VIEWS & OPINION
Reward teachers to help combat attrition crisis
Comment by STORM POSTLETHWAITE, Managing Director, Discounts for Teachers
The start of a new year and academic term offers hope and positivity for the education sector, with the chance to tackle the biggest challenges facing schools and make a change for the better.
Arguably chief amongst these challenges today is the issue of recruitment and retention amongst teachers. With increasing workloads and pressures to keep up and meet national standards taking their toll on teachers’ mental health and wellbeing, it is unsurprising that a recent poll by NEU found that 44 per cent of England’s state schoolteachers plan to quit the profession by 2027. A further 52 per cent of teachers also said their workload is unmanageable with stress being a constant factor in their lives.
This state of play is worsened when we consider why many people become teachers: to improve the lives of children and young people and develop the skills and knowledge they need to succeed. Working in education can and should be an incredibly rewarding career, yet the challenging circumstances schools often find themselves in can, understandably, make it difficult for teachers to continue doing what they love. Issues prompting teachers to leave, such as rising workloads and retention challenges cannot be solved overnight; a long-term and sustainable solution is required, with the support of the Government and many other key stakeholders. In the shorter term however, schools can take a step in the right direction by rewarding teachers with tangible benefits for their hard work, instead of re-paying them with anxiety and worry.
Appreciate and reward
Recognising and rewarding the hard work of employees is fundamental to improving wellbeing and overall job satisfaction in any profession, and teaching should be no different. A study by UCL found that newly qualified teachers were less likely than their peers to believe Britain is a place where hard work gets rewarded, with just 30 per cent saying they agreed or strongly agreed that hard work is rewarded. This was compared to around 45 per cent of all graduates and over half of all office workers.
Providing benefit programmes and perks that don’t impact school budgets
The challenge of course in many schools is not a lack of desire to reward staff, but rather a lack of means and budget. However, there are small yet meaningful ways schools can show how much they value their staff’s time and efforts. For example, schools can boost their employment benefits package with special discounts for education staff across travel, fashion, TV & broadband, essentials and more. As a mark of appreciation for the profession, staff can also
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earn cashback through the use of exclusive cards, which includes cashback at selected supermarkets to help you save on groceries. In the current economic climate, where finances are being squeezed, signposting these offers to education staff could go a long way and help them to make invaluable savings, whilst demonstrating how they are valued and appreciated for the important work they do. Another key aspect of rewarding and incentivising staff is making sure they have a good work-life balance, with opportunities to relax and take time for themselves. Some small gestures schools can incorporate in their employment package include flexible working arrangements, to help teachers who might be juggling family life, and partnering with local mental health and wellbeing organisations in
the community to offer sessions and support. To complement this, schools could share a monthly newsletter with the latest discounts and perks from restaurants and fashion retailers for education workers, so teachers can plan ahead and enjoy leisure time outside the classroom at a lower cost. Helping teachers reap the rewards that come with the job can inject some positivity into your school for the year ahead and hopefully, play a small part towards incentivising and retaining talent in the workforce.
A new approach to incentivising and rewarding teachers Benefits packages and discount offers are just one piece of a much bigger and more complex puzzle when it comes to the recruitment and retention challenge in the sector, however, the potential power of discount schemes should not be underestimated. In a survey on staff engagement in the education and healthcare sectors, 46 per cent of respondents felt more loyal towards their role/sector due to having access to a discount scheme. They are reported feeling 10 per cent happier going into work through having discounts available to them, compared to those without employment-linked concessions. Beyond the tangible perk of being able to save on broadband bills or book a much-needed holiday abroad with discount codes, the act of offering such benefits can have a profound psychological impact on a teacher’s outlook and support overall wellbeing.
As education institutions increasingly compete to recruit and retain high-quality teachers, an attractive employment offer with additional rewards and benefits will help schools to stand out, keep and attract the best possible talent. While the majority of school budgets leave little room for extra perks, it’s important to take advantage of the services, resources and support which are already available that can supplement your teacher benefits’ package and demonstrate how valued they are, both by their school and society more widely.
February 2023
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