To improve occupancy growth you need to look at individual...

To improve occupancy growth you need to look at individual centres. G8 have a large number of centres, so it would be beneficial to look at the clusters under each area manager first, then proceed onto the individual performance of each centre within the cluster.

Have just had a quick look at three of their centres. One in the western suburbs of Sydney, one on the central coast of NSW and one on the Gold Coast. All have vacancies every day, apart from one that is full on a Thursday. The one in Punchbowl, Western Sydney is on a main road position in a highly populated area, lots of commuters who would travel to Sydney, but their opening hours are 7.30am to 6.00pm. On their web page under staff profiles their main point is not about the qualifications or commitment of the staff it's about "qualified and caring educators who are able to cope with challenging situations and toddler tantrums". The one on the central coast, again growth area with commuters to Sydney but their opening hours are 7.00am to 6.00pm. They don't cater for under twos, so that is an area that could be developed. Their facebook hasn't been updated since April 2015 and the focus of the facebook prior to that was the staff. The centre on the Gold Coast a large centre, but is reporting vacancies every day, however they are open from 6.30am to 6.30pm and offer before and after school care and vacation care. All of the centres are offering a 'enrol in November for 2016 and receive $500 vouchers for toys with MTA'. I actually consider that bad marketing and insulting, to assume that a $500 toy voucher would influence parents decision about their child's early education.

Offering 'free toys', advertising on the radio and other public forms of media, may get enrolments in the door, but you have to work hard to keep them in the centre. How do you improve occupancy: a 0-2 room is very important, it becomes the feeder for the rest of the centre for the next five years. You must listen to your parents and deliver and meet the needs of those families within your community.. You must know your competitors. Find a balance of staff, I always like to see a mix of ages in staff, young staff bring energy and older staff provide the balance and direct that energy. Form strong bonds with other professionals who work with young children, speech therapists, occupational therapists, primary school teachers, treat each one as a future referee and most importantly show people you care.

The Early Years Learning Framework saw the introduction of required increases in staff qualifications within centres. Owners were forced to employ staff for their qualification rather than the quality of care they delivered. I consider that to be a major factor in the low occupancy rates in some centres.

G8 have a marketing director, I suggest she has a close look at some of the websites and the facebook entries of some of the centres, they are doing little to promote the education and care of their communities and the professionalism of G8.

There is an option available to centres who wish to expand but are lacking either indoor or outdoor space. Regulation 107 allows you, with permission of your regulatory authority to include a verandah in calculating either indoor or outdoor space. The upcoming ratio changes may provide an opportunity for some centres to reconfigure rooms to meet the demands of certain age groups.

As with all roll ups one size does not fit all. They need to slow down acquisitions and focus on increasing occupancy.

My final point is that the board must give serious consideration to appointing a board member with expertise in early childhood education. This IMO should be a priority and would benefit senior staff and shareholders.

Disclosure: I am holding both GEM and AFJ but don't view either with rose tinted glasses.