Good HR management is essential in the education sector
Schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions rely on their staff to deliver the best possible education for their students, so it is important to ensure all HR issues are taken into account to keep staff productive, engaged and consistently providing outstanding results for students.
HR services education: Hiring and retaining staff
Educational institutions often have difficulty hiring and retaining staff, but having good HR management in place can encourage staff loyalty.
Some of the HR considerations which all organisations in the education sector need to be aware of include:
- Pre-employment vetting checks
- Industry-specific health and safety issues
- Compliance with government standards
- Training and development of staff
PeoplePointHR has experience working with a range of organisations across the education sector and understands these sector-specific concerns, which, left unaddressed, can lead to poor employee performance and high staff turnover.
The HR challenges in recruiting high-quality education staff
As with many other sectors, hiring and retaining high-quality staff is a concern for the education sector.
Many institutions find it difficult to balance employee pay and benefit expectations with the resources they have available. Furthermore, teachers often feel more affiliation to the subject they are teaching rather than the institution in which they teach which can result in them moving from school to school attracted by better pay, better results and better funding.
Ensuring the safety of students
When recruiting staff for the education sector, institutions have a responsibility to ensure students are protected.
Schools have to perform a series of thorough pre-employment checks to ensure only staff who are suitably qualified and vetted can have access to schools. These processes can be very complex and time-consuming, and pose a problem, especially when a candidate is required to start at a short notice.
Save time and money
Although these procedures can now be processed online, outsourcing pre-employee checks to PeoplePointHR can save your organisation time and money.
Measuring success and ensuring HR compliance
Schools, colleges and universities operate in a very heavily regulated sector, and the pressures of compliance can cause educational staff stress and distract from their core duties of teaching.
Since 1992, the education regulatory board Ofsted has been responsible for inspecting schools and evaluating their performance.
School inspections
Inspections focus more on compliance than individual staff performance, which means that much of the good work teachers do for their students is not recognised.
All institutions want to achieve the top Ofsted grade of ‘outstanding’ but the restrictive targets an educational establishment must meet to secure this accolade can put excessive pressure on staff, which reduces their performance and level of engagement.
HR services education: Training and development
A key focus for HR in this sector is continual training and development.
The education sector is constantly evolving both through regulatory changes and teaching methods. An effective training and development programme can help retain staff and improve their performance.
School improvement plan
Developing the skills of your staff will form part of an entire school improvement plan.
There are many methods available to train, develop and engage your staff, including training courses, mentoring and work shadowing. Any regulatory changes should be clearly explained to your staff to allow them to transition smoothly into a new way of working.
How PeoplePointHR can help organisations in the education sector
Our HR consultants have a thorough understanding of the unique challenges faced by schools, colleges, universities and other organisations operating in the education sector.
With PeoplePointHR by your side, you can focus on the important matters of leading your teams and delivering outstanding education to your students.
PeoplePointHR services for the education sector
Our services to the education sector include:
- Specialist consultant available by phone, email or face to face to provide support when you need it
- Undertaking pre-employment checks for new employees
- Assistance with health and safety compliance
- Drafting contracts of employment which take into account the unique challenges of the industry
- Help with recruiting and retaining the right staff for your organisation
- Assistance with disciplinary and grievance procedures and representation at employment tribunals
- Handling payroll, annual leave, sickness leave and parental leave
Contact PeoplePointHR today for further information.
