Blog

Connect Childcare – Staff spotlight

Here at Connect Childcare, each and every one of us is passionate about the Early Years (EY) sector and about developing management software that improves the lives of children, globally.

In order to shine the spotlight on our wonderful team, we’ve created an employee Q&A series, enabling our readers to better get to know the people behind the scenes – finding out more about their role, the Connect technology, and what it’s like to work here.

Next up, we have our product marketing manager, Beth-Ann Sher.

Tell us about your role at Connect Childcare in one paragraph:

I’m the link between our products and customers – ensuring everything we do meets the needs and requirements of our clients. For example, whenever we ship new features, you’ll hear about them from me, and whenever we require feedback, I’m the one asking what you think so I can let our product team know. The customer is at the heart of everything we do here at Connect.

And what do you enjoy most about your job?

Every day is different and there are always new and exciting challenges to take on, so I’m always learning and developing.

Describe the company culture and values at Connect in three words:

Down to earth… and also open and motivated!

Which emoji would your colleagues use to sum you up?

 because I juggle the customer comms for four products!

What’s been your favourite team event to date (physical or virtual)?

This is quite sad – and completely due to the last year’s circumstances – but as I only started six months ago, and we’ve been working remotely, I haven’t been to a full team event yet. But I do remember the day restaurants reopened and my marketing team went out – that was probably the best lunch of the year! 

How would you describe Connect as a workplace to a non-employee?

It’s like hanging out with friends who are all on the same page and want to achieve the same thing – it’s pretty cool! It’s somewhere you can be yourself and everyone respects one another.

What’s your favourite thing about working at Connect?

The people – they’ve truly made this the best job I’ve ever had.

What’s your favourite feature in Connect’s software suite?

iConnect’s new ‘Spotlight’ screen, which has just been released. It’s the product of much collaboration with our customers and early years (EY) consultants, and it really shows. I love it because it’s helpful, intuitive, innovative, and can provide amazing feedback to a parent or carer on how their child is developing.

What role does technology play in the future of the EY sector?

Like almost all aspects of life, it’s unavoidable and critical to keep pace with such a technology-driven world. Whether it’s how nurseries communicate with parents or how they perform daily operations – such as invoicing – it’s about meeting people’s expectations and habits. If the rest of the world isn’t paper-based, can the EY sector really afford to be?

Share an interesting fact about yourself that many people may not know:

This is when you realise you need to be more interesting… but I was born in Zimbabwe. I’m not sure I can take credit for that though.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A journalist. I was going to fly around the world finding the action, interviewing people from exotic places, fighting good causes and other heroics. Then I learned this is called ‘investigative journalism’ and lots of good journalists end up imprisoned for doing their job, and I guess I chickened out.

And as a youngster, what was your favourite children’s book?

‘The Silver Brumby’ by Elyne Mitchell. I would keep starting it from the beginning every time I finished, and I’m pretty sure I pretended to be a horse for a while during the same period…

Investing in nursery management software is a big decision for childcare providers – why do you think they choose Connect?

We treat them like people. We listen, learn, and grow with our customers and we go out of our way to accommodate their requests. We understand when it comes to childcare and early education, that they’re the experts and we’re there to equip them with the tools they need to provide our future generations with solid foundations.

Finally, what is one of your hopes for Connect over the coming year?

That we continue to grow and utilise our talent even more – we have a lot of bright new faces on the team who are ready to fulfil some ambitious plans for the year ahead, so it’s an exciting time to be part of Connect Childcare.