Recruitment across all sectors can be challenging for HR teams. Generating accurate job advertisements, gathering and reviewing CVs, choosing the right candidates and conducting the interview process are all extremely time-consuming tasks. Most HR teams carry this out on top of their daily tasks.
Within the education sector, the responsibility of finding trustworthy staff presents even more challenges as student safeguarding becomes the number one priority.
Recruiting school staff for international schools is a unique process, with a large part of the search and consideration being carried out remotely. This requires a new approach compared to the traditional recruitment process. You also need to be confident that you’re hiring the right person, with the appropriate screening, before committing to a hire.
A clear, well-planned recruitment journey is vitally important for international school recruitment, so take the time to prepare a process that works for your school and eliminates any room for error for both you and your potential employees.
- Recruitment goals
- Background checks
- Consider logistics
- Advertising and marketing
- Legislative requirements
- HR and recruitment software for international schools
Recruitment goals
Begin by assessing your goals and considering what you’d like to get out of the process, as well as your expectations of the candidate for each role. You need to be clear within your department about what you’re looking for, before beginning the search.
It might seem like an oversimplification and stating the obvious, but take the time to identify details like hiring location, the main points of the job role, what kind of qualifications you expect, as well as what is undesirable for the role or for your school. For instance, can you hire from the US? Do qualifications match up compared to those you’d expect when hiring in your country?
Once you have a clear idea of what you’re looking to get out of the hiring process, you can begin building a system that works towards those goals. This will guide considerations like which job listing platform you use, which candidates get short-listed, and what details you want to include in your advertisement. Ultimately, the end goal is to make the process more efficient for both your team and your candidates.
Background checks
Employment history and safeguarding checks are a critical part of any school recruitment effort. There’s some background screening that should be carried out for school staff, regardless of the hiring location and position. However, it’s important to consider what other expectations and screening standards might be necessary when hiring internationally.
Each country will have its own expectations and guidance for school staff to prioritise the safeguarding of students. For example, in the UK, an enhanced DBS check is customary for any role within a school. You will also be expected to carry out a thorough confirmation with references.
Ultimately, it’s best practice to screen potential candidates, wherever they’re based. Just ensure that you’re considering location-specific guidance or compliance regulations during your international hiring process. You might also look to extend your screening to a potential employee’s digital footprint, too, when hiring internationally or remotely.
Consider logistics
It’s important to consider the physical elements that are part of the international school recruitment journey. The logistics of hiring for international schools can vary from domestic recruitment. Many international schools hire teachers from outside of their home country. This is particularly important to note when following a typical British or English-speaking country’s curriculum.
Take the time to consider which locations you’re looking to hire within. If you’re searching externally from your country, it’s important to note the impact that can have on applicants and how you extend your advertising.
What hurdles might impact a candidate’s decision to apply for or accept a role? For instance, will they need accommodation? What travel arrangements are necessary? Can you offer any kind of renumeration to support this? Alternatively, can you offer the position flexibly or remotely, depending on your school type?
It’s important to have this information prepared before engaging candidates. Take any logistical concerns away from the decision-making process, simplifying decision-making for both parties.
Advertising and marketing
For many schools, word of mouth is an important advertising tactic when searching for new teaching staff. Within the sector, it’s worthwhile staying connected with your community to find top quality staff with positive referrals.
This isn’t always the case during the international school recruitment process. It can be difficult to stay connected with the pool of available candidates within another country. Your school’s marketing and advertising needs to portray a positive brand image to potential candidates wherever they’re situated across the world, making your open positions as desirable as possible.
A keen marketing and advertising strategy is vital for extending your search worldwide, beginning with brand image. However, you also need to consider your advertising on a micro level and be specific and targeted when selecting where to host your job advertisement.
Take the time to understand your target candidates and where they’re actively searching for roles. This could be LinkedIn, a more specific employment and listing website that’s tailored for international school recruitment, or education associations listings. A more targeted approach is generally more likely to achieve success, but this could depend on how quickly you’re looking to secure a position.
Legislative requirements
Do you know the visa or employment requirements for the regions in which you’re conducting your search?
Before even opening your search, take the time to research what is needed for each country that you’re considering. For instance, what are the tax requirements for payroll if you’re hiring remotely or need to pay through their home country’s government? There might be specific qualifications that candidates need to have to work abroad. You might also need to monitor the exchange rates and pay them in a specific currency, depending on where they plan to live.
These are all important considerations to have prepared before beginning to engage applicants. This also ensures that once a decision has been made, the candidate can begin working as quickly as possible.
The iSAMS HR Manager module supports schools as they navigate this element of the recruitment journey. It provides a probation and security section for assessing and recording CRB records, and checking references. The module also allows checking, storing, and recording of List 99 disclosure information, making management of safeguarding and security checks as seamless as possible.
HR and recruitment software for international schools
At iSAMS, we have a range of software solutions created specifically to support the HR teams in international schools. Go paperless with our HR software for managing staff, documents, reporting, and more. Optimise department timings and offer staff a self-service option, thanks to our secure, compliant solution.
We also work with Social Media Check to help you automate your candidate online background screening process. Generate comprehensive reports containing 8 key risk factors to safeguard your students and protect your school’s brand image. Interested in learning more about Social Media Check? Watch a demo below.