🎓 Onboarding Staff - Which Party Room Are You!?

Today’s Issue: Jeff Bezo’s Wedding Cheap?!; Onboarding New Staff; Tap into AI for Training Help; ECE in the News = 1.25 cup of coffee.

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Bezos’ Wedding Taking Over Venice: So a recent article said that Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon) wedding in Venice, Italy, was “relatively cheap.” It cost only between $47 and $56 million dollars. 🙄 (check out the article here 👉 ARTICLE). Hey, we all get it. He’s one of the richest dudes in history. But c’mon, relatively cheap is a bit of an exaggeration. But I guess if you got it, why not have the party of a lifetime? The event was star-studded, with celebs like Kim Kardashian, Tom Brady, and Leonardo DiCaprio all just hanging out, drinking chianti. I wonder what was on their registry at Bed Bath and Beyond? That four-slice toaster looks pretty nice…

💼 👩‍💻Onboarding New Staff Through a New Lens

We are excited to have one of our favorite guest writers, Nikkie Handy, back to share some awesome insights on onboarding new staff. 🥳 This problem isn’t unique to ECE. Only 29% of employees feel fully prepared for their new role after onboarding. But in ECE, it’s that much more important. Our staff is SO important to child, family and business success.

That’s why Nikkie’s article is so spot on! Keep scrolling! 👇👇👇

Onboarding in the Dub-Dubs (2020s): Start From the Beginning

by Nikkie Handy

If you’ve hired anyone in the last five years, you’ve probably experienced the same moment: it’s Day 1, you’ve welcomed your new team member, and 20 minutes in, you’re wondering, “Wait… how do they not know this?”

Let’s be honest—basic workplace skills aren’t as universal as they once were. Whether it’s responding to an email professionally or showing up on time with a pen and a notebook, many business owners are left scratching their heads. It’s tempting to blame “kids these days,” but if the pattern keeps repeating… the problem might be closer than you think. Like, much closer.

I often find myself in great conversation with a child care business owner, and then comes the moment that feels like we’ve wandered into a pity party. And the party planner always seems to have the same party room lineup:

😢 Party Room 1 - My hires don’t have basic communication skills.

😢 Party Room 2 - My hires lack foundational knowledge.

😢 Party Room 3 - My hires jump ship before I can build them up.

👉✅👉✅👉 Check out the rest of Nikkie’s amazing article HERE!! You don’t want to miss the details…

🚔 Using AI to Help Prep for Licensing

So it looks like everyone can use some help with getting their team ready for licensing visits. The poll results from the other week about getting into trouble with licensing were pretty darn close.

Licensing visits are a big deal and prepping your staff can feel overwhelming. Good news: you can use ChatGPT as your training assistant — if you know how to prompt it well.

You can type in detailed, clear prompts to generate customized training resources in minutes. For example, try asking:

ECE In The News

🪑Pre-School Furniture Market Poised for Growth: Things like ergonomic safety and innovative learning environments fuel demand. According to industry data, valued at $160 million in 2022, it’s expected to reach $263 million by 2031. Why? Simple, growth in ECE infrastructure, child-centric design and growing enrollment in ECE programs are kicking up demand.🦵🏼

Oklahoma To the Rescue!: Oklahoma is facing a childcare staffing shortage, making it difficult for families to find reliable, affordable care. A new law, House Bill 2778, now allows childcare workers to receive state-funded care for their own children while working, helping centers recruit and retain staff. Woot woot! 🙌🏻

The Internet is a Playground:

🗓️ On this Day in History: In 1963, the US Postal Service introduced zip codes via the Zone Improvement Plan to improve the speed of mail delivery with the use of machine-readable ZIP codes to help sort mail. I hope this one comes up on trivia night….🧠

🖥️ RIP, Windows’ BSOD: The dreaded the "blue screen of death" is now no more. Looks like it may have caused too many anxiety attacks so Microsoft decided to go with something new. 💀

🐧No More Twitter: Looks like someone wanted to mark the death of Twitter by buying the famous bird logo for $34k and then, well, just blowing it UP! 💥

🐻 Bear Fight!: Cuter than Winnie the Pooh.

YOUR VOICE COUNTS

Is there a topic you want more info on or want to share a funny story? Then let us know! Shoot us a quick email at [email protected]. This newsletter is for you, and well, you should have a say, don't’ you think?

Sources:

• Employee Onboarding Stats

• Global Preschool Market

• Oklahoma ECE Teacher Law