk with the people affected before making decisions whenever possible. (p. 58)

Bond makes the same point in Build Your Dream Team. Noting that flexibility around family, education, or caregiving responsibilities may be one of the reasons an employee chooses to stay. (p. 82)

What Will Your Staff Experience in the First 30 Days?

Staff culture is not created by merely announcing that your program values teamwork, respect, communication, or professional growth.

It is created when employees experience those things.

So, during these first weeks of the program year, pay attention to the small moments. Welcome new staff warmly and with care. Ask questions and listen to the answers. Follow through on promises. Invite ideas. Make professional growth collaborative. Give teachers opportunities to learn from one another. Notice people’s strengths. Remember that employees have lives beyond the classroom.

The appreciation lunch can still be lovely.

But the culture people want to stay in is built during all the days in between.