Recently, I read a news article where a Chicago childcare director cited low wages as the main reason they can’t recruit enough staff to keep their center open. It’s an all-too-common story in childcare, but when I looked closer, I noticed something beyond wages that’s hurting recruitment.
Here’s what I found on their website: job descriptions over 600 words long, uninviting language, and outdated application pages. At the bottom, a message reads, “This position is no longer accepting applicants.” Plus, no way for a candidate to reach out to learn more. They also post on Indeed without listing wages, which impacts their visibility.
What if we focused on candidate experience first?
Yes, wages are part of the problem. But when I started with my first client, I was both an angry and determined parent. Angry because my son was coming home at 2:30 every day to watch TV. Determined because I knew there was a better way.
At the time, the school was offering $16/hour for part-time roles, and people said we’d never find anyone at that rate. I thought the same—until I was proven wrong. We found that candidate experience was the true barrier, not the wage.
Here’s what we focused on fixing:
Visibility: People didn’t even know the district was hiring.
Simplicity: Job descriptions looked more intimidating than they needed to for a $16/hour role.
Ease of Application: The process was uninviting and cumbersome.
Streamlined Onboarding: Candidates had to complete multiple steps, pay for their background checks, and wait up to six weeks.
The result? We recruited 30 people in under 4 months at $16/hour by focusing solely on the candidate experience.
A good candidate experience leads to a positive onboarding, which creates a great working experience and—most importantly—happy, engaged employees. Imagine if every organization optimized for candidate experience. It’s the difference between accessible programming and neverending waitlists.
If we want to make real progress, let’s start fixing what’s fixable. The candidates—and the children—deserve it.