In today’s digital age, a world of information is available at our fingertips. Groceries can be delivered with a click of a button and video reels are bite-sized and easily digestible. It’s all about instant access and connectivity!
But take a moment to reflect on the systems you have in place in your district. Do candidates fill out a paper application, or wait to receive a thick onboarding packet through (what feels like) snail mail? If this sounds familiar, you’re likely already aware of the obstacles that come hand in hand with manual and paper processes like these. They’re inefficient, time-consuming, and expensive.
So how can districts bring that instant access and connectivity into their schools to really “do more with less” in the digital age? With the right tools and technology in place, district leaders can optimize their operations, reduce manual workloads, and improve efficiency all while working toward creating an outstanding educational experience for students.
Doing more with recruiting and hiring.
By automating the most time-consuming aspects of HR processes, Human Resource teams can free up hours in their day and finally focus on their people instead of paperwork.
Here are a few areas in which going digital can help districts do more with less in recruiting and hiring:
- Job postings and applications: If you’re still recruiting with paper-based applications and job postings, chances are you’re missing out on qualified educators. In today’s world, job-seekers are turning to online job boards and first! Automating your recruiting strategies will allow you to proactively advertise your postings and help you deepen your applicant pools by reaching thousands of educators across the country.
- Applicant tracking: With an applicant tracking system, you can keep track of vacancies, communicate effectively with applicants, and filter through applications to weed out unqualified candidates.
- Video interviews: It can be hard to find time during the week to schedule an interview, especially if the applicant is looking to move from another district. On-demand interviews are an easy way to improve the candidate experience and help you maximize your schedule.
- Onboarding: What if you didn’t have to start the onboarding process by sending out a packet of paper? From sending new hire welcome emails to customizing documents, going digital with your onboarding processes will allow your new hires to fill out everything electronically, so they’ll be ready to go even before their first day.
District Spotlight: Doing more with less
“It has streamlined our process and minimizes the risk of losing documents. You can allow different administrators, principals, and employees to see different parts of each program and what is specific to their role in the district.”
Getting the full picture of employee attendance.
Managing employee attendance doesn’t have to be stressful. But spending your day calling substitutes on the phone, chasing down paper timesheets, or manually calculating payroll can certainly leave everyone feeling like they’re scrambling.
With tools that help you manage your employee absences in one place and make it seamless to find qualified substitutes, you can rest easy knowing the right educators are in place at the right time (and that you’re in compliance).
- Securing substitutes: Remember Apple’s old commercial that featured the phrase “There’s an app for that”? Well, when it comes to quickly finding substitutes, there really is an app! Make it easier for your substitutes to accept jobs around the clock (even outside school hours).
- Absence trends: If you can stay on top of absence trends in your district, you can proactivity address opportunities to improve employee experience. For example, if you see Thursday is your “high-absence” day, you can avoid scheduling professional development on a Thursday.
- Compliance and labor laws: Paper timesheets can lead to errors. Automating all aspects of your time and attendance processes from the collection of time through the application of pay rules, can help you ensure you’re compliant with state and federal labor laws like ACA, FSLA, and FMLA.
District Spotlight: Doing more with less
“Automating systems has really improved our culture in the HR office. From being able to process things quicker and cleaner to eliminating some of the time we were using on the old system, it’s been a win-win all the way around.”
Supporting professional learning and collaboration.
Professional development isn’t one-size-fits-all. In order to address every educator’s unique professional growth needs, it’s critical to be able to create individual PD plans and provide an online space for your staff to build a culture of learning.
Take back your time while giving your teachers the personalized learning experiences they need and deserve.
- Goal-aligned learning opportunities: What if your teachers could access a digital catalog of goal-aligned learning opportunities that are online, out-of-district, or even conferences? This can ultimately enable your staff to take an active role in their own professional growth.
- The evaluation process: With a digital employee evaluation system, you can focus on actual feedback instead of forms. You’ll be able to manage every component of the teacher evaluation process, from goal-setting to in-class observations! Simplifying evaluations opens up more room for your educators to engage in discussions about teacher practice.
- Individualized professional learning: If teachers can get a view of the professional development they’ve completed, they can understand what’s still in progress and what potential courses align to their personal goals.
District Spotlight: Doing more with less
“Having pieces of evaluation and professional development now, all under one house, all tied together, it really allows us to have the most strategic and powerful impact you can have on the classroom, which ultimately comes back to the most optimal learning that’s taking place.”
Are you ready to do more with less in your district? Learn More