With high levels of stress and increased attrition across the education sector, a focus on retention is more important than ever…
Turnover is a tough topic for schools across the UK. At times like this, it’s essential that your school or trust does what it can to hold onto your best talent.
By boosting retention, you can cut costs associated with frequent hiring, uplift the working environment, and stand out as an employer of choice.
So, let’s explore what you can do to boost retention and reap the rewards!
- What’s the problem with retention in education?
- How to improve retention in education?
- 5 reasons to retain top education talent.
- How to attract top education talent.
- Retaining education talent with M/LK Education Search.
Ready? Let’s dive in…
What’s the problem with retention in education?
The latest Teacher Wellbeing Index by Education Support found that 89% of senior education leaders and 78% of educators in the UK are stressed.
Many also feel overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated.
The good news is that there are things you can do to change that!
Factors such as positive culture, continuous development opportunities, and a diverse curriculum can all have a major impact on staff wellbeing. As such, they’re key to boosting retention.
With a focus on these areas, you can stop your best talent from looking elsewhere.
How to improve retention in education
Here are some quick pointers to consider if you’re worried about retention in your school:
1. Recognising effort
It’s important that everyone in your school feels recognised, appreciated, and valued, whether they play a supportive or leadership role.
2. Wellbeing
Focusing on and supporting employee wellbeing will be essential. This is a key part of engagement and employee satisfaction.
Not sure where to start? Check out Milk Academy for access to Health & Wellness CPD courses, and use the code MLK for 30% off!
3. Rewarding dedication
Ask yourself: are you looking after the people who have been committed to the school for years? What do you do to show them that you care?
Rewarding your employees’ dedication doesn’t mean offering extra monetary incentives. Instead, it’s about celebrating key milestones, giving credit where it’s due, and making people aware that you appreciate them.
4. Investing in careers
Offer opportunities for personal and professional development to demonstrate your investment in their long-term progression.
Check out Milk Academy for access to a huge variety of CPD courses for professional development that will help your educators and leaders upskill. Don’t forget to use the code MLK for 30% off!
5. Nurture community and collaboration
What could you do to make your educators and leaders feel like they’re part of something bigger?
If you’re looking to foster community within your school, check out our Make Life Kind school speakers.
Our speakers tackle tough topics including diversity, inclusion, mental health, wellbeing, anti-racism, anti-knife crime, online safety, and much, much more.
The talks they deliver have already inspired hundreds of thousands of young people across the country, while their workshops give educators the tools they need to address these issues head on.
With their help, you can build stronger, more collaborative school communities.
5 reasons to retain top education talent
Retention isn’t just something to think about in hindsight.
We’ll talk you through the five reasons why retaining educators and leaders should be a consideration during the hiring process and throughout their journey with you…
1. Cost savings
High turnover can be expensive for schools of all sizes. Hiring and training new educators and leaders requires substantial resources, including time, money, and effort.
By focusing on retention, your school can reduce turnover rates and minimise the associated costs.
2. Consistency and productivity
The longer educators and leaders stay with a school, the more familiar they will be with the school’s ethos, values, and culture.
This sort of consistency can boost productivity and effectiveness, and mitigate the impact of constant disruption on learning and development.
3. Team Morale and engagement
High turnover can negatively impact morale and disrupt school dynamics. Similarly, frequent departures can lead to increased workloads, creating stress and lower engagement levels.
By prioritising retention, schools can foster a stable and supportive work environment, boosting morale and collaboration.
4. Employer brand and reputation
High rates of turnover will also impact your reputation, AKA your employer brand.
Educators and leaders want to know that they’ll be happy in a new role, and a higher-than-average turnover rate suggests the opposite. As such, schools known for high turnover can develop a negative reputation, putting their status as an employer of choice at risk.
5. Development and growth
The longer educators and leaders stay with a school, the more opportunities for growth and development they’re likely to have.
So, it’s important that you offer a clear path for progression from the outset. When you add value to your educators, they’ll add more value to the school in return.
A good way to do this is to encourage them to take CPD courses for professional development. You could also consider booking workshops for educators to help them tackle key issues outside of the curriculum.
How to attract top education talent
Keep in mind that attraction and retention should work hand in hand. The strategies you implement to encourage retention will, in turn, help you attract the best talent.
As part of our proven Search & Selection process, we know how to position you and your initiatives to reach top talent.
We’re not your average education recruitment agency! We work as an extension of your school to actively engage the best educators and leaders and get them excited to work with you.
Here’s how we do it:
- Working closely with you to ensure your school stands out as an employer of choice.
- Giving you access to great educators and leaders outside of your network.
- Making your roles more appealing, even to those who aren’t actively looking.
- An in-depth knowledge of the education sector.
- Competency and behavioural assessments to ensure a strong long-term fit.
- Anonymous shortlisting options that ensure you get the best talent, without bias.
- Promoting your school through bespoke candidate packs.
Retaining education talent with M/LK Search
We tailor our processes to your school’s specific needs.
That’s how we ensure that the talent you attract will add lasting value to your school, students, and community. And our support doesn’t stop there!
Not only do we help you attract the talent you need – we also manage the aftercare, ensure they’re settled in, and work with you to retain the educators and leaders you take on…
Want to find out more?
Let’s have a chat – drop Greg Bookman a message today or get in touch below:
Call us: 0333 360 1100
Email us: info@mlk-search.co.uk
