Crystal & Ricardo Romero: How to Increase Staff Retention by 10x in Seven Months

Child Care Rockstar Radio

From 120% staff turnover annually to just 14% in seven months? It may sound like a dream scenario, but for Kris’s guests this week, it’s reality. Kris welcomes Crystal and Ricardo Romero from the New Mexico Early Learning Academy, currently serving three amazing locations. They share some game-changing tips on hiring the right people, onboarding, and staff retention. Crystal and Ricardo talk about working as a couple and how it helps their overall mission and keeps them both energized and focused, their approach to expansion, and the extra perks they offer to keep their staff satisfied personally and professionally. Get ready to be inspired!

Key Takeaways:

[8:49] Crystal and Ricardo talk about their school, New Mexico Early Learning Academy, currently with 3 locations.

[11:05] Their different journeys into early childhood education.

[14:23] Yes, Crystal and Ricardo spend almost every moment together, and they love it!

[15:12] They share about their blended family and how their work and personal lives are fully blended.

[16:24] How Crystal and Ricardo love spending their free time (together, of course) and being intentional about breaks.

[19:31] Fun fact: if you need some cool shoe inspiration, check out Crystal’s renovated home office! It’s now a sneaker closet.

[21:53] Crediting the Academy for success.

[25:40] Remembering the basics of fostering authentic and meaningful relationships.

[27:01] Crystal and Ricardo get into the specifics of hiring and making onboarding engaging and less intimidating.

[31:14] More about how they reduced turnover from 120% to 14% in seven months.

[32:47] Getting intentional about lowering the turnover rate.

[34:24] Realizing the give and take of making staff happy and still meeting their goals while working on the overall mission and vision.

[41:09] Overcoming any struggles as a husband and wife team.

[43:08] The other businesses that keep Crystal and Ricardo busy.

[47:27] Their approach to expansion.

Quotes:

• “I would say we spend about 90%, maybe more, of our time together. And honestly, it works really, really well.” — Crystal [14:39]

• “I think for us, we thrive off each other and the energy that we have to be able to make decisions and bounce stuff off each other has been really one of the key indicators on why we’ve been so successful.” — Crystal [14:52]

• “We lay it out there of what our expectations are, and communicate that clearly with each other.” — Crystal [15:24]

• “I tell Ricardo every day, there’s absolutely no way we could have accomplished where we’re at today if we didn’t have each other. What we have as a couple makes us dynamic in our business and our personal life.” — Crystal [15:43]

• “Intentional goals make for incredible outcomes, so we made sure that every goal we set in place is trackable and attainable.” — Ricardo [32:37]

• “I think as owners, we get caught in that mindset of this is my program, this is my school, these are our rules. But not realizing that at the end of the day, we need these people, and there's a lot of give and take that has to happen.” — Crystal [34:24]

Sponsored By:

ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI)

Use the code CCSC5 to claim a free course!

Mentioned in This Episode:

Kris Murray

The Child Care Success Company

The Child Care Success Academy

The Child Care Success Summit

Grow Your Center

Childcare Education Institute: Use code CDARenewal22 to get $100 off your renewal.

New Mexico Early Learning Academy

Ben Newman