iStep Nurseries

iStep nurseries needed a fix for staff retention and culture.

In early 2022, the nursery sector was facing real challenges related to high staff turnover, employee disengagement and ineffective communication. People wanted jobs that made them feel valued. The opposite was true: many left work feeling tired and demotivated.

To make things harder for the team at iStep Nurseries, this family-run business was changing hands from its original owner to a new set of hands. David knew that his so-called “corporate” culture may lead to friction among employees, who were used to a “family-run” approach. Not only did he not want to alienate his hard-working staff, he was also concerned about the resulting inefficiencies in their children’s care.

Direct feedback from employees highlighted these issues; David, who has been the Managing Director of several nursery groups, knew that something had to be done about these growing concerns. He realised that centralised software could solve these issues and make his new staff feel truly informed and appreciated in the process.

In summary, David’s main challenges were complex:

• Many nursery staff work part-time
• Some employees don’t read notices in the staff room
• Communication was poor
• They struggled to ask some staff to fill out a survey
• A salary raise had a small impact on attrition, but not enough
• Staff turnover remained high
• Using agency staff is more expensive and the care is less consistent

This is the picture that David painted for us during his first conversation with Mo. He wanted his leadership to mark a transition from old challenges into a new world where all of his staff felt valued, motivated and supported. He wanted to reduce attrition and improve the overall experience for the children and their parents.

Mo was the best solution for David’s challenges.

Through a recommendation by a trusted colleague, David discovered Mo. We’re an employee engagement and recognition software that specialises in improving company culture among distributed or remote teams. For David, it felt like a no-brainer.

Mo offered a way to maintain personal connections, deliver positive messages from leadership and celebrate employee milestones. The goal was to implement Mo along with a Reward program to boost motivation.

How did David get stakeholders onboard?

• The next step involved evaluating Mo’s features, aligning them with the nursery’s operational needs and securing stakeholder approval.
• David convinced stakeholders by demonstrating the potential financial benefits of reduced staff turnover and improved employee satisfaction.
• Mo effectively solved several challenges, including communication breakdowns and low employee engagement, while significantly reducing attrition.

Mid-2022: Making the transition.

The transition to Mo began in mid-2022. Our Customer Success manager Kim coordinated their onboarding over approximately two months and helped David establish a pattern of posting every day in his company feed.

Mo provides onboarding resources, training guides and in-house support as standard. And we never surprise our customers with implementation or reward fees — which David was very grateful about.

David and his team led the introduction of Mo to managers and employees. They conducted meetings and workshops to explain our platform’s benefits and functionalities, ensuring a real understanding of what the whole team was trying to achieve. This approach meant that adoption was almost immediate, a sure sign that success is on the horizon.

The key to success, in David’s opinion, was to only post positive things on the platform. People want to feel motivated, not demoralised. Difficult or constructive conversations are best had in person; regular recognition, on the other hand, should be delivered instantaneously and centrally, where it is most visible. This tactic helped the whole team turbo-charge adoption after implementing Mo.

First signs of progress for iStep.

By late 2022, the first benefits of using Mo became apparent. After only three months, David was already impressed by the decrease in staff turnover and the positive feedback from employees regarding improved communication. His teams, many of whom had been at Monkey Puzzle for years, were thrilled with the regular recognition and rewards that they received on Mo and were all praise for David’s leadership.

David has reason to be hopeful for real change at his most recent nursery, Monkey Puzzle. At iStep — and then later, at Children1st — the introduction of Mo created a true cultural shift. After using Mo almost every day, David saw staff turnover “almost grind to a halt.” Even without rewards, the platform was a “game-changer.”

Celebrating Moments that matter

Since the adoption of Mo, iStep and Children1st have achieved some impressive milestones. Their employee engagement has skyrocketed and they’ve seen remarkable improvements in workplace satisfaction. Staff retention has also significantly improved, with turnover coming down to almost zero within six months. This change has led to cost savings and, most importantly, more consistent care for the children.

To recap, David’s team incorporated three solutions into their Mo platform:

• Moments — to improve communication and connection
• Recognition — to enhance feelings of motivation and loyalty
• Rewards — to ensure their people feel valued for hard work

A lasting cultural shift for iStep.

As Managing Director, David has brought Mo into his latest role at Monkey Puzzle. The nursery group will undergo a substantial cultural transformation in the coming few years. At iStep and Children1st, employee engagement and retention have improved, helping to shape a more connected work environment through Moments, Rewards and Boosts.

Despite the acquisition, David has seen evidence that iStep still feels like a “family”. Mo’s positive messaging and recognition capabilities have strengthened the bond between employees and leadership, creating a supportive and motivated workforce.

David has been able to prove the value of his initiative to stakeholders because it remains cheaper to retain people with Mo than pay twice the amount per hire for an agency employee. Since they don’t know the children, the quality of the care has also improved. Mo is a win for everyone.

Today: Going even further.

Monkey Puzzle has started its journey with Mo, and David is even expanding the use of the platform to other nurseries in his remit. We have continued to refine their reward and recognition strategy to have maximum impact on the lives of his hard-working staff. David has become a real champion of what we do here at Mo, and we’re delighted to have his support.

In the future, we hope to add even more prompts and analytics features to support David’s managers in their efforts to engage all staff — from tenured workers to new employees.

If you’ve been inspired by this story and want to drive down your employee turnover rates too, arrange a call with our experts. We’re here to listen to your goals and work out a strategy that works for your company.