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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>I Really Hope You Will Help Me Out!
jessrlee 03:50 AM 07-23-2012
So, my long time assistant just quit as she is going to college and has a full plate with nursing classes. A while ago I hired two young girls to replace her. One girl is a friends daughter (I didn't really think this through) and the other girl is her friend. So girl 1 has been working with me for a few weeks and I have been miserable with her performance. She basically sits in a chair staring at her cell phone. I asked her to clean toys one light day last week and she got about 1/2 hour worth of work done in 2 hours. If she wasn't a friends daughter I would fire her. (I know it's shady but I really want her to quit). Girl 2 is a dream! Amazing work ethic, on time, puts her cell in her bag, does everything I could ask her to do. Last week I had some new kids start so I asked Girl 2 to work a lot of extra hours. Girl 1 got super upset and jumped all over Girl 2 and I had to sit her down and talk to her about her performance and attitude. Girl 2 told me that basically she (girl 1) feels like it isn't her job to interact with kids, wipe noses, change diapers, etc.
So my question is, toay I have Girl 1 working a long 7 hour day. I want to keep her busy from the minute she walks in the door. Can you please help me come up with a long list of duties I could have her do while she is here? Thanks in advance!
So my question is, toay I have Girl 1 working a long 7 hour day. I want to keep her busy from the minute she walks in the door. Can you please help me come up with a long list of duties I could have her do while she is here? Thanks in advance!
DBug 04:05 AM 07-23-2012
-wash windows
-wash walls
-dusting
-deep clean kitchen chairs
-do daycare laundry
-clean out cubbies (if you have them), dust or wash them out, clean out baskets or boxes, etc.
-vaccuum/shake out/sweep entrance rug, any shoe mats, etc.
-go through outdoor toys for broken ones, clean and/or reorganize
-do any weeding or trimming needed in daycare yard
-clean baseboards
-disinfect pnp's & cots
Hope that helps!
-wash walls
-dusting
-deep clean kitchen chairs
-do daycare laundry
-clean out cubbies (if you have them), dust or wash them out, clean out baskets or boxes, etc.
-vaccuum/shake out/sweep entrance rug, any shoe mats, etc.
-go through outdoor toys for broken ones, clean and/or reorganize
-do any weeding or trimming needed in daycare yard
-clean baseboards
-disinfect pnp's & cots
Hope that helps!
DaisyMamma 04:13 AM 07-23-2012
That's really hard. I would confront her with what Girl 2 said. Ask her if she is happy and if she wants the job or not? Then if she says yes tell her she needs to step up to the plate. Put her phone away when she comes in the door. Get down to play with the kids, change diapers and do other things without being told. And if she fails to do this then you will have to let her go.
If you do not want to have this conversation then I suggest to simply cut her hours to the point where she has to find another job.
As for today, ask her nicely to put her phone away while she is there. Tell her, first we are going to ....do a project with the kids, play doh, clean, etc. Then we are going to....
Put a timeframe on this. If you tell her she is to clean a cubby shelf and all the toys in it, make sure you say it like this: "Please clean this shelf, clean the toys and organize them and that should only take you about a 1/2 hour. So after that you can...."
If you do not want to have this conversation then I suggest to simply cut her hours to the point where she has to find another job.
As for today, ask her nicely to put her phone away while she is there. Tell her, first we are going to ....do a project with the kids, play doh, clean, etc. Then we are going to....
Put a timeframe on this. If you tell her she is to clean a cubby shelf and all the toys in it, make sure you say it like this: "Please clean this shelf, clean the toys and organize them and that should only take you about a 1/2 hour. So after that you can...."
Crazy8 04:30 AM 07-23-2012
I agree with Daisy Mamma, if you just give her a long list it is never going to get done. I think being direct is the best way to go. I would have her put the phone away the minute she walks in and she can check it on breaks/lunch, etc. YOU need to set the rules. If she doesn't think interacting with kids is her job in a home daycare then she needs to find another job and YOU as her boss need to set the duties of the job straight with her.
SilverSabre25 04:47 AM 07-23-2012
Rule 1 is that she needs to put the phone away. I would go so far as to have her hand it over to you when she arrives. Then, confront her with an exact job description--I wouldn't mention what Gril2 said since that could cause a rift in their friendship.
"Girl1, we discussed that your performance here is not up to the standard I was expecting when I hired you. I'm going to be blunt: from here on out, you are on probation. This is your list of expected behavior and duties. If you don't feel that this is for you, go ahead and leave right now. Otherwise, I expect nothing but the best from you, from the moment you walk in the door until the moment you leave. You have until Friday at closing to turn this around, or I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"Girl1, we discussed that your performance here is not up to the standard I was expecting when I hired you. I'm going to be blunt: from here on out, you are on probation. This is your list of expected behavior and duties. If you don't feel that this is for you, go ahead and leave right now. Otherwise, I expect nothing but the best from you, from the moment you walk in the door until the moment you leave. You have until Friday at closing to turn this around, or I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
jessrlee 04:54 AM 07-23-2012
I get that I need to step up as the employer. The uncomfortable part is that this is a friends' daughter. I had a chat with her friday and laid down the law with the cell phone. My challenge right now is that I want to keep her busy so she can get an idea of all the work that goes into a daycare. Her mom has a childcare (which is why I hired her) but the girl has a hard time keeping on task.
DBug 05:08 AM 07-23-2012
Do you have a written job description for her? So that she knows what the expectations are? Some people just aren't terribly observant and won't know what to do unless you spell it out for them ...
If it were me, I'd have a checklist of tasks that she needs to complete through the day, and that she can check off as she goes.
If it were me, I'd have a checklist of tasks that she needs to complete through the day, and that she can check off as she goes.
countrymom 05:25 AM 07-23-2012
my back up lady had an assistant like this. No matter how much stuff you gave her to do she was just lazy. Not only that, one time the assistant was introduced to a new family, and C turned around and found the assistant on her phone. Oh the assistant once said to her (after she was told to put her phone away for the billionth time) "why should I, your always on your phone" that was the last time that assistant had a job.
Blackcat31 06:31 AM 07-23-2012
Originally Posted by jessrlee:
I get that I need to step up as the employer. The uncomfortable part is that this is a friends' daughter. I had a chat with her friday and laid down the law with the cell phone. My challenge right now is that I want to keep her busy so she can get an idea of all the work that goes into a daycare. Her mom has a childcare (which is why I hired her) but the girl has a hard time keeping on task.
I still think that even though she is a friends dd, you should be honest with her about her poor attitude and poor job performance. If necessary, tell your friend first that you are going to be discussing this issue with the dd so your friend knows your side of the issue before her dd comes to her. I get that I need to step up as the employer. The uncomfortable part is that this is a friends' daughter. I had a chat with her friday and laid down the law with the cell phone. My challenge right now is that I want to keep her busy so she can get an idea of all the work that goes into a daycare. Her mom has a childcare (which is why I hired her) but the girl has a hard time keeping on task.
If she is truly your friend, she really can't expect you to just suck it up and deal with her dd being such a poor worker......if she would get upset, then she isn't truly your friend.
Besides, YOUR income/family/business trumps friendship when you cross that friend-family-working with (or for you) relationship line.
Country Kids 08:00 AM 07-23-2012
I guess since you are asking what kind of list to give her, maybe ask yourself is there enough work for the 3 of you to do?
If the girl #2 is doing things with the kids, are you doing all the cleaning giving nothing for girl #1 to do. Or if she started doing all the cleaning would you just be surpervising?
I know I have always only had one assistant at the time (when I did them) and that because thats all the work I had. If I had more assistants we would have been bumping into each other and not having enough work.
Maybe use the "Theres not enough work for both of you" to let her go.
If the girl #2 is doing things with the kids, are you doing all the cleaning giving nothing for girl #1 to do. Or if she started doing all the cleaning would you just be surpervising?
I know I have always only had one assistant at the time (when I did them) and that because thats all the work I had. If I had more assistants we would have been bumping into each other and not having enough work.
Maybe use the "Theres not enough work for both of you" to let her go.
My3cents 09:34 AM 07-23-2012
You stated you hired two young girls- How young?
It seems that one girl knows what to do, has good work ethic and doing what she should do. The other has no experience-
Make an outline of job responsibilities. Explain to this girl, that she is working for you and what you need done, has to be done, done right and in a timely fashion- along with everything else that has to be done as needed. Delegate when needed. Explain to her that she is there because you have hired her to make your life easier, not because you are not able to do the work. Explain to her that there is always something that she can be doing. Toy cleaning is endless, organizing, set up, dishes, diapers, playing with the children etc...
You could talk to the mom and give her a heads up that you are going to be talking to her daughter, or you could treat her daughter like any other employee and tell her how it is going to be, or she will be done and you will have to find someone else to replace her. If the Mom should ask you anything all your response has to be is that it was not working out-no hard feelings. Give her a chance- she either pulls through or you do what you have to do, to maintain your business. There is no sense in paying someone that is not doing what your paying them for, or holding onto someone because they are friends, or having to put up with the stress that this situation is causing. Bad feelings will build up from the stress of this girl not pulling her weight. I would put a clear, list together of what you expect and when it is expected. Make it known that the kids needs come first. Phone is put away and only used during break or lunch. Clear expectations of what her job entails. Remember she is young and you will need to "train" her, don't assume she knows what to do and when to do it.
Best-
It seems that one girl knows what to do, has good work ethic and doing what she should do. The other has no experience-
Make an outline of job responsibilities. Explain to this girl, that she is working for you and what you need done, has to be done, done right and in a timely fashion- along with everything else that has to be done as needed. Delegate when needed. Explain to her that she is there because you have hired her to make your life easier, not because you are not able to do the work. Explain to her that there is always something that she can be doing. Toy cleaning is endless, organizing, set up, dishes, diapers, playing with the children etc...
You could talk to the mom and give her a heads up that you are going to be talking to her daughter, or you could treat her daughter like any other employee and tell her how it is going to be, or she will be done and you will have to find someone else to replace her. If the Mom should ask you anything all your response has to be is that it was not working out-no hard feelings. Give her a chance- she either pulls through or you do what you have to do, to maintain your business. There is no sense in paying someone that is not doing what your paying them for, or holding onto someone because they are friends, or having to put up with the stress that this situation is causing. Bad feelings will build up from the stress of this girl not pulling her weight. I would put a clear, list together of what you expect and when it is expected. Make it known that the kids needs come first. Phone is put away and only used during break or lunch. Clear expectations of what her job entails. Remember she is young and you will need to "train" her, don't assume she knows what to do and when to do it.
Best-
EntropyControlSpecialist 10:11 AM 07-23-2012
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
I still think that even though she is a friends dd, you should be honest with her about her poor attitude and poor job performance. If necessary, tell your friend first that you are going to be discussing this issue with the dd so your friend knows your side of the issue before her dd comes to her.
If she is truly your friend, she really can't expect you to just suck it up and deal with her dd being such a poor worker......if she would get upset, then she isn't truly your friend.
Besides, YOUR income/family/business trumps friendship when you cross that friend-family-working with (or for you) relationship line.
I agree.I still think that even though she is a friends dd, you should be honest with her about her poor attitude and poor job performance. If necessary, tell your friend first that you are going to be discussing this issue with the dd so your friend knows your side of the issue before her dd comes to her.
If she is truly your friend, she really can't expect you to just suck it up and deal with her dd being such a poor worker......if she would get upset, then she isn't truly your friend.
Besides, YOUR income/family/business trumps friendship when you cross that friend-family-working with (or for you) relationship line.
If my teenager was working at someone's childcare and was doing a poor job I would first expect them to tell him exactly what he needed to change. Teenagers can be so self absorbed that they are clueless. Not that they all are, but they can be.
Then, if he didn't change his methods in X amount of time I would expect for him to be fired.
I want my teen to develop a good work ethic, not to think that he gets a free ride in life! Surely your friend thinks the same about her child.
Preschool/daycare teacher 08:34 AM 07-24-2012
I'm just curious. Girl #1's mom has a childcare? Why isn't she helping her mom instead? And if her mom has a childcare, shouldn't she already know what goes into a daycare and that wiping noses, cleaning the tables and toys, etc goes with it? I agree that it sounds like she needs a job description, but make sure it includes a clause saying "and anything else that needs done", so if you forget some minor detail, it's already in there and she can't argue that it's not part of the job description you gave her 
. But my problem is that if her mom has a childcare, she should not need a job description (although apparently she does). If she enjoyed children enough to work at a daycare, she would have been helping her mom out up until now (even in a voluntary fashion) enough to see what all needs done... Surely her mom didn't let her zone out all day all this time and not pay any attention to what's going on at her mom's daycare when it's in her own house... 
I hate that girl # 1's friend is working out so well because if girl 1 quits, girl 2 will be put in a really tough spot and most likely girl 1 will get upset with girl 2 if she does not quit also. 
. But my problem is that if her mom has a childcare, she should not need a job description (although apparently she does). If she enjoyed children enough to work at a daycare, she would have been helping her mom out up until now (even in a voluntary fashion) enough to see what all needs done... Surely her mom didn't let her zone out all day all this time and not pay any attention to what's going on at her mom's daycare when it's in her own house... I hate that girl # 1's friend is working out so well because if girl 1 quits, girl 2 will be put in a really tough spot and most likely girl 1 will get upset with girl 2 if she does not quit also.