The 4 biggest recruitment pitfalls and how to avoid them

The new school term is upon us and some schools are still scrambling to get their recruitment strategy in place. It’s no secret that schools want the very best educators, but it’s also no surprise that some schools leave this until the last minute. It’s rare that good teachers are lounging around with their feet-up, so it’s important that schools actively seek, recruit and support the best educators in the industry. A good recruitment process is about having higher standards and making sure your new hires have them too.

Save your school the trouble of a last-minute hire that doesn’t quite fit the bill by putting a little thought into how you hire. A rewarding recruitment process means competent teachers who will be willing to go the extra mile for your students. Trust us, you want to avoid the teachers who lunge for the last-minute jobs or will literally accept any offer! Nobody wants to be the school that just about anyone could get a job with.

Here are some of the most common mistakes we see schools making when they recruit new teachers.

1. You recruit your teachers last minute and in a rush.

Teachers aren’t just looking for jobs once a year, which means you need to be advertising jobs all year round. Chances are, good teachers who are looking to move schools are plotting their next steps in advance, they will be scoping out schools, researching online and making sure schools doesn’t have reputations for bad practice (like firing teachers for no reason just before the end of contracts. Believe us, it happens!).

This means that good teachers know the schools they want to teach at and have probably built a wishlist of the schools that appeal to them. So, If you haven’t built up a reputable brand for your school online, many teachers won’t take the chance of signing with you or worse, they may not even know you exist.

Maybe you’re reading this and thinking — but hey, I’m not sure who I want to hire or even if I need to hire. That doesn’t matter. The market is competitive, so simply throwing a job offer on a website when you need someone won’t pull in the best people. It’s all about being proactive with your school’s marketing.

Everything is online these days and you’re not simply competing with other schools. There’s also bloggers, vloggers and everyone in between spreading information about dodgy contracts and poor conditions. Teachers are receptive to this, and if you’re not building your school’s reputation and prospective jobs online, then you may be lumped in with the schools that are treating teachers poorly.

Teachers that travel to teach are taking a big risk, many will make the decision based on the little information they’ve gleaned from the internet. So when you’re building your school’s recruitment strategy think about what might reassure a teacher when they inevitably google you.

Here are three ways you can promote your school online without spending any money or having to consult an expert.

• If your school doesn’t have a social media account, it should. This doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but teachers will like being able to do a quick search to see the facilities or a little extra information about school events. You know your school does amazing things… now, you need to make sure the internet knows too.
• Get current teachers to review your school online — every school has a couple of educators that are stalwarts. Why not incentivize them to post a review on a social media account or on teachers’ boards. A good review can’t hurt your chances.
• Use education specific job boards — this is where teachers will look first. An active presence on a reputable teaching job board may give your job offer weight and mean your school’s name is hanging out in the right places.

2. Teachers have no idea how much your school has to offer (and neither do you!)

When you are selecting a restaurant, it is a real treat when you can book one with a 5-star rating! When these ratings are awarded it is not based on one element (delicious food), but rather a tour de force of everything the establishment offers (excellent service, gorgeous presentation, sumptuous surroundings, great value). The best restaurants know that all these elements are important and because different diners will appreciate different aspects, these need to be maintained consistently.

This is the same for your school. If you put all your emphasis on salary and curriculum and fail to consider career progression and accommodation, you will be missing out on attracting a good deal of excellent candidates to whom these elements are most important. Make sure you are covering all your bases and offering a truly 5-star opportunity to teachers thinking of taking up a role at your school.

Maybe you’re not sure what things matter to educators or you’re not in a position to offer great benefits right now, well not to worry! Look no further than your current teaching staff for inspiration. Why are they still there? Maybe you can take a quick lunchtime survey and find out what they consider to be the perks of the job. You might be pleasantly surprised.

We’ve had teachers who stay in schools for reasons as seemingly silly as the delicious lunches to things as big as the staff atmosphere and support from fellow educators. Every school has something to offer, you just need to have a long hard think about what you’ve got to give, and then make sure prospective teachers know all about it.

It’s worth taking a look at job advertisements outside of the teaching industry too, this will give you an idea of things smaller companies can offer as “perks”. Maybe your school can borrow some of these and add them to your job postings. A stocked fridge, the prevalence of baked goods and even personal office space…can all go a long way. Anything that makes you stand out is a win, we see a lot of schools sticking to the same script, and a bit of creativity can go a long way when it comes to taking the plunge.

3. Very few schools boast about their location. But location matters.

You need a maths teacher. You want the best. If your school is positioned at the base of Kilimanjaro or on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, it is likely that there will be a significant number of maths teachers who would be extremely excited to come and work with you. If you want to attract teachers from outside your local area, do not be afraid to sing the praises of your location.

Our research shows that a passion for travel is hands down the top reason that teachers choose a career overseas. Think like a tourist board and give yourself an advantage over other schools in attracting talent. Even if you don’t have a stunning national park or a bustling city to sell your school on, think about what you do have and who this might attract.

A school in a quiet village in rural China may not seem like a prospect that will attract everyone, but to a city dweller tired of the noise and pollution, it could be paradise! Work with what you have and show off your school to attract the widest range of excellent talent.

4. You’ve made your school completely #undateable because it’s all about the money.

Forgive the analogy, but let’s roll with this for a second…nobody wants to date someone that’s only concerned about money. You’re trying to get to know them and all they tell you is how much they make a year, what they spend, the cost of their shoes, etc. There probably won’t be a second date if that’s the case. It’s boring, and the passion is missing.

The recruitment process for teachers is similar, the conversation between teachers and schools needs to involve much more than the bottom line. If all your school does is tell teachers how much you pay, then it’s likely that not all good teachers will consider your position. Teachers interested in your school will consider multiple factors and it’s important to remember that money is only one.

We’ll admit that salary is important to most when choosing a job. But it isn’t the end all and be all! Teach Away was founded on a passion for education and we connect quality teachers with quality schools in exotic locations. As former teachers and educators, we believe every child deserves a good teacher and that drives our business. If you are focusing on the salary, you are missing the whole point.

Here are some other things you might want to plug in the recruitment process: Your fantastic ethos, world-beating team, enthusiastic students or state of the art facilities. Don’t lose sight of what makes you great!!

So there you have it, it’s all about branding your school as an amazing opportunity for teachers. Our research shows that 97% of teachers select their roles online, many of these from recruitment specific sites.

So, if you’re not sure how to go about getting the best educators, partner with someone who is. Choose a partner who not only connects you with great candidates but helps you develop your recruitment strategy.

Read more about how you can attract the best teachers in our education recruitment report.

Originally published at www.teachaway.com on September 15, 2018.