Before the pandemic, England’s school system was facing an increasingly severe challenge of training enough teachers to meet the demand caused by growing secondary pupil numbers and high leaving rates.
Coming out the other side of the coronavirus crisis, there are fears that the stresses of the past 12 months will see even more teachers look for a way out of the profession.
Schools need to ensure that their candidate pipeline is being cultivated and nurtured so that they don’t find themselves scrambling around when a position becomes vacant. But, how can you make sure your candidate database is always full of the right kind of talent? Here are some tips:
1. Work on your employer brand
Schools are still coming to terms with the idea that they have an ‘employer brand’ to cultivate. While it’s become the norm in the business world for firms to foster their reputation as a place to work, schools aren’t always so proactive with the practice.
However, when a teacher considers applying for a position at a new school, they will likely already have an opinion on it. Results, Ofsted reports and local reputation all play a part, of course. But so do things like staff and student wellbeing, CPD opportunities and school values, which largely come down to perception.
So, work hard to improve your brand by showing the very best things about your school. A good current example is virtual open evening videos. Although they were created for these unprecedented times, they will live online for a good while longer and influence candidate perceptions.
2. Focus on roles that are hard to fill
Recruitment resources shouldn’t be split evenly. If you never have any trouble filling a PE teacher vacancy, for example, it doesn’t make sense to give managing that pipeline the same time as harder-to-fill roles like the sciences.
So, when cultivating your employer brand, lead with the things that those candidates want to hear. Having engaged and interested candidates already in mind for these roles can significantly cut down your time to hire and ensure the roles don’t stay vacant for long.
3. Fill your pipeline with both internal and external candidates
We always tend to think about external candidates whenever we discuss pipelines. But you can expand your database with quality candidates by including those existing teachers who have the potential for taking on more responsibility.
The important thing here is balance. Too much internal hiring could put good external candidates off from applying, while too little risks leaving employees frustrated by the lack of advancement opportunities.
4. Engage your pipeline and stay in touch to keep candidates warm
A key element of building a winning talent pipeline is staying in touch and fostering relationships with teachers who aren’t necessarily looking for a job right now, but might be open to opportunities down the line.
Schools can do this in a number of ways – for example, by sending out your weekly or monthly newsletter to engaged candidates, showing all the great work your school is doing.
5. Measure your progress and adjust your strategy as needed
Hopefully you begin to see your recruitment efforts paying off in the shape of quicker and better appointments. But it goes without saying that you should constantly reflect on your strategy to reveal any adjustments you can make to boost your results and make your pipeline pay off.
Technology has made it easier than ever to grow and manage your candidate database, so with the right solution, you should start to see the results of your work pay off before too long.
With Eteach’s Advanced Candidate Management and Talent Pool technology, you can simply move candidates through the workflow and keep a clear overview of your pipelines for live jobs and your future workforce.
If your school is in a position to recruit top teaching talent, Eteach can help. Find out more about our recruitment services and solutions by getting in touch today.