What can your school learn from business culture?
Vision and culture are lofty things.
But they are important because they give people aspiration and a vision of what they want to achieve in life. In terms of the people and my company, we needed a vision and culture for everyone.
For success in business, absolutely everyone from the cleaner to the CEO need to truly believe in the vision. If you don’t buy in to that vision, you don’t get the effect of everyone driving the changes to how your business is practiced.
It’s not just about growth – it’s about people. Even on the most boring work days when your staff are bored to tears, it’s their belief in the vision that keeps them engaged. They look back at the big achievements and say, ‘I was part of that’.
Your problems is that they think movement is how to get that pay rise, the promotion, the TLR. Your problem is that you want them to stay.
Retention is really important – let’s look at the expectations.
1. Young people now expect fast paced environments, fast promotions, new opportunities. Make sure they believe they are amazing at their job and can see a development route working.
2. They want more money – It doesn’t have to be big increments. This is tough in teaching, but if you have positions with year group and subject leadership or other duties in the school that can attract TLRs, make it your mission to appoint your up-and-coming staff.
3. They want to be part of a higher cause – so involve them in the bigger outcomes vision. INSET time spent on workshops, where everyone contributes to the vision, are not wasted
4. This is the generation that want feedback, quickly – so give it – it doesn’t have to be lots of it, but frequent.
5. You need to deal with poor performance quickly, but if they feel secure, they will be resilient and try again for you.
So how do you balance for the company as a whole? You are giving but what do you get back?
You need them up and running quickly, earning their keep quickly. We call it accelerated competency. The idea is self-explanatory: you need to start with really having a full understanding of your expectations of them. We can help with your strategy. If you want support, we would be pleased to consult.
But mostly, they need to feel secure. That’s why we have a company that’s turning over £40m a year… and everyone loves each other!
Author: Angie Franklyn
Angie is the founder of Chameleon Communications, which began by providing services to pharmaceutical companies and is now a global company who promote vision and culture in organisations.
About the author
Angie Franklyn
Angie is the founder of Chameleon Communications, which began by providing services to pharmaceutical companies and is now a global company who promote vision and culture in organisations.
