Aspire Bendigo Kennington’s High-Performing Team
Building a positive work culture is key to creating a high-performing team. Aspire Early Education Bendigo – Kennington has built a community of trust and mateship between their team members, allowing them each to shine in their roles. Learn more about how they have done this below.
Aspire Bendigo - Kennington’s team has succeeded greatly through their hard work and innovative curriculum. Centre Manager Kara Massara and the management team at Kennington have implemented programs and steps to ensure that each team member feels supported. We chatted with Kara to see how she supports her team.
“As part of the Management team, a key component to any successful team is clear, open communication,” she explained. “The Management team should ensure that team members feel comfortable sharing ideas, concerns, and feedback. This helps to identify areas for improvement and confirm everyone feels heard.”
Conducting regular check-ins is another way the centre ensures that team members' concerns and needs are being met. “This helps us identify any potential issues before they become larger problems,” Kara stated. “Knowing when the team need to be supported a little more extra on days more than others is a great way for them to feel cared for.”
“We spend more time with our team than most do with our families,” Kara said with half a laugh, “so it’s important we all support each other, uplift where we need and encouragement when also needed.”
Maintaining high morale is easier when team members feel they can manage their work-life balance. Flexible work schedules, mental health days, and encouraging downtime all contribute to this.
Aspire Bendigo – Kennington also has a culture of collaboration and ownership over each team member’s work and ideas. “Allowing employees to take ownership of projects or initiatives gives them a sense of responsibility and autonomy, which can increase motivation and satisfaction.” Doing this also creates a culture of innovation where team members feel their ideas are valued.
One great example of this is the Bush Kinder initiative spearheaded by Kindergarten Teacher Jenny Martin. Jenny has developed and implemented a fantastic Bush Kinder program for the four-year-old children at the centre. Once a month, the children visit a nearby patch of bushland and learn in the great outdoors! The team encouraged Jenny to take ownership of her idea and bring it to life.
Rather than being a competitive environment, it’s important to foster a collaborative atmosphere where team members support one another, share knowledge, and work towards common goals. This is especially important when managing diverse teams with different skills and expertise.
Kara and the team do this by “Regularly celebrating successes, whether big or small, boosting morale and reinforcing positive behaviours.” This can include public recognition, rewards, or simply acknowledging accomplishments during team meetings.
The Management team also understand that no job is more important than another. “Our job is not harder than the room teams’, and their jobs are not harder than ours, we have the same outcome with different expectations.” She explains. “We have a duty of care to all the children and team and are not above supporting in the rooms in times of need, whether it be to mop a floor, clean up a mess, change a nappy or support with transitions. We all want the same outcome.”
Kara said it best, stating “The success of any team often comes down to how well it is led and the values it promotes. Fostering open communication, empowering team members, offering professional growth opportunities, and maintaining a healthy, inclusive work environment are all essential for keeping an engaged and high-performing team.”
Learn more about Aspire Early Education and Kindergarten Bendigo – Kennington at the links below:
