BY PRECIOUS AND PEACE ODUNFA
A school just like many other businesses has a target audience, “parents and their children”; has the target staff, “qualified teachers”; a target mission, “to teach, to improve, to impact and to educate children.” These main areas make up the school, the betterment of these areas determine the success and the height of standards a school is to achieve. Schools are one of the most important institutions in our society but it is sad that this line of work suffers many setbacks.
The teaching staff are a set of individuals who are eligible and saddled with the responsibility of keeping a school going and growing. Staff retention, for instance is a major issue as it plays a major role in the quality of education passed across to the children. This issue, if resolved will begin a new era of productivity in educational institutions. The following are ways to improve staff retention and quality of teaching.
In order to improve staff quality of teaching, there are some things to be done. On taking in new staff, questions should be asked to find out about their current status. Questions like “If you are selected for this job, what can you offer? What are your specialties? Where do you live? (if it will be comfortable for your daily resumption) What did you like or heard about the school that prompted you to submit an application letter? In your previous place of work, did you resign or were you fired? If you resigned, what made you do it? If you were fired what did you do wrong?” Asking these questions show that the owner cares and is interested in the person which is the first step to making the prospective staff happy about choosing to work with you.
A good way to improve staff retention is paying plausible staff salaries equivalent with the work they do along with bonuses from time to time for motivation.
Increment of staff salary is another way of improving staff retention. A school pays as it should just like any other establishment. But why do teachers leave? As long as the mindset to get better pay and better jobs exist in people, even companies that pay #500,000 as staff salary will have staffers that desire their pays be raised to #600,000 and will leave if such demands aren’t met. It’s no excuse for school’s to then pay meagre salaries but this shows how important it is for teaching staff to be well paid. Suggesting alternative ways to make money in this economic dispensation is also very important for teachers to work well. A good alternative is home lessons for children.
Teaching teachers and making them grow on loving the organisation and the work they perform is very important. Educate the staff about the organization’s standards, rules and regulations so they do their work right and there will be no complaint from either the management or the parents. It is discouraging if complaints about the work they do get more than necessary.
It is the job of the proprietor to organise a committee that handles the welfare of staff in and out of the school. If a staff is not happy, such cannot give out his/her potentials or exhibit his/her best qualities while working. If a teacher is experiencing problems at home with family, friends or any other issue, the school should be aware in order to manage the situation at hand. A good welfare treatment is giving special benefits to staff and their children. A good move is for the tuitions of the children of staff to be fully or partly paid. A school that is not capable should then provide other means to make teachers and their children feel comfortable.The school can also once in a while create fun time for staff to relax. Fun activities lighten up the mind. A day for games or movies go a long way to show love and care.
It is important to let teachers do their job. This doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be strictly supervised. The standard of teaching is very crucial but it’s important that administrative duties should be left to the school administration alone. Let the teachers organise parties, class debates, inter-school competitions, excursions and so on. Schools should employ professionals to lift this burden in order to let teachers teach happily knowing that’s all they have to do.
“Listening is key.” Being too quick to speak and slow to listen to staff as a proprietor is not the right way to retain staff. This skill applies to both parties. Listening gives great insight as to the situation on ground before judging or searching for solutions. If a staff does something wrong, the staff should be given a listening ear as to why he/she did what he/she did. If the proprietor is to give disciplary actions, the staff should as well give a listening ear to know why he/she is wrong and what he/she has to do to rectify the situation.
Reinforcement using the punisher and the rewarder should be encouraged. If a task is done well, reward should be given and if a task is not done well, discipline should be directed. Favouritism between staff members should be discouraged.
Having a place comfortable to live, till now presents a huge hindrance to staff retention. Schools don’t get good teachers because they live too far. Schools loose good teachers because they live too far. As long as basic amenities like housing and water can be settled for staff, it is a huge milestone for development and will improve staff retention and quality of teaching in the long run.
Division of labour should be encouraged to make tasks easier to carry out. Staff should learn how to work in teams to reduce workload. They should also be given work according to their expertise and not something that will yield no result but struggle.
A school is a wonderful place to be. For a school to thrive, it needs happy teachers and a willing management. There are better jobs, so teachers need a reason to stay, a reason to boast, a reason to belong. They need hope and confidence that they will be alright. These points of ours are a start. Thank you.
