How to make your international school appeal to candidates

As the number of English-medium International schools increases around the world, the market to recruit the limited pool of native English-speaking teachers who want to work abroad has become highly competitive. International schools no longer can rely on simply placing an advertisement in Tes to attract an employable shortlist. It is a buyers’ market and schools need to sell themselves to candidates. This article looks at eight ways beyond salary and benefits packages where schools can stand out from the crowd. 

There is something attractive about experiencing exotic cultures and seeing new places, so it is not surprising that one of the major reasons why people look to teach abroad is that they want to travel and explore the world. However, alongside this Wanderlust, there is often an underlying concern that the price of the adventure is a damaged career which will remove the option to return home, should the desire or need arise. Schools need to recognise and harness these emotional drivers in a systematic way if they are to attract top international talent. 

1. Sell your location: One of the unique features of International recruitment is that schools have to sell both the organisation and the city - clearly this is easier for some than others (Dubai v Chongqing). Schools need to paint a picture in the recruitment pack of what it is like to live in the particular region. This need not be an onerous task - local tourist guides can provide suitable copy. 
2. Promote your training and development opportunities: A common question asked by teachers moving abroad is whether or not they will have similar training opportunities to those available in the UK. Millennial teachers are particularly interested in the opportunities for professional and personal development. Most international schools provide routine INSET, but schools can set themselves apart by providing access to portable formal qualifications and training that is recognised in the UK, such as NQT support and the NPQML or NPQH. 
3. Establish the school brand within the region and around the world. Schools that have established reputations within a region or globally are likely to be more attractive to talented teachers. Effective ways of putting a school on the educational map include playing an active role in international schools’ organisations (such as HMC, COBIS and FOBISIA) and applying for (and winning!) international schools’ awards. 
4. Maintain close links with the UK It is all too easy for an international school to sit comfortably and distance itself from the issues which are driving education in the UK. This is a huge mistake. It is important for international schools to remain part of the conversation. Schools should encourage contributions to contemporary debates about educational developments in the UK on social media, by writing articles and by speaking at conferences. 
5. Promote what your staff are doing: Schools that provide opportunities for teachers to share what they are doing and to develop their professional reputation are hugely attractive to prospective candidates. For example, hosting a regional ‘Educational Summit’ can reap great benefits: talented staff have a platform to share their expertise; the school will be seen as a centre of excellence leading the debate; and it will be, in effect, a prospective staff Open Day by drawing in hundreds of teachers into the school. 
6. Develop an International Presence on Social Media Some teachers are happy working in a silo – their classroom is their castle and they are comfortable there. However, increasingly there is a generation of teachers, who have grown up in a world of social media, who want to network with like-minded colleagues and share what they are doing professionally. An effective social media strategy is a cost-effective way of promoting the school both at home and around the world, at the same time as providing an important platform where teachers can connect and gain recognition from their peers. 
7. Use your website: International school websites typically are designed to recruit pupils and to provide information to parents. Few schools consider their potential to be a shop window for recruiting staff – this is to miss a real opportunity. Consider developing a section of your website on ‘Working at Our School’ which includes sample videos of staff talking about what it is like to be part of the school community; and a blog which pulls together contributions to the regional and international educational debates. 
8. Set up a LinkedIn School Past and Present Employees Group. Any school that can establish a professional network of influential and successful past and present employees will be attractive. Such a group would provide evidence of the sort of roles former employees went on to do and shows that the school is sort of institution that is genuinely interested in developing its staff even after they have moved on to their next challenge. 

The quality of teachers determines the quality of a school. One of the most important factors that distinguishes great international schools from their competitors is the ability to recruit and retain talent. International schools would be well advised to put as much effort into building their ‘Employer Brand’ for staff recruitment as they do marketing their ‘School Brand’ to attract students.

This article was published in Tes on 12/06/2019

A ‘Customer-focused School’ - Some thoughts on school marketing and why, how and when we should listen to parents.

My opening address at the AMDIS Conference at The Belfry on Monday 11th. May 2015.

From the conference programme:

In his opening address, Mark Steed explores the concept of a "customer-focused school". The presentation will look at how schools, through collecting data about their current and prospective parents, can gain customer insight and thus ensure sustainable growth. Using practical examples from Barkhamsted School, Mark will discuss ways in which schools can develop what they have to offer to create new demand by opening up new markets; and how far schools should go in listening to their parents.

How to get your message across in Emails. Daniel H. Pink explains the "Email Pitch"

Further to my review of Daniel Pink's To Sell is Human, here's the second in the series of excellent videos on pitching;  this one outlines "The Email Pitch" and how to grab people's attention.

The keys are to appeal to the reader's Utility or Interest.

• The Question Pitch
• Review of Daniel Pink's To Sell is Human

Want to get your message across? Daniel H. Pink explains when to ask questions and when to make statements.

Further to my review of Daniel Pink's To Sell is Human, here's an excellent video which outlines "The Question Pitch" and when it is best to ask questions to get your message across.

 

Review of Daniel Pink's To Sell is Human

Daniel H. Pink: To Sell is Human - Book Review

Daniel H Pink's To Sell is Human traces how the world of marketing has changed with a consequence that the stereotypical image of a secondhand car salesman is a long way from best practice today.  There has been a fundamental shift in power: in the past Salesman had knowledge of the product and of pricing creating a power imbalance between salesman and customer (hence caveat emptor); however, with the rise of the Internet and social media, consumers now have knowledge and the power to bite back if they are bitten (hence caveat venditor).

Central to Pink's thesis is the argument that to a greater or lesser extent we all employ marketing techniques as part of our daily work (selling ideas to others, exhorting others to do things that we want them to do, etc.) hence his assertion that we are all to some extent in marketing.

Pitching

This is quite a practical book and one of the strongest examples of this is the section on "pitching" to others. Here Pink outlines six different ways to pitch. These would make an excellent brainstorming session for school marketing departments - How would sum up your school using the following six techniques?

1. The one-word pitch: e.g. Mastercard's "Priceless"
2. The question pitch: e.g. Ronald Regan's "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" in the 1976 US Election campaign.
3. The rhyming pitch: e.g. "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit" from O.J. Simpson's lawyer at his trial.
4. The subject line pitch: A phrase that can fit into an email subject line (tip: utility and curiosity are the key to success here)
5. The Twitter pitch: Using 140 or fewer characters.
6. The Pixar Pitch: Employing the winning formula used by Pixar movies  (Once upon a time . . . . Every day, . . . . One day, . . . . Because of that . . . Because of that . . . . Until finally, . . . . )

Pink provides an excellent summary of his book in the form of what he terms a "Pixar Pitch":

"Once upon a time only some people were in sales. Every day, they sold stuff, we did stuff and everyone was happy. One day everything changed: All of us ended up in sales - and sales changed from a world of caveat emptor to caveat venditor. Because of that, we had to learn the new ABCs - attunement, buoyancy and clarity. Because of that, we had to learn some new skills - to pitch, to improvise, and to serve. Until finally, we realised that selling isn't some grim accommodation to a brutal marketplace culture. It's part of who we are - and therefore something we can do better by being more human."  p.172-3

Pink ends his book on a rather moral note arguing that selling needs to provide a service: he asks two questions, which all would do well to heed.

1. If the person you're selling to agrees to buy, will his or her life improve?
2. When your interaction is over, will the world be a better place than when you began?

Overview

This sits firmly in the accessible business/psychology genre much loved by our colleagues across the pond. Pink writes well and this is an easy read with lots of good practical take-aways in the form of exercises at the end of the key chapters.