Manage the turnover in educational talent
An independent school Head shared with us not that long ago: “There are more openings in schools, that are staying open longer, happening at different off-cycle points in the school year, than ever before.” Is that what you are seeing?
[update: This 2023 NAIS survey confirms that “finding and retaining qualified staff as workplace expectations shift is a #1 challenge identified by Heads of School.]
On top of that, leaders who established a commitment with an employee in May could mostly count on that agreement remaining in place in August. But now they are finding that’s not as much the case as before. Is this a transition in talent where loyalty to an employer stays permanently lower than before?* Or did this recent turnover represent a catching up with pent-up changes in employment status that were deferred among school employees during the uncertainty of 2020-2022, and things can return now to a more stable pre-pandemic rhythm?
A client shared with us the view that this new normal might be a more permanent stable state. Education is no longer the flexible employment option of choice. What schools used to offer - including housing for some, lighter work duty during summers, paired with family-friendly time off policies during the academic year - may once have been attractive and competitive. But with the advent of widespread remote working and learning since 2020, skilled professionals have a wider range of options that are more flexible than traditional independent school roles.
While classroom educators, coaches, and educational administrators may be drawn to the community aspects of work as reflected in their career choices, how important is it to have your entire Business Office, Fundraising, or Marketing & Communications teams on campus?
If an ‘all in-person work’ dynamic is essential to your mission, we would advise that you prepare your board finance and and compensation committees to reinvest to retain and attract top talent: the landscape may have shifted around their expectations. Are you deploying sabbaticals? Revisiting promotion schedules? Prioritizing housing, commute support, or flexible working hours?
We are curious to hear what is working for you, and happy to share what we’re seeing.
*[See this review of experiments in the landscape of talent management from Bain for more.]