Upload
peter-gow
View
5.369
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Manage the process of recruiting and hiring teachers in independent schools, with some tips on induction and mentoring, as well.
Citation preview
MANAGING THE HIRING PROCESS
Principles and Procedures for Successful Teacher Recruitment and
HiringPeter Gow
Beaver Country Day SchoolNAIS 2007
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 2
OVERVIEW
• Principles• Preparation• Mission-driven recruiting• Managing the process• Getting to know the candidate• Making the hire• Induction and the first year• Retention and the long term
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 3
PRINCIPLES
• Hiring is for keeps• Match is everything• Each hire is an opportunity for school
improvement and advancement• Sam Student’s need come first• Patience is a virtue• The hire isn’t over until the end of the
first evaluation cycle—i.e., Year One
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 4
PREPARATION• Making the Hiring Case
– Bottom-line needs determination: what positions must be filled
– The hiring “self-study” (see next slide)– “Why Saint Basalt’s” —content and
supporting materials
• Mapping out the campaign• Designating the Hiring Team, including
“Hiring Central”• The Budget (little-known facts…)
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 5
HIRING SELF-STUDY• Exit-interview data• Reflection on success
– Who are we?– Who has succeeded here? (“The successful
teacher is …”)– Who has struggled here?
• Needs assessment—beyond the obvious– Community needs on a cultural/moral level?– Broader programmatic needs and desiderata?
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 6
THE TEAM• Who does what?• Clarify roles and rules
– Advertising/listing/agency contact– Management of candidate papers– Invitations & interview management– Reference checks– Offers
• Consider institutionalizing broader initiatives– E.g., Exit interviews
• Plan overall campaign strategy• “Hiring Central” —one place, one person
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 7
USING THE MISSION
• Look closely at school’s stated values and standards
• Get serious about diversity—of all kinds• Use strategic goals to point the way• Find language that can be extracted
verbatim—hold your own feet to the fire• Make rules if you have to—and be
prepared to follow them
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 8
JOB DESCRIPTIONS• No position too minor or too generic for
thoughtful description• Some like descriptions detailed, some
like them flexible• Describe the school• Describe the community• Describe the work to be done• “The successful candidate will …”• Specific invitations okay
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 9
THE CAMPAIGN• Cast the widest net you can afford• Demand personalized service from
wholesalers: agencies, college placement offices—you’ll get what you pay for
• Walk the walk of diversity—find the resources and utilize them
• Look for non-traditional sources: Troops to Teachers, Teach for America, unions
• Consider pooling for regional non-academic job fairs in professional and tech sectors
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 10
MATERIALS• Customize materials to maximize space
limitations or mission focus for external resources
• “Careers/Employment/Working at …” webpages—as comprehensive and inviting as possible; make important work-related materials downloadable
• Consider dedicated print materials• Create links (digital or otherwise) to
community resources that will help serve your needs (realtors, religious institutions, cultural and recreational resources)
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 11
THE PROCESS—Papers
• Centralize at “Hiring Central” and create a generic e-mail address: ”[email protected]”
• First reader a Hiring Team member• Treat “lone rangers” with respect;
acknowledge independent inquiries in kind• Keep records of every official contact• Designate a process for making “first
contact” —who, and what content• Courtesy, courtesy, courtesy
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 12
THE PROCESS—Fairs
• Choose to maximize reach and effect• Don’t just send graybeards and honchos• “Train” participants, provide a rough script
and talking points• Handouts a plus, but not too many• Clarify process for candidates• KEEP RECORDS of interviews on a standard
form (“Could you see …?”), make notes of other conversations of promise
• Consider fair work as leadership development
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 13
THE PROCESS—Openers
• “First impressions always last”• All interviewers need expertise
– Talking points– Standard questions– “Improper line of questioning” knowledge
• Explain process to candidates; give rough timeline if possible
• Keep records in a standard format (“Could you see X working here?” is the question to ask)
• Have internal process for deciding who moves through
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 14
THE PROCESS—Visits• A formal employment application provides material
“for the record” on which to base reference and credential checks
• Host function should be warm and comfortable– Be extra clear on expense issues– Make time for food, water, restroom
• Candidates should meet all prospective supervisors• Meetings with peers and students a plus• Sample lessons have pros and cons; maybe a plan
is enough• Collect impressions from all interviewers in
standard format; don’t elicit comparisons
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 15
THE PROCESS—Choices• Check references! Reference checks must be
professionally conducted and thorough• Strongly discourage rogue reference checks and
informal feedback • Don’t be impatient; remember your “Case”• If you are in love but have rules, follow the rules• Be consistent! Give each finalist the same
consideration; fill each position in the same way• Check references!• Inform unsuccessful candidates ASAP; be brave
and do it right!
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 16
THE PROCESS—Offers• Clarify who is making the offer• Offerer should have all information at hand—
salary, job wrinkles, benefits• Be clear up front about moving expenses• Be clear up front about pre-school
expectations (trainings, summer work, etc.)• Be circumspect about promises beyond the
first year—stuff happens • Give folks enough time to take a deep breath
and think things over (and hope that candidates—and other schools!—will do the same for you)
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 17
HIRING MISCELLANY • Consider a bounty system for hiring
referrals• Make sure that internal candidacies are
considered, or be clear that they will not be—post consistently
• E-mail chatter regarding candidates is a very bad idea
• Check on regulations before clearing candidate files when a hire has been made
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 18
AFTER YES• All contracts are tentative pending successful
completion of criminal background check• Checks should exceed statutory requirements;
think ahead (driving? foreign travel?)• Credential checks maybe well worth it• (If hire is international, solve the visa issue before
you’ve gone too far)• Prepare “electronic induction”—e-mail, server
access, curriculum map, other school e-resources• Calendar and other resources (texts! syllabi!)
available ASAP; knowledge is confidence• Map out and urge opportunities for new teachers to
collaborate with veterans before school starts
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 19
INDUCTION• Comprehensive and complete—take the time
to do it right• See new teachers as a cohort whose
effectiveness as a group is to be maximized• Priorities (think like an anthropologist!):
– Culture and values– People– Language– Curriculum– Policies and procedures– Geography and resources
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 20
NEW TEACHER NEEDS• Local norms, local standards (sources: peers
and department/division leadership)• Life-management (sources: mentors, peers;
facilitated by thoughtful leadership)• Feedback (sources: peers, leadership,
students)• Friend/foe recognition (sources: leadership,
mentors, peers)• Identity in the community (can be facilitated
by thoughtful leadership that provides opportunities for public success)
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 21
MENTORING• Build the best program you can afford; put
someone in charge• Designate time to make it work• Structure the time to meet specific needs
—human as well as institutional• Choose wise, smart optimists as mentors• Mentoring should not be evaluative or
supervisory• Mentoring is a leadership-development
opportunity
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 22
RETENTION NOTES• School culture matters most• Then come money and benefits• Maximize positive factors
– Geography– Benefits– Perks of membership
• Compensate for negatives– Geography– Social (i.e., dating) opportunities– Remuneration limitations
• Comprehensive professional development
04/09/23 Hiring Process—P. Gow NAIS 07 23
RESOURCESNotes from this presentation at
www.nais.org/go/annualconference
NAIS Principles of Good Practice for the Hiring Process (2006)
Gow, An Admirable Faculty (NAIS, 2005)
Your school attorney and regional association for special issues and circumstances