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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 content and campaign manager, Caitlin Holmes.

Tell us about your role at Connect Childcare in one paragraph:
I’m part of the marketing department and work closely with the sales and product teams to execute lead generation and nurturing campaigns, which target both customers and prospects. My job is to ensure our digital communications are delivered on time and within budget, and I love this because it means no two days are ever the same.

And what do you enjoy most about your job?
Creating plans. It might sound silly to some – and my team always joke about how I map out everything I do – but it’s the only way I can kickstart our campaigns in the right way.

I love how my role is quite varied and I thrive on autonomy too – which Connect Childcare encourages throughout the team – but I also enjoy the collaboration as we have so many creative people to bounce ideas off of. 

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

Fun, relaxed, and upbeat… you can be the last two at the same time, right?

Which emoji would your colleagues use to sum you up?
– I asked our WhatsApp group for suggestions, and this was the overriding response!

What’s been your favourite team event to date (physical or virtual)?
There have been a few but, I think my favourite has to be the annual SMILE event. It’s usually a summer BBQ with a free bar and food to celebrate our achievements throughout the financial year.

The senior leadership team also presents the plans for the next year too and there are often awards for individuals who have gone above and beyond – I was incredibly proud when I received the ‘Employee of the Year’ accolade in 2019!

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

It’s supportive and a great place to work. I started my career with Connect back in 2015 – at the age of 21 – and, with the team’s support, have been able to progress through the ranks from sales admin assistant to now being the organisation’s content and campaign manager.

The business paves the way to help you achieve the qualifications you need to enhance your skillset and you can also continue your learning through Personal Development Plans – Connect truly recognises how important its workforce is.

What’s your favourite thing about working at Connect?
The office – we’d only been in the new headquarters for a year before the March 2020 lockdown. It’s a beautiful, open-plan space where we’re able to collaborate and be innovative. We’ve also got an office gym, unlimited free fruit, pool table, and games consoles for a spot of healthy competition!

What’s your favourite feature in Connect’s software suite?
Our ‘Moments’ feature which allows practitioners to quickly capture events and upload images, videos, and notes straight to our app, ParentZone.

With one of the Government’s main aims of the EYFS reforms focusing on reducing nursery workloads, this feature supports that immeasurably because settings aren’t left sifting through mountains of time-consuming paperwork.

It also means parents never miss a beat of their child’s development with real-time updates – helping to foster more of a two-way partnership between the setting and families.

What role does technology play in the future of the EY sector?
Not only do childcare providers need something that enables them to become more efficient, and alleviate time pressures and manually-intensive admin tasks, but technology helps practitioners to stay on top of their finances – with accurate, secure, reliable tools right at their fingertips. Parents are also provided with a hassle-free and safer way of paying fees via a contactless solution.

Share an interesting fact about yourself that many people may not know:
I’m a self-taught graphic designer and I love supporting my family and friends when it comes to producing engaging assets for their small businesses and side hustles.

I’ve also set up an Instagram page that documents a variety of logos and all the company literature I’ve created in my spare time, here.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A lollipop lady because they don’t tend to start work until they’re a lot older! However, I want to be retired and living by the sea when I’m in my 60s, so this childhood ‘dream job’ may have to be put on the backburner…

And as a youngster, what was your favourite children’s book?
Disney’s ‘Button Soup’. My dad would read it to me every single night before bed and I’d tell him off if he tried to skip any pages. 

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

Since forming in 2004, we’ve established ourselves in the EY sector as an organisation that is able to help thousands of nurseries to utilise a platform that alleviates their everyday pain-points – I think nurseries like the fact that we do it all.

Additionally, we have an extremely feature-rich solution that links all data together regardless of which platform a setting is using, so they’re getting a comprehensive overview of their nursery management.

Finally, what is one of your hopes for Connect over the coming year?
That we’re able to get together and make up for all the face-to-face events we’ve missed over the past 18 months. 

If you’d like to receive more news and updates from the Connect Childcare team, why not head over to our Twitter page or connect with us on LinkedIn?