WELLBEING


The importance of an effective people strategy


the right roles and have the right knowledge, skills, development and resources to do their job.


Clearly identifying the performance and potential of all staff members is important in highlighting current and potential gaps, reducing the risks of people leaving and supporting recruitment decisions, where needed.


Build a succession plan I


n his monthly column on wellbeing this month, MARK SOLOMONS, CEO of School Wellbeing Accelerator - an acclaimed wellbeing expert with over 12 years’ experience developing leadership and culture in UK schools and creator of Welbee a highly effective online evaluation and staff wellbeing improvement tool, winner of the ERA 2022 Wellbeing Award – shares some top tips on the importance of an effective people strategy.


Welcome to the Spring Term. As teachers and support staff consider their future plans - whether to stay or look for pastures new, one focus for most leader’s is retention and recruitment. Developing an effective people strategy, with wellbeing at its centre, helps identify and effectively manage the risks of staff leaving, while ensuring you accelerate the development of talented individuals. Forward planning is essential to ensure current staff feel supported in their professional development, with opportunities available for those wishing to move up the career ladder or into different roles, and keeping others not looking for career progression motivated. Staff who enjoy their work, have greater engagement and job satisfaction, and as a result give higher discretionary effort.


People strategy


One way to look at this is through the employee lifecycle:


Understand the likelihood and impact of staff leaving, take action to retain them and proactively identify and develop replacements. Manage the talent that is available and invest in the potential of the staff. Ensure that there is quality professional development available and that this can be individualised, so there is a balance between training and workshops to develop school-wide goals alongside personal ones.


Professional development that fulfils no objective apart from ticking a box, is lightly to have a negative effect on staff, a ‘waste of their time’ which we all know is already stretched. Well-planned and well-executed training which engages and challenges staff, enables them to flourish and illustrates that they are valued.


Effectively managing performance and developing talented staff members helps minimise the number of good staff leaving, fills future leadership positions with people identified and developed for the role and saves substantial costs and management time. Tools1 are available to help assess staff strengths and provide the best support. Staff performance can be tracked and specific actions identified so individuals have the opportunity to reach their full potential. Identify and develop available talent Career mapping is an effective tool for all staff, providing a space for leader and self- assessment and support. This requires time and collaboration between members of the leadership team and individuals, working together to build plans that support both career goals and those of the school or MAT. Also consider some staff may not want to be leaders in the conventional sense but they may want the opportunity to take on additional responsibilities such as heading up a new initiative.


Staff who are active contributors, feel they have greater ownership and purpose. It also builds their skills, equipping them with the tools and confidence to perhaps take on more senior and influential roles.


Retention runs throughout the lifecycle, from the moment a staff member is appointed to your school or MAT. Does everything that follows support the decision they made to join you?


Once staff are onboard, value and support them and be proactive in ensuring they are in


Identifying and developing staff members with high potential means you are more likely to fill future senior positions across the school or MAT.


Identify and manage performance Uncover those staff members who are


12 www.education-today.co.uk


underperforming and help them improve. With a clear focus on performance, staff members will receive the support and advice they need, rather than being left to their own means. For example, instructional coaching can help struggling teachers overcome existing ingrained habits and adopt new behaviours. The ‘coach’ observes their current performance, identifies areas for improvement, and creates manageable, achievable steps towards agreed goals.


In order to be successful, instructional coaching needs to be a positive not punitive process, a sharing of expertise - providing feedback and ways to move forward.


Recruitment


The latest figures from the Department for Education’s Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Census December 20222 are a stark reminder for leaders that competition for staff is increasing. With a twenty percent drop from 79% in 2021 to 59% in 2022 in the ITT recruitment target for secondary schools, and a decrease from 131% to 93% for primary school recruitment – year on year filling positions in schools and MATs is becoming more difficult. Recruitment of support staff is also far more challenging as they see the benefits of better pay and flexibility in other sectors.


To attract the best new staff, schools and MATs need to become an employer of choice. Potential candidates want to know what schools and MATs have to offer – a ‘unique selling point’. This means staff wellbeing has to be part of the culture and is something that simply happens every day.


Staff wellbeing has to sit at the centre of your people strategy. If all aspects of the employee lifecycle are well-managed, but the school culture and the behaviours of some leaders do not demonstrate that staff are valued, the effort will be largely wasted. It’s tough for schools in the present economic climate with escalating energy bills, a cost-of-living crisis and uncertainty surrounding financial plans and budgets. However, improving staff wellbeing is an investment with significant returns, saving time and money and preventing the loss of the best teachers and staff.


If we don’t look after our staff members’ wellbeing and their careers, they will leave.


For further information, support and advice about managing staff performance as part of staff wellbeing, please contact uWelbee.co.uk


1 My People Strategy – Making succession planning


easier for schools and MATs 2 Initial Teacher Training Census, Academic Year 2022/23 – Explore education statistics – GOV.UK (explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk)


January 2023


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