What is “THE PLAN” to fully staff schools in 2023.2024?

Plagued by unprecedented challenges, and ever-changing educational landscapes, it’s no wonder that school districtsare struggling to recruit and retain educational staff!  School systems must take steps to ensure they have the staff to continue supporting students during these critical years, in the wake of the pandemic.  And January is a pivotal month, where district leaders/officials are beginning to ensure that schools are fully staffed with diverse, effective educators for next school year.  This means navigating through schedules, reductions in resources, and the personal impact of the pandemic on teachers and their families.  

A comprehensive staffing plan should include clearly defined goals and a detailed timeline for filling positions. This process, by which an educational organization (typically led by the HR team), assesses and identifies the personnel needs of each school within the district. A good staffing plan helps you understand the number of educational personnel and disciplines that are needed.

School Personnel Administrators are working NOW to gather input from school leaders on what their needs are for successfully staffing and scheduling for the upcoming 2023.2024 school year.

Before creating THE PLAN”, School Personnel Administrators must have courageous conversations with school building leaders on the projected outlook of the buildings’ scheduling and staffing arrangements.  Specifically targeting topics such as:

• The effectiveness in providing excellent instruction to all students.
• Any preferences and recommendations for which staffing and scheduling arrangements should continue or be eliminated.
• Any new teacher roles created (like master teachers who led direct facilitation for a larger group of students or family coordinators who managed family outreach, etc.), and which ones would be valuable to keep and why.

THE PLAN 

What is involved in a districts’ plan to secure a full staff at every school?  First, evaluate the goals you want to achieve by considering the organizational goals that might affect hiring. Understanding expectations can help you align your staffing goals with the organization's strategic goals. In order to find the perfect fit for your district, you need to take actionable steps.

In a recently updated indeed.com article, the career development team, strategic staffing plans can make it easier for companies to find employees with the right skill sets. (By Indeed Editorial Team; Updated August 19, 2022, Published May 3, 2021; full article).

ACTIONABLE STEPS

Create a recruitment plan with detailed hiring strategies that provides a framework for recruiters, HR professionals, and other members of the hiring team to follow throughout the hiring process. This recruitment plan can include details such as expected timelines, processes to follow, and other predetermined elements designed to optimize the recruitment process for maximum efficiency.

Take a look at CURRENT STAFFING.  You can get a better understanding of the staffing needs by compiling a list of current job descriptions and analyzing current staff, including the number of employees working, the size of each team and the competencies of each member. This can help you examine the duties that various employees perform more thoroughly, which can help you identify any skill gaps or departments that could use more professionals. Listing current job descriptions can also function as a useful reference when it's time to begin recruitment.

Analyze staffing patterns and changes. Understanding staffing patterns can help you develop a staffing plan that accounts for changes, helping you better forecast future staffing needs.

Project future staffing needs. After analyzing staffing patterns, consider creating a projection for your future staffing needs to help you plan for positions that might become available. You can also take things like your budget and your recruitment resources into account when planning.

Complete a skills gap analysis. A skills gap analysis is a method for assessing your current and future staffing needs by determining the discrepancies between the skills you want staff to have and the skills they actually have so you can update your staffing plan accordingly. Consider the skills currently missing among staff that the organization may need in the future. In addition, you may find that some of your team members have additional skills they can bring into a new role. This can help you find ways to shift teams to improve efficiency.

Consider organizational requirements.  Compare the current roles in the company with the forecasted roles necessary for it to achieve its objectives. Consider listing the roles the organization needs to fill soon. You can describe the ideal skills and requirements for each position to help you during the recruiting process. By making a clear list of job requirements, you can search for professionals who possess those skills or experience more easily.

Consider reviewing your recruiting software and technology.  Determining what the organization prefers. You may improve the efficiency of your staffing plan by finding new software programs to use.

Create a plan for training. You can further improve your staffing plan for implementing a system for training new and existing employees. You may be able to create more effective teams by training new professionals and helping them develop the skills to succeed in their roles.

Examine workplace culture. After fulfilling your recruitment needs and planning for future needs, you may also consider accounting for employee satisfaction to help increase retention. Assessing organizational culture can help you formulate ways to create a more pleasant work environment and improve human resources processes.

Update your staffing plan. Consider updating your staffing plan regularly as organizational and staffing goals change. Review job descriptions, training methods and processes so you can adapt to changes that may occur, such as employees retiring or new management.

SUMMARY

A comprehensive staffing plan will increase the opportunities associated with the current ongoing vacancies and the shortage of qualified candidates. The goal is to maximize student achievement by placing them with the best possible educators for their specific needs.