Bringing Your Human Resources Practice into the 21st Century

Presented byMary M. Jessie, Education Management Consultant

Georgia Association of School Personnel Administrators Fall Conference

December 4, 2008

Are you using a 20th century cell phone in the 21st century?

If you are using this cell phone or one similar, you are using a 21st

century communication tool.

Why not bring your human resources practice into the

21st century?

The 20th Century

Dilemmas in Current PracticeFunctional departments HR is a separate department Limited or informal forecasting Limited or no clear visionCan’t get the teachers needed in

hard to staff areas or high need schools

The 20th Century

Limited/no marketing and branding of district

Candidates do not make a connection with the culture of the district or school/location

Late hiringPrincipals’ skills in selection are

limitedTechnology interface is inadequate

The 20th Century

Sacred cows reignOrientation is not “on-boarding”

broad and shallow information overload / one stop training

Induction programs disconnectedMentors not well selected, matched

or trained appropriately

The 20th Century

Professional developmentPerformance AssessmentCompensation

Source: The Aspen Institute, Program on Education and Society, Human Capital Framework for K-12 Urban Education: Organizing for Success, January, 2008.

21st Century

Human Capital Management

21st Century

What is Human Capital? Private sector:

The accumulated value of an individual’s intellect, knowledge, experience, competencies, and commitment that contributes to the achievement of an organization’s vision and business objectives.

21st Century

Human Capital in K-12 Education:The knowledge and skill sets of our

teachers that directly result in increased levels of learning for students.

Simply put: What teachers know and are able to do—their talent level.

Source: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Building Smart Education Systems, Voices in Urban Education, Human Capital, VUE Number 20, Summer 2008

CULTUREPERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Sourcing

CertificationInduction

TenureCOMPENSATION and

NON-MONETARY REWARDS

Trainingand

Development

Preparation

21st Century Best Practice

Culture Create a positive organizational

context Get the best people into roles where

they “fit” Get the most out of every person

Infrastructure School working conditions Equitable allocation of resources Accesses robust data systems The “right” teachers Leadership Salaries Development Student performance

Source: How the world’s best-performing school systems come out on top, McKinsey and Company, September, 2007

The Components of a 21st Century Human Capital Management System

Preparation Sourcing

Marketing Recruitment Screening Hiring On-boarding Placement

Certification

Induction Orientation Mentoring Reduced teaching load Differentiated Prof. Dev.

Tenure Training and Development Performance Management Compensation and Non-

monetary Rewards

Preparation

Traditional higher ed Regional alternative preparation District alternative preparation Certification add-ons and endorsements

Sourcing

Marketing

Recruitment

Branding Market strategic

advantage

Sophisticated Data and Data Systems to Predict Needs

Recruitment Focus on High Performance

Screening Performance-based Standardized, ease of use

Clearing house

Hiring Early offers Successful pre-

service teachers Competitive

timelines School-based

selection recommendations

On-boarding

Placement

Expectations Personalized service Separate “paper heavy”

employment processes from on-boarding

Support

Student need and equity Reduced loads Strong mentors

Certification and Induction

Certification

Induction

Aligned with teacher effectiveness

Four Pronged Approach Orientation Mentoring Reduced Teaching

Load Differentiated School

Imbedded Professional Development

Training and Development

Professional Development Identification of High-potential Employees Career Management Career Pathways

Tenure

Based on: Student

performance Assessment of

teaching skills Responsibility and

accountability

Performance Management

Expectation Setting

Assessment Calibration

Feedback Outcomes

Compensation

District priorities Performance-based Differentiated Aligned with

workforce data Includes incentives

for short and long term service

Includes choice

Non-Monetary Rewards Recognition Freedom Opportunity Team work Excellent working

conditions

Sources: Allen, R. &Helms, M. (Fall, 2002).

Employee perceptions of relationships between strategy rewards and organizational performance. Journal of Business Strategies, 19(2). 115-139.

Jimenez, R., (October, 1999) Managing employee retention through recognition. T+D, 53 (10) 53-55

Nelson, B., (January, 2004) Everything you thought you knew about recognition is wrong. Workplace Management (from www.workforce.com)

Conclusion

Bringing school district Human Resource practice into the 21st century will be challenging.

If student achievement is the goal, recasting the Human Resources focus will require bringing dedicated and highly skilled professionals from education and the private sector together to solve complex problems in cross functional teams.

Human Resources in school districts can no longer operate as stand alone departments. Multifunctional teams from HR, Instruction, Finance, Technology will need to integrate processes and services