How Much is Turnover Costing Your Preschool? The Real Price You Might Be Overlooking

By the time you finish reading this post, several early childhood educators will have walked away from the field—and that’s just if you’re reading this on your lunch break. Crazy, right? This isn’t just some random stat; it’s about 65% higher than most other jobs (Cleveland Fed Report). What’s going on in our industry that’s pushing people out the door every nine minutes? And how much is it actually costing you to replace these folks?

Money Talks: The Dollars Behind Turnover

Let’s get straight to the point—turnover is expensive.

Yes, you read that right. This isn’t just about placing a new ad on Indeed; we’re talking about:

• Management time spent on recruiting, onboarding, and training

• Advertising costs

• Potential loss of clients because of all the chaos

  
  

Those numbers start to add up real quick, and before you know it, you’re bleeding money just trying to keep your team together.

Morale Matters: The Ripple Effect of Losing Staff

When people start jumping ship, it’s not just your wallet that takes a hit—your whole team feels it. Most of us spend more time with our coworkers than we do with our own families, so when someone leaves without notice, it’s like a gut punch. I remember back in August 2020, our Director at the preschool I worked at in South LA quit without warning. After that, it was like a domino effect—teacher after teacher left until we were down to just two of us. It was a mess, and the rest of us were left trying to hold everything together.

Here’s the thing:

When employees see their coworkers leaving, they start questioning if they’re next. They empathize with each other’s frustrations and begin to wonder if they need to jump ship too, especially if they don’t see any upward mobility or better opportunities coming their way.

A revolving door of employees makes your remaining team hyper-aware of all the problems. They start dreaming about what it would be like to work somewhere else, and before you know it, they’re quietly applying to other jobs, maybe even skipping work for interviews.

If you’re not fixing the issues driving people away, don’t be surprised when your team starts resenting you. It’s hard to stay motivated when you feel like management cares more about keeping the parents happy than about supporting the staff. Trust me, that vibe gets picked up on fast.

Stability: The Key to a Thriving Preschool

Let’s talk about stability—because without it, your whole operation can crumble. I had a teacher, Ms. M, who cited “lack of stability” as the reason she wasn’t coming back. She was right. When you’re constantly short-staffed, everything gets thrown into chaos. Schedules change, classroom assignments get shuffled, and everyone’s just trying to survive the day.

But it’s not just your staff who feel the instability—your kids and their families do too. Frequent changes in teachers can throw kids off, especially those who need consistency to feel secure.

Enrollments: How Turnover Hurts Your Reputation

Now let’s flip the script and look at this from a parent’s perspective. Imagine you’re touring a preschool, and you can’t meet your child’s potential teacher because the position is vacant. Or you call a center twice, and no one answers because the staff is stretched too thin. Or worse, your child is in a class where teachers change every few weeks, and it’s starting to affect their behavior and learning.

Your Dream Life: Rediscovering Your Passion and Purpose

Think back to the moment you decided to start a childcare business. Now ask yourself is this is the life and business you fantasized about. Did that fantasy include the dread of checking that message from your teacher or answering that call from your Director, constantly fighting fires with staff and parents, rerouting your day to help out in the classroom or in the kitchen, never being able to scale or grow your business because you’re stuck in a staffing rut?

You deserve that - and you can have it; You just have to unlearn and relearn how to lead, manage, and support people. 

Preventing Excessive Turnover: Real-World Tips

Turnover is an old problem, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find new solutions. Here’s what I suggest:

• Slow to Hire, Slow to Fire: Take the phrase “slow to hire, fast to fire” out of your hiring mantra. If your team is like a family, your childcare center is like a home. Would you routinely invite people into your home to join your family after the first meeting? Would you immediately kick a family member out as soon as there’s a disagreement? Romanticize the hiring process! Think outside the box to get to know your candidates (I have a three-step interview hack that I teach my coaching clients). Invite them to get to know your center and your current team. Just because someone is good, does not mean they are a good fit.

  
  

  If you’ve thoroughly vetted your candidate before inviting them to join your team, do not let your investment be in vain by giving up at the slightest inconvenience. Give the employee (reasonable) time and training to improve. After all, you saw enough in them to hire them in the first place. However, do not let poor behavior drag on and on. If you must let go of an employee, following this method will send a clear message to your staff that you value them and are willing to invest in their growth, but they must reciprocate with a good faith effort. 

  
  

• Pay What They Deserve: Let’s be honest, people need to live. The cost of living has skyrocketed, but childcare salaries are simply not stacking up. In states like California, many childcare workers make less than fast-food employees. If you want educated, goal-oriented staff, you have to pay them a wage that allows them to afford self-improvement (student loans, workshops, certifications, professional memberships, etc). If your pay isn’t competitive, your staff will always have one foot out the door. Invest in your people, and they’ll invest in you.
  

• Revamp Your Budget: Budgeting isn’t just about salaries and job ads. Think about what you can do to make your workplace better—whether it’s a new coffee machine, staff outings, or just some comfy chairs in the break room. Happy employees stick around.
  

• Promote From Within: Show your team that there’s room to grow by promoting from within whenever possible. It boosts morale and gives everyone something to strive for.
  

• Be Transparent: “Our enrollment is low right now, but we can start at $X and land on $Y when we get more kids.” That is probably the most common lie we tell ourselves and others during the hiring process. Don’t sugarcoat your budgets, scheduling requirements, or operational issues. How can you find a candidate that aligns with your goals if you aren’t honest about your needs and capabilities? Promises may get candidates in the door, but it will bring anger, resentment, and mistrust with them, and send your good reputation packing. 
  

Let’s Fix This Together

If your center is already a leaky staff valve and you really need a plug - I have a shameless one for you (😆) At DreamHire Express, I’m here to help you turn things around. Whether you need coaching, consulting, or just some fresh ideas to keep your staff engaged, I’ve got you covered.

Cheers to fixing this together

Here’s how we can work together:

• Coaching and Consulting: Let’s redefine your workplace culture, build up your leaders, and shift the focus from just hiring to retaining your top talent.
  

• Strategy Sessions: Want to optimize your compensation packages and offer non-traditional benefits? Let’s chat about how to make that happen.
  

• Outsource Permanent Hiring: Need to fill vacancies fast? DreamHire Express can help you find the right fit with a trial period so you can see if they’re a match for your team.
  

• Temporary Staffing: Temporary staffing can become an expensive bandaid when you’re hemorrhaging team members but if you don’t heed my advice, you’ll be needing a lot - so save my number for that too. 
  

If you’re ready to invest in your dream life by investing in the people who will make it possible, contact me to start making changes today.