1 + 1 = 3

In Get Weird: 101 Innovative Ways to Make Your Company a Great Place to Work, John Putzier talks about the potential value of strategic alliances for both your employees and your customers.  By merging services (such as having a bank outlet inside a grocery store), you achieve "synergy (i.e. 1+1 = 3, or the whole is greater than the sum of the parts)."  

In a child care setting where our customers come through our doors twice a day, the possibilities are endless.  Putzier suggests to start, "Look for organizations and services your employees and your customers tend to use."  For example, could you...

• Have a dry cleaner have an employee at your center at the beginning and close of each day to accept and return dry cleaning orders.
• Follow the example of a center in New Jersey that utilized its great cook and cooking facilities so that parents in the morning could order delicious and nutritious meals to pick up for their families when they picked up their children.
• Offer evening or early morning exercise or yoga classes.
• Have a coffee bar in the lobby.
  

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.

© 2005 Child Care Information Exchange - All Rights Reserved | Contact Us | Return to Site