What was new in January
Find out which Tes Portal features we’ve added and enhanced to make your lives easier
We’re always trying to create products that make your working lives easier. But frankly, that’s not enough for us! We’re constantly striving to make things better for you and your colleagues. So here’s an update on the new features and tools we’ve improved this month and a taster of those to come...
Improving the quality of applications through Tes
If you regularly use our online application form you’ll know that it may get you an average of three-times more applications than schools that don’t. For schools who don't use the online application, their biggest worry is a single, generic form can’t possibly capture the more personalised information you’re looking for. Well, we’ve listened…
To solve that problem, we’re increasing the number of mandatory fields to ensure candidates don’t submit incomplete application forms. The first phase has seen the ‘Questions from the school’ section (extra questions you can add on behalf of your school) made mandatory, which will not only highlight their importance to the candidate but also make sure you get the information you need.
We’re reviewing all fields on the form and will make incremental improvements throughout the coming weeks and months. Giving you both the quality and quantity, of applications.
This also helps us to find you candidates who are a better fit through our smartMatch service. Interested in finding out more about how we can help you find candidates for hard-to-fill roles? Have a look here.
Tweaks to our Supply Manager tool
The most asked-for feature since the launch of Supply Manager has been the ability to cancel a supply request. This is now possible, along with the ability to request missing safeguarding information from an agency at the click of a button.
We’ve also added a job title filter to the MAT dashboard. (Not heard of the MAT dashboard? This handy tool enables admin staff to have sight of and manage the quantity and cost of booking across their trust or group.) The added filter adds another level of detail around the type of supply being booked (ie, by subject or role type).
Tes Portal features explained - our how-to video page
There are a lot of features on Tes Portal to support schools. And if you’ve used Tes Portal for a while, you may have forgotten, or just haven’t been made aware of, the number of products and features available.
We’re in the process of creating a whole host of videos to explain not only what each feature does, but also to show you how to use it, too. We’ve got five so far and you can find them here.
We’d love to know what you think and if there’s something you’re particularly keen to see next. Just email us at: research@tes.com.
Coming soon: Staff Pulse
The recruitment crisis isn’t showing much sign of stopping and we want to help you to support staff retention and wellbeing at your school.
We’ve been developing a new product which gives you the chance to ask teachers about their current issues through anonymous surveys. Watch Anna talk more about the concept in this short video. Ultimately, we’re trying to encourage the sharing of the right support at the right time.
The tool is now ready to be tested, and we’re looking for schools to help us... Could yours be one of them? If you help us test it, you'll get access to the product for free when it's launched and you'll have the chance to give feedback and shape its future development. If you’re interested, please let us know by emailing; research@tes.com.
That’s about it for this month! Look forward to sharing more updates with you in a few weeks...