But it’s only September…

As an HR specialist in schools its only natural at this time of year to want to take a deep breath and focus on cleaning up some processes and paperwork.

Over the last 4 months, while taking some holiday, you have probably been involved with hiring staff, managing their onboarding process, arrival, induction and also the exit of staff who left at the end of the previous year. All of this is lengthy, complicated and stressful. Many HR specialists will also have to either directly, or indirectly, manage some element of staff housing which adds an extra degree of difficulty and stress.

So it is perfectly natural (reasonable) to want to coast for a few weeks and deal with the day to day activities. Its easier than looking into the future and realizing what comes next.

However, by looking forward now, you will put yourself and your school in a better place in preparation for the future. Now is the time to be looking at the following:

·        New employee feedback (formal or informal)

·        Salaries and benefits for Education staff

·        Preparation for the recruitment cycle

·        Supporting new staff to settle in

·        Performance management

That’s a daunting list at the best of times, let alone when you have just come off the busiest and most stressful time of year.

But don’t be daunted. The more involved you are with these processes now, the more prepared you’ll be when they need to be delivered. Set aside some time every day to close the door and focus on these areas and take each process and split them into smaller tasks.

For example, preparing for the recruitment cycle including the following:

·        Reviewing the standard text, you use in all adverts. Does this need an update?

·        The advert itself. Can you make this easier by using standard text and then getting school leaders to tweak as necessary nearer the time?

·        Do you need to review the attraction strategy based on your level of success last year?

·        Is there any change in the process itself?

By breaking these tasks up into smaller, more manageable tasks, they will be less daunting, and you will be more prepared when the time comes.

Make sure you recover from the stress of the last 4 months but keep looking at the future and making sure you are prepared for what comes next.

If you or your school need support with any aspects of HR, including planning for the future, why not join ISCHR and engage with other school HR professionals and get their support/guidance along the way.

www.ISCHR.com