Host a social hour with employees so they can get to know each other on a personal level. Provide refreshments to encourage people to attend. Ask staff members to share memorable, difficult or funny experiences they have had in their time educating and caring for young children. Everyone has witnessed some touching or hilarious moments in this field and being able to talk about common experiences will help staff feel connected and operate as a team.
Assign new members working with your staff to pair up with a more experienced mentor. This will help new people feel as if they belong and can give more experienced employees a heightened sense of purpose and a job that allows them to interact with new people, building a sense of community and teamwork amongst your staff. A mentor program will also increase the productivity of new employees, as it will prevent them from making errors as a result of lack of experience as they may do without guidance.
Assign your staff to work on projects as a team. Vary the workload from individual assignments to tasks that will require staff to learn about and use each other’s strengths. For example if you encounter a problem with irate parents, assign two staff members to solve the issue, choosing one with excellent interpersonal skills to talk to the family and another with professional legal knowledge to help safeguard your organization against lawsuits. Monitor employees closely during this process to ensure no one is doing an unfair amount of work and beginning to harbor resentment for her coworkers.
Hold occasional staff meetings during which each department shares with all employees the progress it has made and the new projects it has taken on. If staff members understand what others in different departments are working on, they will have a better idea of how your organization functions as a whole, and how their contributions hinge on the work of others. For example, ask those that work directly with young children to share information about their jobs with those that handle administration. Understanding why everyone’s role is important will help foster a sense of teamwork amongst employees.