Can school leaders do more to raise the satisfaction of staff? Like many organisations, schools face challenges which in their case are to:
- Raise the learning outcomes for students;
- Continuously improve the performance of staff;
- Balance the budget.
An additional issue appears to be the low morale amongst teachers because of the constant changes in curriculum, the pressure of observations, pupil progress targets and the perception that teachers are not valued by parents, the community nor the DfE at times.
Raising the Satisfaction of Teachers
Can school leaders do more to raise the satisfaction of staff? Yes, they can as there are certain levers they can use for that purpose. This is not a new problem as an insight was given in 2000 by the Head of OFSTED who, “argued that the morale of the teaching profession is affected by the quality of teaching provided within it.” In The Guardian (4 September 2000) , he wrote, ‘The only way the morale of the profession is going to improve is when teachers teach better. Because when teachers teach better, children will learn more, and when children learn more their parents will respect teachers more. And when teachers have got the respect of parents in the community they are going to feel better about themselves.” (1)
This reciprocal reinforcement of satisfaction between ‘customers’ and staff is a well known effect in service organisations. Studies have shown that customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction are intertwined – each feed of the other and the level of staff satisfaction increases with consequent tangible improvements in staff performance and outcomes. In a service company that effect is seen in additional sales to customers and customer loyalty. Schools are not profit organisations but the quote above is strikingly similar to the effects of the Service Profit Chain which was published in the Harvard Business Review (2). This was based on a series of premises that as an employee meets the needs of a customer, the satisfaction of the latter results in a reciprocal satisfaction for the employee. Although titled the Service Profit Chain, the premises are translatable to a teaching environment. As the learning of students improves and positive outcomes are commented upon by pupils, parents, colleagues as well as evidence from data, the professional satisfaction of a teacher increases and that reinforces the teacher’s commitment to develop students/pupils.
Strategic Mapping by Governors and Leadership Team
The term engagement is used frequently today as though it is the solution to organisational problems. It is important and requires the investment of management time and trust but engagement alone is not enough. Governors have to help the head teacher and leadership team to see the wider picture involved in raising the performance of the school and satisfying the stakeholders, staff, students and parents. A strategic map is required so that all can see what is to be achieved, when, and as important in a service organisation, how. This is even more important now that performance objectives and progression are linked to pay. Without a strategic map, the risk is that performance objectives will not be joined up so as to deliver the overall strategy.
Aids to Strategic Mapping
There are various strategic models for educational organisations but many omit key aspects of the strategic journey. One method is to adapt the balanced scorecard to the school environment. The real purpose of the balanced scorecard aid is in translating your strategy/vision for the school into clear strategic objectives that will deliver your vision and strategic goals. The name balanced scorecard is derived from looking at the way forward from four aspects. To achieve our vision:
a. How should we appear to our customers i.e. students and parents/guardians? (customer focus)
b. How will we maintain our ability to change and improve? (learning and growth)
c. How do we need to change and improve our support processes? (internal/support processes)
d. How should we appear to our stakeholders – LA or Trust, DfE and other agencies? (financial/service outcomes)
Key objectives are then set under each of those areas, as appropriate, so that the inter-dependencies can be seen.
For example under b, one objective may be to increase the understanding and use by teaching staff of pupil achievement data in order to raise learning outcomes. Governors also need to understand what the data trends are indicating and to encourage the switching of funds accordingly to improve weak areas. Focus on this area may also highlight that you need to improve your internal processes so that such data can be accessed easily and promptly. Hence, another objective under internal processes may be of that nature. In this way the cause and effect network can be seen more clearly.
Returning for a moment to the theme of teacher satisfaction and student development, objectives under b and a should also lead to increased satisfaction of teaching staff and also of pupils.
As you will gather, a strategic map still needs original thought as to what the vision should be and what are the key strategic goals based on that. Aids such as the balanced scorecard (3) may help to ensure the success of your strategy by looking at the goals from key aspects that often underpin the service needs within a school. However, it is better to keep the process simple to start with to serve the school’s needs.
Sources:
(1) Quoted from HEADING TOWARDS EXCELLENCE by (Sir) John R Rowling, Trentham Books 2002.
(2) The Service Profit Chain, James L. Heskett, W. Earl Sasser, Leonard A. Schlesinger, Harvard Business Review
(3) Kaplan, Robert S.; Norton, David P. (Jan-Feb) [1992], “The Balanced Scorecard – Measures that Drive Performance”, Harvard Business Review
If you would like help in using strategic mapping to raise performance, you can contact the author via this link or by phone (see the footer for contact details).
© 2013 HR Management Dimensions
Web Site and Related Sites
Blogs: Headsup HR;
HR Management Dimensions
Web site: HR Management Dimensions
Facebook: HR Management Dimensions.