As a head, I always found appointing people to be one of the most positive and enjoyable elements of the role.
Selecting support staff, teachers or leaders at all levels provides you with the opportunity to get what Jim Collins describes in his book Good to Great as “The right people in the right seats on the bus”. There’s something exciting about welcoming into your school community new members who you’re confident will enable you to take that bus where you believe it should go – and alongside whom you know you will enjoy the journey.
So how can you make sure you get the process right?
Be timely and efficient
Plan carefully so that you give yourself sufficient time for a thorough and considered process, but don’t waste any time and let strong applicants slip through your fingers. Schedule the different stages of the selection process sensibly, communicate it clearly and stick to it.
Be respectful and fair
Ensure you treat all applicants at all stages equitably, and with consideration and sensitivity. Be aware that internal candidates can feel particularly anxious about putting themselves forward against unknown competition from beyond the school; communicate carefully with them about how the process will be managed.
Be warm and welcoming
Interviews are potentially tense and testing. It’s not necessary – or even advisable – for selection panels to add to this pressure by seeming overly formal, cold and unfriendly. I’d suggest that you’ll be better able to gauge the potential of each applicant if you help them to relax.
Be positive and professional
Organise the interview day – which may include different activities, such as teaching a lesson or completing administrative tasks, depending on the role – so that things proceed efficiently and smoothly. Communicate carefully so that all involved know exactly what is expected of them and how the day will be managed. Show positivity about each candidate’s contribution to the day.
Be sensitive and supportive
I would strongly advise that at the end of the selection process, decisions are made and communicated promptly. In my school, I’d always telephone all interviewees on the evening of the day we’d met them, offering the post to our selected candidate and informing the unsuccessful. To be kept waiting for several days is, I think, discourteous. Disappointed internal candidates in particular may need a carefully considered debrief, but I’d always follow up the interviews with supportive, constructive feedback to any disappointed applicants requesting it.
Recognise that the candidates you don’t appoint are still potential ambassadors for your school. Ideally, you want them to say afterwards that although they were sorry not to be successful, the experience was positive, well-organised and handled with care and consideration throughout. If you’ve made a strong appointment and shown the school to good advantage to others, that would qualify as a win/win.
Good luck with your appointments over the coming year!
About the author
Jill Berry is a leadership consultant and former headteacher; her book Making the Leap – Moving from Deputy to Head is available now, published by Crown House
