By Polly Howden, Product Director at TES Global
My favourite thing about my job is listening to customers, identifying a problem and working with other passionate people to deliver a meaningful and effective solution.
The team at TES talk to schools and teachers every day and we understand better than most the recruitment challenges they face. Schools are competing for quality talent and digitally savvy teachers are battling complex application forms that have not moved with the times. It’s time that changed and TES is proud to have launched a new School Portal with the ambition of making the recruitment and application process more simple and convenient for everyone involved.
Applying for a job is a headache and it's even worse if you're a teacher
Job seeking teachers are digital consumers. They are becoming more vocal about how hard it can be to apply for jobs. Our research highlighted that 4 out of every 5 candidates want a standardised application process and many look for new jobs on mobile devices in free moments. Yet, the traditional process has been complex and different for each school.
Speaking with teachers in the research stages, a common complaint was that schools all want the same basic detail but that the format of forms are different. This was considered unnecessarily frustrating and a waste of precious time.
With YouGov research revealing 31% of job searchers think applying for jobs is time-consuming, it is important that schools use tools that make it easier for top talent.
Why is this so important right now?
Schools are working harder to secure quality talent with teacher shortages.
Traditional recruitment is still admin heavy when leaders stress the need for speed to be competitive. YouGov research shows that 93% of leaders have had to secure a candidate on the day of interview. A well designed process can help schools plan ahead, be flexible and move fast when needed.
With 71% of schools having to re-run job adverts for teaching positions more often, TES subscriptions are already allowing schools to be more flexible. They can post roles as often as they need on tes.com.
What is TES doing to help schools and teachers?
In response to the recruitment challenge for schools and the frustrations of time-poor teachers, we have developed the TES School Portal.
The portal makes the recruitment and application process more simple and convenient and makes available a toolkit of powerful set of features:
- Online advertising and advert performance tracking - allows recruiters to place job adverts in a few simple clicks, understand how their adverts are performing, and learn from past results.
- School Jobs Board - a single destination for a school to feature all their jobs for free and promote their employer brand to candidates all year round. It can be linked from a school’s main website and other job sites to take advantage of data tracking and all the other School Portal benefits.
- Applicant Tracking System - a simple applicant management tool where schools can review and shortlist candidates. It facilitates better communications with colleagues and candidates, while making a note of talent for future roles.
- TES Online Application Form - a standardised format developed through analysis of thousands of fields, containing all the information schools have said they need. It takes the complexity out of the traditional form and will encourage more candidates to apply for jobs online or on their mobiles.
- Career Profiles - teachers are now able to update their full career details or store them from any past applications so they can spend more time on their personal statement. Candidates will be able to start and complete their applications across multiple devices whenever it's convenient for them.
We have big ambitions. We want to make it easier and less time consuming for candidates to find their dream job and recruiters to find the best talent.
As always with product development, the proof is in the pudding. The early feedback we're getting lets us know we're already making a difference, and we'll continue to listen and work hard to make schools' recruitment smarter and smoother.
"The School Portal makes adding jobs straightforward. While the statistics associated with the adverts provide fascinating insights. These new features, combined with our advertising subscription, are making recruitment more simple." Richard Lynn, Headmaster, Dixie Grammar School, Leicestershire.
Find out more: www.tes.com/schoolportal