Effective onboarding is often identified as a crucial strategy to ensure that new staff remain engaged in their new role, and it is now more important than ever that teachers and educational staff feel supported, to prevent losses of staff due to burnout or stress.
But with the Department for Education announcing a return of all schools and school children to on-site teaching in September, schools are frantically rushing to ensure that they are ready for the influx of students. Meeting government guidelines on safety and social distancing presents an operational struggle, and in most cases employing new staff and restructuring existing staff will be vital to accommodate reduced class sizes and to ensure that there are enough staff members to go around.
Starting a new job is daunting at the best of times, but for new teachers beginning their career or moving jobs at this time, it will be even more stressful, with “pandemic preparedness” unlikely to have formed part of their teacher training.
As a result, effective onboarding new staff members will be key, so that they feel safe and supported. This will help institutions retain a full workforce, as well as ensure that your school receives maximum benefits from all staff.
Three important elements of effective educational staff onboarding are:
Many teachers have been required to carry out additional work throughout the pandemic to ensure that children learning from home, as well as on site, still receive the quality of education they need.
This additional strain won’t end in September, and teams will likely find that they don’t necessarily have the time to welcome new staff members as they usually would. But it is important that new teachers don’t feel like they have been left at sea.
Schedule regular time with new staff to give them the opportunity to raise any concerns or discuss new responsibilities.
Getting used to changes to new teaching arrangements, as well as getting settled into a new position will likely be a daunting prospect for new staff.
Assigning new staff with a mentor who are already established in school, and well versed in the new ways of operating, will give new teachers a hand to hold as well as an information point during a stressful time.
Ensure that all staff realise how much they are valued by sending out regular staff updates and emails to provide support as well as help everyone prepare for upcoming changes and events.
This might include important dates or information about things that are happening that week, information on where to get help, as well as reporting previous weeks wins which will provide encouragement at a difficult time.
The JMK PEO model can help workers in the education sector feel supported by providing pay and benefit stability, as well as delivering and advising on an effective contract and onboarding process.
Since 2002, JMK have been compliantly consolidating back-office, accountancy and payroll functions.
We have evolved to provide a range of expert services; such as Professional Employer Organisation (PEO), or Back Office Support (BOS) or Funding, becoming a leading provider to the contracting industry.
We know every agency is different in some shape or form, even if only by a little, but important bit. Combining our knowledge and experience of multiple sectors enables JMK to support you all from recruiters and payroll, through to finance, compliance and management.
With JMK as your trusted partner, even the smallest team can process the largest payroll, regardless of payroll type.
Have a look at the wide range of services our Professional Employer Organisation (PEO) or Back Office Support (BOS) can provide to you and your business, it is far more than just payroll and finance.
