Assessing Your Center Needs When Selecting Childcare Management System (CCMS)
Choosing a Childcare Management System (CCMS) can be a daunting task as there are many things to consider. Before you can begin the selection process, it’s important to take a look at your business and assess the current needs and challenges you have. Assessing the needs of your staff, parents and center as a whole, you will allow you to identify the best software to help you manage and grow your center.
1. Meet with your staff members.
First, meet with your staff members—try to include anyone who will interact or benefit from the software. Understand their experiences, challenges and what features could improve their day-to-day operations. These critical stakeholders will be able to provide valuable input as they will be engaging with the software the most. This exercise will also give you a comprehensive look at your business and what tech solutions could help support it.
When meeting with staff members, here are some questions to ask:
- What are your pain points with the current software?
- Ask what benefits do they hope for more from using new software?
- What tasks take up the most time for them?
- What tasks are most challenging for them to navigate each day?
2. Ask your parents’ opinions.
If parents are also planning on using this software, consider their feedback as well. Try and get responses from a diverse group of families in order to ensure you’re meeting everyone’s needs and concerns. Parent engagement and communication is crucial to the success of any center.
When meeting with parents, here are some questions to ask:
- What frustrates you the most with the current software we use?
- Is there anything you wish was available on your parent app, that isn’t? Or a certain feature you would prefer to be automated?
3. Talk to your network!
Chances are your colleagues have been through the process of purchasing new childcare management software too, so be sure to reach out and ask. Peers are a great resource for candid feedback! Reach out to them and ask if they have any recommendations. They will be able to give you feedback on what childcare management software they have used in the past and will let you know if there are any challenges.
After identifying and meeting with your stakeholders, take that information along with other considerations and prioritize your needs for future software management.
To help understand what features are out there and which are most important, we’ve created a CCMS checklist. This checklist outlines the tech solution(s) that solve all of your business pain points under various categories including: Center Operations, Classroom Management, Education, Parent Engagement, Staff Management, and Billing & Invoicing. Using this checklist will help you choose the childcare management system right for your center.
To download this free checklist, fill out the form below.
